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Monday, March 15, 2010

BILLIE SCRUSE IMPLODES: THE HPATV PRODUCERS MEETING MELTDOWN



Sorry for the delay on this, but its been another busy week.

Every three months a "Producer's Meeting" is held at Hartford Public Access Television and it is required for producers wishing to have a program in the upcoming season to attend. The "spring" season meeting was held Monday night. A couple dozen producers, including myself, attended.

The agenda presented by Billie Scruse (pronounced screws) was short and she breezed through it in less than 20 minutes. The meeting was relatively civil up to the point she opened up for questions. Apparently she is not used to being held up to scrutiny, because that is where the meeting turned bad.

The threat of questioning her heavy handed tactics loomed large and I couldn't resist the chance to ask a few questions.

The handling of the "Sasha Show" has been a matter of concern for everyone and Scruse's refusal to answer any questions has also been a problem. I've been a firm believer that if you deal in good faith and truthfully, then you shouldn't have any problem explaining your actions.

I asked a generic question about signing out equipment from HPATV and the repercussions for returning equipment late. Scruse answered that anyone returning equipment late could possibly have their right to sign out equipment suspended. I asked if she meant their show suspended and she said no, their right to use HPATV equipment. I then asked how someone would know if this was a problem, and she stated a violator would receive a written warning first.

I then asked a question about the policy of producers attending the mandatory meeting in order to have a program. I think at this point the little bulb went off in her head and she realized where I was going. I tried to clarify if the meeting was actually mandatory since I knew of a few producers from the last season who did not attend the producers meeting, yet still had programs.

She started to get agitated and finally stated that it was her call if mandatory meant mandatory, and if she wanted to let someone have a program she could. She then quickly went to someone else in the room, I guess figuring that would be easier.

Wrong choice, the next questions were just as tough.

Scruse then declared the meeting was over and no one wanted to be bothered with such issues. She then seemed to cave into the pressure and made some sort of declaration that Sasha Hunter wasn't an employee and she (Scruse) wasn't bound by any privacy issues. She claimed to lay all of her facts on the table and offered up a copy of an e-mail she sent to Sasha and a copy of an e-mail that HPATV's lawyer ( yes, lawyer) wrote to Sasha.

It seemed odd that the e-mails Scruse offered up were a direct contradiction to the policies she had quoted earlier.

In her e-mail to Sasha, Scruse pointed to one reason for suspending the Sasha Show was that Sasha failed to attend the "mandatory" December 14, 2010 ( Scruse said 2010, I think she meant 2009, unless she's clairvoyant). This would apparently be the mandatory meeting that Scruse had just stated wasn't mandatory but more discretionary on her part.

Then the second reason for her suspension was that she had returned a camera tripod 18 days late. This apparently is also a contradiction to her earlier statements that returning equipment late would only result in suspension of a producers right to borrow equipment, not a suspension.

I also asked if Scruse was willing to share the copies of the written warnings issued to Hunter as per her policies. I stated that if the written warnings were shared with us, I would be prone to believe that the suspension was legitimate and not personality related as suggested.

That seemed to be the final straw and she grabbed all of her propaganda and files and quickly headed for the door. On her way out she stated that if we had a problem, "take it up with the Board". I would imagine that she meant the Board of Directors of Hartford Public Access Television, the same "Board" that has called the Police on myself and others in the past for attempting to attend Board meetings.

Scruse left the room and offered up one of her staff people as a sacrificial lamb. Unfortunately he was unable to answer any questions or commit to any solutions.

The meeting ended with more dissatisfaction with Scruse and her abilities by her actions. She probably could have gained much more credibility by spending the extra 15 minutes addressing the problem than she did storming out like a tyrant.

It seems odd behavior for an organization whose middle name is "PUBLIC".

The video has been a problem trying to capture and upload, but as soon as it is ready it will be posted here.

OOPS, ANOTHER TWIST IN THE HARTFORD DEMOCRATIC TOWN COMMITTEE ROAD TO IRRELEVANCE



Hang on Hartford Democrats, it's going to be a bumpy ride.

It seems that (FORMER?)Hartford Democratic Town Committee Chairperson Sean Arena's "Endorsement Dispute" filing may be the latest violation of State Central rules.

According to the Democratic State Central rules, Article V, section A, Arena's complaint would have to"be referred to the State Central Committee members in the applicable district for local resolution".

In this case, that would be the same person who replaced Arena by the process being disputed, Jean Holloway. The other Democratic State Central member from the District would be Hector Robles.

In essence, for Arena to have exhausted his "administrative" remedies in the required process and go through the appropriate steps, he would have to file his complaint and attempt to resolve the issue with Robles and Holloway on the local level first.

I know, it is all very confusing, but typically whether it is a union grievance or a political dispute, or pretty much any civil matter, you have to exhaust your "administrative" remedies before moving to the next level when you feel aggrieved.

