Search This Blog

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

WHAT IS THE SOLUTION

Many parts of Hartford's "crime puzzle" seem to have been put in place over the last 12 months. The implementation of the Shooting Task Force, the permanent appointment of Chief Rovella and even the "faith based" forum held recently by the Hartford City Council are all important pieces.

Hartford's violence, similar to many large cities, is not something we can "Police"our way out of. I think Chief Rovella and others would probably readily admit that the problem is far greater.

Last night I stopped by the crime scene of our latest homicide on Sterling Street. Some of the details are horrendous, especially related to the victim, as if his death wasn't bad enough. The yellow crime scene tape roped across the section of Sterling Street marked the area where the shooting occurred.

The area was still full of police vehicles and police officers on the scene. Shell casings were waiting to be picked up and tagged. Detectives were scanning the street with flashlights  looking for additional evidence and a clump of someones hair that had been torn out during an apparent altercation was eventually placed in an evidence bag.

The victim was actually gunned down and died in the street in front of his 4 year old daughter. The saddest part was that the girl watched her father die as an apparently innocent victim of Hartford's violence. He was not the intended victim, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. From what I was told by witnesses, the shooter opened fire on the crowded street, a street occupied by families and many children out on a warm summer night.

Chief Rovella often talks about the moral compass of these shooters who make the decision to settle arguments at the barrel of a gun. I am not sure this suspects moral compass is capable of being adjusted if she was so cold blooded that she would fire into a crowd and kill an innocent father..

The other sad observation was that our communities almost seem to be immune  to the violence. People would approach the crime scene tape carrying their groceries or other items and be escorted to their front doors by a police officer. Only one person that passed me while I was there actually asked me what happened, and even when I explained it. it almost seemed like they were used to it,

The issue of the moral compass is a huge factor to be addressed. I had a conversation earlier with Congressman Murphy as he was talking to voters at Rawson School. We began talking about Chief Rovella and his plans and I mentioned to Murphy my conversations with the Chief about his plans to buils the PAL program. Murphy to his credit was well aware of the success of the Waterbury PAL program which I wrote about here a couple weeks ago.

Murphy mentioned how less violent Waterbury was and he talked about the officer's in Waterbury and how they were involved with Waterbury youth at a much younger age , during the critical years when their "moral compasses" are still capable of being adjusted and influenced by positive role models.

State Representative Doug McCrory from the 7th District, myself and Chief Rovella met recently to discuss the needs of the PAL program and its future and building some solid partnership with other groups. Since much of this violence clearly impacts McCrory's district, he has a vested interest in being part of the solution. McCrory has a timeline he hopes to stick to for his bridge building and realizes time is of the essence.

Congressman Murphy, potentially Senator Murphy, can also play a role since the solution to expand the program will not be without costs. Costs that the Police Department budget may not easily absorb. But I guess the big question is what is the cost of each homicide. We know after last night there is a 4 year old girl who will now grow up without the influence of her father in her life. No father to provide for her and keep her "moral compass" adjusted as she grows.

I haven't written much about the "faith based forum" but that is another big part of the puzzle. The church community potentially has a large impact on our young people. The conversations have begun, some solutions have been put on the table, and now they need to be enacted. The schools also need to do their part.

It is not enough to warehouse kids every day focusing on increasing their test scores. There is far more that needs to be done, after school mentoring programs , cooperation with the PAL program and assisting in providing resources to get the job done, including facilities necessary to make it happen.

If people in Hartford are serious about protecting and developing our children, hopefully they will get on board before another 4 year old has to watch her father gunned down

A BAD DAY FOR THE CRIMINALS


The above flyer is from Robles's 2010 campaign when he misled voters by telling the voters that the allegations against him were purely administrative. That was apparently a lie as Robles was eventually arrested after a probe by the Chief State's Attorney's Office


Voters in Hartford and across Connecticut spoke at the voting booths yesterday and it would seem that the message may have been that criminal behavior by our elected officials is  not acceptable. Specifically for Hartford a message was sent on two fronts. Hector Robles the current State Representative in the 6th District was rebuked by Hartford's voters. Robles is currently headed to trial after his arrest and subsequent termination as a Hartford Police Officer.

Although Robles misled his constituents throughout the campaign by claiming that the charges were going to be dropped and he was going to get his police job back, voters apparently saw through that and realized he was lying to them. Despite numerous Court dates, the charges have not been dismissed and Robles is headed for pre-trial activity and potentially jury selection for his trial on October 9, 2012.

 The second Hartford race was for Democratic Registrar of Voters. Hartford political operative Ramon Arroyo was able to obtain the endorsement of the Hartford Democratic Town Committee by calling in his political favors and leveraging positions of employment in the Registrars Office to garner the votes needed to get the endorsement. All of this in despite of Arroyo's previous arrest for soliciting prostitutes while he was a City employee.

