I just finished reading the latest post on Courant.com's Cityline. I think it has to be a joke by Councilman Ken Kennedy. It has to be a joke because no one could possibly take his comments seriously.
Check out the posting here
Kennedy's allegiances to the Abe Giles family are no secret.The Democratic Registrar,Olga Iris Vazquez is the daughter in-law of the late Abe Giles
Kennedy is definitely out of touch if he can honestly say".“She’s the one who does the most work,” Kennedy said.
The fact of the matter is that Vazquez has cot the City tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees for poor decision making and violations of State law that landed the City of Hartford in Court on several occasions. She has also proven herself to be one of the most incompetent Department heads in Hartford City Hall, and that is saying a lot when you consider the operations of City Hall. The Registars Office has shown itself to be unable to operate within its allotted budget and has had to go back to the Council for additional appropriations to cover their overspending.
Kennedy's attempt to protect the last bastion of Democratic patronage in City Hall I guess should be expected, but as an attorney he should think this out a little more. The Republican Registrar position is required by State statute and the Working Family Registrar obtained her position through a loophole in State law. None the lesss, they are both legally filled and to attempt to protect one party at the detriment of others is discriminatory and would surely put the City in a courtroom defending Kennedy's actions.
In addition, I think Councilman Kennedy might want to reconsider his quote"“She’s the one who does the most work,”. I think if Mr. Kennedy actually looked at the number of new registered voters, he would find that the Working Families Registrar Urania Petit is leading the pack when it comes to outreach and registration. Petit routinely runs training classes for immigrants attempting to become US Citizens and getting them to be able to register as voters.
Kennedy's recommendations are poorly thought out and probably not even legal. The registrars Office has been a financial black hole when it comes to the City budget and needs some revamping, especially the salaries paid for the three deputy registrars, not to mention the salaries for "consultants" that are doled out every year at primary time and election time.
Make the cuts that truly will benefit the taxpayers and not those that will get us sued in Court
-