Arena has not done that, and potentially his complaint could be kicked back to the local level where it needs to be dealt with first, according to party rules.

That raises another problem though. As the clock ticks on Arena's complaint, other issues come into play. Most likely the complaint should get kicked back and see what happens on the local level. That can cause a few things to happen. Robles and Holloway determine that it is a conflict for them to decide and since Robles supports Arena and Holloway supports herself they are at a deadlock. Refer the matter up the process to State Central.

Or Holloway resigns as a State Central member and her replacement and Robles attempt to resolve the matter. That scenario is highly unlikely and would potentially have a great impact on any balance of "power" on the Town Committee.

The more likely outcome is that no matter what they decide,short of Arena being named Chairperson, Arena will not accept their decision. At that point, since he had exhausted his "administrative" options on the local level, Arena could take his dispute to State Central. That would be the normal progression, and in a court of law, where this is most likely to end up, taking the proper steps up the ladder is required.

And now on to the next major problem. As the clock ticks on all of this, the Democratic State Convention is rapidly approaching and delegates need to be selected for the convention. The problem with that is there are hard and fast deadlines that need to be adhered to for that selection. There are also specific time lines that govern the dispute process.

In addition to the five day time frame to select the members of the "dispute" committee from other State Central members, there is a requirement of a seven day notice to be given before any hearing can be held.

The hearing process timeline would most likely extend beyond the delegate "deadline" resulting in the Hartford Democratic Town Committee being unable to send legitimate delegates to the convention when the whole process is in question.

With the number of candidates for Governor and other Constitutional statewide offices in the mix this year,more so than ever, every delegates vote counts. If a winning candidate should receive a nomination based on a slim vote margin, I doubt they want to risk that support on a Hartford delegation vote that might not hold up.

If a Hartford delegation to the Convention can't be chosen due to the illegitimacy questions, Hartford's local party rules once again kick in. Apparently those rules call for the same delegates to be sent to the convention that were sent 4 years ago.

Welcome back Abe Giles and company as delegates to the convention for 2010.

I know, it is still very confusing, but that's politics in Hartford. You can't make this stuff up.

HERE IS THE FULL SECTION 5 ON DISPUTE RESOLUTION:

Article V:

FINAL COMMITTEE TO RESOLVE ENDORSEMENT DISPUTE

A. Any dispute concerning endorsements for any office, or for delegate or for town committee member or officer, and any dispute concerning the interpretation and effect of party rules and procedures must first be referred to the State Central Committee members in the applicable district for local resolution. In order to expedite any such disputes, State Central members may seek legal opinions from Counsel for State Central. If the parties involved cannot bring about a resolution to their differences within seven business days, then the issue may be referred to the State Party Chairman in writing asking that the issue be resolved through a Dispute Resolution Committee. If the dispute is brought before a Dispute Resolution Committee, the issuing of a previous legal opinion by State Central Counsel concerning the dispute shall not prohibit said Counsel from advising the Dispute Resolution Committee.

B. A Dispute Resolution Committee shall be composed of no less than three (3) nor more than five (5) members of the State Central Committee, appointed by the chairperson
thereof, none of whom shall be represent the district or districts concerned. The decision of the committee shall be conclusive and binding upon all parties.

C. The committee shall be appointed no later than five (5) business days after the Democratic Party Chair receives a written request for the resolution of a dispute pursuant to this article. The committee shall set a time and place for a hearing of said dispute within five (5) business days of its appointment. The parties to the dispute shall receive notice at least seven (7) business days prior to the hearing unless exigent circumstances warrant less notice. The Committee shall issue its decision within three (3) days of the close of the hearing, and a written copy of such decision shall be filed with the State Central Committee, and provided to each party to the dispute. However, when exigent circumstances arise, the State Chairman shall have the authority to modify these requirements.

I GUESS HELEN UBINAS LIKES THE T'S


Helen Ubinas found the "WANTED" t-shirts while, according to her "trolling the web" today.

I have to say they are much more popular than I thought and have been a big hit. They were especially popular at the St. Patrick's Day Parade, and even a few people from outside of Hartford wanted them once they saw them.

The only problem is that for the initial order I only ordered size large and x-large. I figured that would be the universal size for most of us and took into consideration that they would fit comfortably over a kevlar vest (Not everyone likes the message).

There are still L and XL available ($10.00), and when I reorder I will make sure to get some smalls for, as Helen referred to them, "the little people".

I'll save a small for you Helen, even though you are larger than life in my eyes :) and if Eddie wants to order one, I'll save a small for him also.

To read Helen's posting or go to her blog, click here

Friday, March 12, 2010

WHO ACTUALLY WON THE DTC CHAIRPERSON RACE ?

According to people supporting the Holloway Slate last night, Democratic State Central rules were clear and stated the following:

Section 19: Tie vote

A. For Towns of Five-Thousand (5,000) or More Population Under the Last Federal Census

In the event that a vote taken on selection of a party endorsed candidate results in a tie, such tie vote shall be dissolved by the vote of the Chair of the Town Committee, but this provision shall not affect his or her right to cast any vote as a member of the Town Committee in the first place.