One City Hall insider told me Monday that no one cared about the arrest because it was over twenty years ago. Apparently voters may have thought differently. Arroyo was supported by Mayor Segarra, New Haven Mayor John DeStefano 7th District State Representative Doug McCrory and former State Representative Ken Green.

Arroyo appeared on the top row of the ballot with Senate candidate Chris Murphy and the general consensus was that would have allowed Arroyo to ride Murphy's coat tails, but the voters had other ideas and instead chose the current Registrar Olga Vazquez to remain in office.

In the 5th Congressional District the voters chose not to endorse House Speaker Christopher Donovan . Although Donovan has not been charged  in the scandal that has encompassed his campaign, that might change at anytime as the investigation has proceeds.

And finally another vote that exposed the worst of Town Committee politics and the best of voters doing the right thing, Ernie New ton of Bridgeport was sent packing by the voters. Newton was arrested convicted and served jail time for using the senate position he was trying to reclaim to solicit bribes for his own gain His endorsement by the Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee surprised many , but then again that's politics, it isn't about finding the best candidates.

And finally, now that the Hartford City Council has approved "Abe Giles Way" can I suggest that we name the street in front of the new Public Safety Complex "Hector Robles Way" so that we can memorialize his criminal activity also....allegedly. He actually did do some good things for the City before he scammed us....allegedly.

Monday, August 13, 2012

JUST A THOUGHT

It amazes me how the Mayor's Office can take months to get a Police Chief selection approved and yet they can get a press release out within minutes condemning Mitt Romney's choice for Vice President.

I think they might need to reassess their priorities. What effects Hartford more, the selection of our next Police Chief  or Romney's running mate. I only wish they would have moved as quick in the Police Chief selection as they did for a partisan press release.

The press release might actually be a violation of Hartford's ethics rules if you read the release it is not just informational, it clearly is supportive of the Obama campaign, and that is improper using City resources and City staff for personal political gain by the Mayor.

As a City, we had better hope that Romney doesn't win , otherwise these words might come back to haunt us when we go looking for Federal dollars. They may want to hit the spell check button also, I left the headline just as it was sent.

Here is the text of the release:
JOINT-STATEMENT BY CONNECTICUT’S BIG CITY MAYORS
ON MITT ROMNEY’S SELCTION OF PAUL RYAN
FOR REPUBLICAN TICKET
--- NEWS AND COMMUNITY STATEMENT---
(August 11, 2012) --- Mayors Pedro Segarra, John DeStefano and Bill Finch released the following statement after the announcement that Mitt Romney has selected Wisconsin Representative Paul Ryan as his running mate.
“Today’s announcement should strike fear into the middle class and everyone who fights daily to make ends meet. Ryan’s budget proposal would kill cities like Bridgeport, Hartford and New Haven. It is already difficult enough for Mayors; every day is a battle to invest in the right job-creating initiatives, make whole on our promise of a high-quality education for every student and maintain a high quality of life. Ryan – and clearly Mitt Romney – thinks that slashing critical funding for social services, dismantling Medicare and tax cuts for the very wealthy is the best solution for America.
We do not support Romney's decision, nor do we support Ryan's "Path to Prosperity" plan. As Mayors of Connecticut’s largest cities, we encourage every resident in our respective cities to look at the facts, especially Representative Ryan's voting record in Congress, to see what kind of future he has in mind. November’s election will not only impact our collective future, but also our immediate quality of life and the bottom line of middle class Americans. We’ve already had to endure the disastrous Bush/Cheney years. At no point in recent history has it been more important that we learn from our past mistakes.
President Obama and Vice President Biden have a clear vision for America: one that is built on fairness, equity, rewarding hard-work and increased opportunity. From saving the American car industry, to making health care more accessible and affordable, to raising educational standards – like we’ve done in Hartford and New Haven and are doing in Bridgeport – it is clear that we already have a team in the White House that is best equipped to tackle our biggest problems.”

Thursday, August 9, 2012

THE FOX IN THE HENHOUSE

I have to ask myself if anyone at City Hall has any previous management experience the more I read and hear about City Hall operations.

As the LSNI ( Mayor Segarra's Livable Sustainable Neighborhood Initiative) has imploded before us over the last couple weeks it seems clear that something is wrong and no one was paying attention.
Segarra needs to be at the top of the "list of blame" because after all he was elected as our "strong Mayor". Next on the list needs to be Perez holdover COO David Panagore.

