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Friday, August 1, 2014

TIME FOR WOODEN TO LOOK IN THE MIRROR

 
 
 
Hartford City Council President Shawn Wooden, who is locked in a battle for the 2nd Senatorial Democratic nomination, today filed a State Elections Enforcement Complaint against his opponent, Senator Eric Coleman.

Wooden's complaint alleges that Coleman did not properly itemize his income on his filings.

Apparently Wooden's concerns only apply to his opponent , and not himself.

According to staff at the Connecticut Elections Enforcement Office, as outlined in CT General Statutes 9-608, all expenses and secondary expenses must be itemized on the filings. This would include payments to "field workers" and items such as office supplies, printer ink, and clipboards.

Connecticut General Statutes 9-608- (B) an itemized accounting of each expenditure, if any, including the full name and complete address of each payee, including secondary payees whenever the primary or principal payee is known to include charges which the primary payee has already paid or will pay directly to another person, vendor or entity, the amount and the purpose of the expenditure, the candidate supported or opposed by the expenditure, whether the expenditure is made independently of the candidate supported or is an in-kind contribution to the candidate, and a statement of the balance on hand or deficit, as the case may be; (C) an itemized accounting of each expense incurred but not paid, provided if the expense is incurred by use of a credit card, the accounting shall include secondary payees, and the amount owed to each such payee;

Although SEEC staff would not address specific campaigns or their actions, they did answer questions as to how things were supposed to be filed, and it would appear Wooden's campaign is not in compliance.

Wooden was quoted in todays article, and in his complaint apparently,  as saying that "This (Coleman's reporting) violates the transparency and integrity of the CEP system and gives him an unfair political advantage," Wooden wrote in the complaint. "It also violates the public trust. The public has a right to know how he is spending his publicly-financed campaign money and where the $83,550 grant he received from the public to run his campaign went.". Councilman, transparency is a two way street, whatever applies to Coleman applies to you as well

In the attached Wooden filing, you can see numerous payments to "the Vinci Group" many with notations for field staff. .Apparently the Legislature's intent with the reporting requirements for the Citizen's Election Program was to strive for transparency in the reporting and use of taxpayers funds. Anyone should be able to look at the forms or go on-line and see who is being paid to work on a campaign, not just see a blanket payment to the Vinci Group.

Are there any lobbyists, City Vendors, politicians or others making money off Wooden's or anyone elses campaigns? That's called transparency and if Wooden wants Coleman to be transparent he needs to hold himself to the same standard

SEEC also said that in addition to the specific statue, they spelled out the need to itemize in two other places in the manuals given to campaign treasurers, on pages 91 and 104 of the detailed handbook because they felt the transparency issue was important.

I guess the facts don't matter as much as the headlines obtained from frivolous complaints being filed.

And yes, I do support Coleman for re-election, just to be transparent about that

Wooden's campaign Treasurer is his former Executive Assistant at City Hall, Jim Sargent

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

THE RED FLAGS WERE IGNORED

It might be easier to make sense of this post if you read this archived post first  http://wethepeoplehartford.blogspot.com/2012/10/hartfords-finest.html

After reading that , most people seem to wonder why Luis Feliciano was offered a position as a Hartford Police Officer. Granted, the murder charges were not prosecuted for whatever reason, but the testimony by Springfield officers regarding gang affiliations and the "drug trafficking" evidence found after the search warrant of Feliciano's apartment  should have drawn his character to be a police officer into question

The fact that the homicide charges were not prosecuted I guess legally gave Feliciano the right to say he had never been arrested or convicted of a crime, But Hartford Police applicants are rejected for far less than being charged with murder.

Unfortunately for HPD, the Civil Service Commission report in Feliciano vs. the Springfield Police was released after Feliciano was hired by Hartford. The hearing officers report and comments were telling statements into Feliciano's character. Commissioner Christopher Bowman found that Feliciano's testimony was less than credible and stated that it didn't carry any weight in his decision because he didn't consider Feliciano truthful.

Now lets move ahead to recent history. Yesterday, 7/29/2014 Hartford Police Officer Luis Feliciano was suspended as a police officer and his badge and gun were taken away. All the pieces of the puzzle are still coming together but according to several  police sources, somehow Feliciano was ensnared in an FBI investigation being conducted at the Hartford Walmart. The scope of that investigation is unknown , but at least one source confirmed that the FBI is not currently investigating Feliciano, they just uncovered the original wrongdoing

Feliciano's alleged activity was apparently uncovered by the FBI during the course of their investigation, including video evidence, which was then turned over to HPD and their Internal Affairs Division. Again, according to police sources, Feliciano's activity apparently involved theft of Walmart merchandise while he was working private duty jobs at Walmart.

The value or specifics of the merchandise were not available at this time as the HPD Internal investigation continues.