The wording of that seems pretty clear. The problem arises though in where that clause is found in the State Central Party Rules. The only spot I could find that wording was in the section entitled:

ARTICLE VIII:
RULES GOVERNING THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY IN TOWNS NOT HAVING LOCAL PARTY RULES


Read that heading again, "in towns NOT having local party rules". The problem is that Hartford does have local party rules, so the tie-breaking clause would seem to not apply. There were plenty of lawyers in that room last night, but if that is what they were relying on for the win, I'm not sure it applies.

As of this afternoon, Sean Arena has apparently filed a dispute with the Connecticut Democratic State Central Committee and according to their party rules it will be handles as follows:

Article V:
FINAL COMMITTEE TO RESOLVE ENDORSEMENT DISPUTE

A. Any dispute concerning endorsements for any office, or for delegate or for town committee
member or officer, and any dispute concerning the interpretation and effect of party rules and procedures must first be referred to the State Central Committee members in the applicable district for local resolution. In order to expedite any such disputes, State Central members may seek legal opinions from Counsel for State Central. If the parties involved cannot bring about a resolution to their differences within seven business days, then the issue may be referred to the State Party Chairman in writing asking that the issue be resolved through a Dispute Resolution Committee. If the dispute is brought before a Dispute Resolution Committee, the issuing of a previous legal opinion by State Central Counsel concerning the dispute shall not prohibit said Counsel from advising the Dispute Resolution Committee.

B. A Dispute Resolution Committee shall be composed of no less than three (3) nor more than five (5) members of the State Central Committee, appointed by the chairperson thereof, none of whom shall be represent the district or districts concerned. The decision of the committee shall be conclusive and binding upon all parties.

C. The committee shall be appointed no later than five (5) business days after the Democratic Party Chair receives a written request for the resolution of a dispute pursuant to this article. The committee shall set a time and place for a hearing of said dispute within five (5) business days of its appointment. The parties to the dispute shall receive notice at least seven (7) business days prior to the hearing unless exigent circumstances warrant less notice. The Committee shall issue its decision within three (3) days of the close of the hearing, and a written copy of such decision shall be filed with the State Central Committee, and provided to each party to the dispute. However, when exigent circumstances arise, the State Chairman shall have the authority to modify these requirements.

I guess we will have to see where this ends up.

Only in Hartford.

TO READ THE ENTIRE CONNECTICUT DEMOCRATS PARTY RULES, CLICK HERE

THE T-SHIRTS ARE IN


A limited quantity of the "Wanted" t-shirts are in, if you are interested in one, e-mail me or call me.

They are available in large and x-large, white with black lettering

Thursday, March 11, 2010

DEMOCRATIC TOWN COMMITTEE RESULTS ; HOLLOWAY IS IN, ARENA IS OUT

In a major blow to Mayor Eddie Perez's power, the democratic Town Committee election results are in and Sean Arena is out.

Up until the last few days, most observers considered it a tight race between current Town Chairperson Sean Arena and challenger Bruce Rubenstein. In the final hours, 5th District Town Committee person Jean Holloway threw her name into the race for consideration.

It would be easy to rehash the pro's and con's of the candidates, but it is late and it has been a long day. Suffice it to say that there were a lot of opposing viewpoints and not everyone left the function room at City Hall happy.

It might be a long stretch to ask this of the Hartford political personalities, but if you really care about Hartford, please show it. As the tide of power continues to turn, it can no longer be Eddie's fault. Eddie's days are numbered and his power continues to erode more each day.

The blame will soon be directed towards those of us that have been handed a huge opportunity for change if we choose not to do with it what the people of Hartford expect. This was not a battle that was waged over the last couple days in preparation for tonight's vote.

This has been an effort that began years ago as people began to realize that the city we care about was veering off in the wrong direction. A direction that wasn't about what was best for Hartford and its residents, but rather a direction that favored a select few.

We were going down a path where corruption and cronyism and payoffs were the first order of business, and the needs of the residents came second.

Jean Holloway and her new Executive Committee have been chosen and have been handed a huge opportunity. What they choose to do with it will be determined by history and can go either way. As a city on the brink, we can choose more business as usual and continue down the Perez path.

Knowing Jean and her passion for Hartford and its people, I expect to see a move for unity. Unity by those on the Town Committee that truly want to be part of Hartford's solution without any self serving interests. Unity by those in the neighborhoods that will be hopefully called to action to become part of the process for change. Unity by those that are willing to be mentored and nurtured to become Hartford's leaders of the future.

The choice is ours and hopefully we will step forward, forget the ego's, forget the personalities and work together to accomplish the difficult tasks in front of us as a city and as a unified team.

I saw enough nastiness in that Function Room tonight to last a lifetime. It's time for change, will we step up to the challenge?