According to an article in the Courant " Jonas Maciunas, who had supervised the neighborhoods initiative, was reassigned to the development services' Complete Street Program, which oversees streetscape projects, a city official said. Panagore has taken over as head of the neighborhoods initiative."

Can anyone tell me what management style that is that you transfer the person who was responsible for screwing up the project to another critical department. If you don't have the skills, you don't have the skills, bottom line. That is what unemployment is for, you get rid of the people who can't or haven't performed the functions they have been paid very well to perform.And the person who was responsible or the program in the first place, remember the four assistants to Panagore who were assighed to the program, and now Panagore has taken over as head of the program.

What is that definition of insanity, I think it is to do the same thing repeatedly and expect a different result. What will Panagore do differently now, actually pay attention to the program?

Add to that a little claim of fraudulent paperwork submitted and this should be a full scale investigation, most likely leading to criminal charges if necessary. Bottom line is this all rests at Segarra's feet. This was a pet project of Segarra and it fell apart right in front of him. Name any corporation where the CEO would tolerate one of his prime initiatives  being allowed to fall apart by mismanagement. I can promise the only moves would be out the door, and definitely not to another department, especially if the CEO was embarrassed in the media like Segarra has been.

Panagore's explanation to WFSB last night regarding another blighted property was laughable. Instaed of saying the Mayor has taken a strong lead on blight across the City and we will have a crew out there first thing tomorrow morning, he essentially stated "there is nothing we can do" . Does he really think the property owner would fight the City because they cut the weeds on a blighted property. View Channel 3's story here

Another source inside Hartford DPW claims that they have only cleaned 13 propertied total and submitted the paperwork weekly to one of the Assistant COO's, Natalie Pertoso. The Courant's report seems to verify that claim as they have documents apparently for 13 properties that were cleaned. Where did the 26 other cleaned properties com from? Apparently not Public Works. So who falsified the numbers and who was responsible for putting apparently false information out?

Changes need to begin immediately and Segarra needs to step up and perform the role we elected him to perform, strong Mayor. He plays the "Goodwill Ambassador" role very well, as evidenced by his National Night Out performance. He interacts with residents very well, but he needs to step up and make sure the City government operates efficiently. Transferring dead wood around or overlooking incompetence is not efficiency. We deserve more than half a Mayor

 And it doesn't work well when  the person that is supposed to over see city operations, the Mayor's handpicked Chief Operating Officer is at the top of the list of incompetence.LSNI employess all apparently answered to him

ANOTHER DEADLINE MISSED

When the public hearing was scheduled for the July 30, 2012 Council meeting, it was said that the full Council would vote on the appointment of James Rovella as Police Chief at their August 13, 2012 meeting. The Council agenda is out for Monday's meeting and there is no vote scheduled for Rovella's appointment.

Council Ptresident Shawn Wooden told me they have nothing to vote on since Mayor Segarra and his staff have not reached a contract agreement with Rovella yet. Wooden , who will be on vacation next week, had also told me he would have called for a special meeting on Friday for the approval if an agreement was reached in time.

That apparently has not happened. Once again it raises the question of how this Administration operates. Other than the Superintendent of Schools the selection and appointment of a Police Chief is probably the most important appointment by this Mayor. And he has botched this one big time.
Not by the person appointed but by his total lack of strategy and effectiveness  getting"his ducks in a row" before he moved forward. Who advises this guy?

The sad part is that much of this process has now come down to bruised egos and feelings of disrespect. Wouldn't it have made sense for the Mayor to call the Council President in before announcing Rovella's appointment and make him part  of the process and ask for his opinion. That apparently never happened from what I am told.

Segarra came into the Mayor's Office after an extended period of disrespect as City Council President under felon Eddie Perez, you would think that would have resulted in a new era of respect towards the Council since Segarra had essentially "been there, done that"  and would realize the importance of a good working relationship between the Office of the Mayor and the Council. Not in Hartford.

In the meantime, everyday that goes by, HPD is like a ship without a rudder with no clear cut leader as l0ong as the title"acting Chief" is in front of Rovella's name The Mayor needs to get all parties in the same room and not leave until the deal is done so Council President Wooden can call a special meeting and  finalize this vote once and for all.

This is a total lack of respect to Chief Rovella and the men and women of the Hartford Police Department who deserve some solid leadership. Leadership that Rovella as the "permanent" Chief will provide


The City Charter gives the Council 60 days from July 30, 2012 to take action on the appointment of Chief Rovella.

Tuesday, August 7, 2012

CHIEF ROVELLA BUSTS A MOVE

The video below is raw video from the National Night Out events held tonight at the Asylum Hill Boys and Girls Club and Upper Albany. Watch the video at about 3:56 as Police Chief Rovella attempts to danec a samba with Mayor Segarraand Fire Chief Casares