One source speaking on the condition of anonymity stated that the evidence is solid and will most likely result in criminal charges being filed eventually against Feliciano

Monday, July 28, 2014

TOMORROW ON THE BLOG

Check back tomorrow to read about the latest HPD officer in hot water and most likely facing criminal charges as the result of an investigation initially launched by the FBI. The officer in question was walked out of police headquarters earlier today after being placed on suspension and relieved of his badge and gun

Thursday, July 17, 2014

WHEN IS RACISM TOLERABLE

 
"No, the other Rob Ford"
 
To anyone reading this blog, I hope the answer is never. Racsim in today's society should never be tolerable. Whether you are a young child or a Deputy Police Chief in Hartford, there is no place for racism.

It is a two way street and equality should apply to everyone, it is not just a matter of certain minority groups claiming to be victims of racism, but everyone should be able to be free of racist jokes and comments and words that make them feel uncomfortable

Wheter it is the use of the "n" word or making the offhanded ethic joke against Polish or Italian or Irish people, it is all racism and causes both hurt and harm.

Allegations have been made against Deputy Chief Rob Ford of the Hartford Police Department that recently in a meeting with a group of his subordinates, he made disparaging remarks  against an Italian officer and his Italian heritage, according to sources in attendance that "I don't give a F**K about your Italian Family"

 The complaint has now risen to the level of an Internal Affairs Investigation to get to the truth of the matter. Chief Rovella today called for the acting Commander of Internal Affairs to launch an official investigation based on an internal complaint, called an I-file.

Ford apparently knew his actions were wrong and a few days after the comments were made he went to the officer and tried to smooth things over  asking the officer "did my comments offend you?" to which the officer answered "Yes".

Much more to come on this I am sure

I TAKE IT BACK, MAYBE WOODEN DIDN'T FIND A BACKBONE

I usually think that if you are going to be making accusations against someone, be a man and own up to it. Anyone can find some stooge to carry their water for them, and today Council President Shawn Wooden did just that.

Although he sent out press releases apparently attempting to show how upset he was with his Senate race opponent, he apparently wasn't upset enough to sign his name to an SEEC elections complaint.

The complaint below was apparently filed today by Councilwoman Cynthia Jennings and Hartford Democratic party operative John Gale.

As the complaint states , much of the evidence is subjective. I have to agree with that. There are no clear cut facts as to whether Coleman's mailing was improper or not. Is Coleman's objection to the stadium deal as candidate Coleman or was he representing his constituents as Senator Coleman. Since every news report I saw identified him as Senator Coleman, I think that it would be hard to prove  anything he said was as a candidate and had no bearing on his position as a Senator.

 The law does seem to be somewhat ambiguous and actually addressed in two different titles of the Connecticut General statutes

Like I said in the previous posting, lets get to the facts and knock off the nonsense. It is beneath the dignity we expect of the Senate.

IS THIS GOING TO BE A DAILY THING...WOODEN GETS A VOICE

 
 
Hartford Council President and State Senate Candidate  Shawn Wooden has issued another press statement regarding his opponent today.

Statement from Shawn Wooden on SEEC Complaint Against Senator Eric Coleman

"After 31 years in office, Senator Coleman should know better. Elected officials should be protecting taxpayer money and following the rules, not wasting it and gaming the system. Using taxpayer funded mailings and state resources for a political campaign is just plain wrong. It's another example of why we need change in the State Senate." 

I guess he is trying to tell us he has filed an SEEC (State Elections Enforcement Commission) complaint against Senator Coleman.

Finally, Wooden's backbone must have arrived via UPS . It is good to see him fighting for a cause, I didn't think he was capable of that after observing his lackluster performance the last few years on the Hartford City Council.

I am glad he has chosen to go after  Coleman's campaign. He never complained about the caviar and New Year's soiree when they were made aware of it. He never complained about the money wasted on the consultants who brought us a Police Chief Candidate accused of DUI, when the perfect candidate was already here. He never complained about the abuses of power in the Mayor's Office and the COO wrecking a City vehicle and allowing someone to drive the vehicle that had no authority to be behind the wheel.

Where were the hearings on issues that he had every opportunity to call for? I guess he wasn't in a tough campaign then and facts didn't matter

I don't recall much of an uproar when Grand theft Auto Kupiec absconded with a City Vehicle and he was ready to stand behind the Mayor grinning like the Cheshire Cat to announce a Baseball stadium that he had no details of.

Yes it is good to see that Wooden may actually have a backbone after all. The only problem is that when you choose to stand up for a cause, it is probably a good thing to do a little research and make sure you are correct in your stand.

The fact of the matter is that the campaign piece in question sent by Coleman, under current State law, is perfectly legal.

Sec. 2-15a. Annual informational mailing by General Assembly members. (a) Each member of the General Assembly shall be entitled to send an annual mailing to each household in such member’s district, for informational purposes. The mailing shall be conducted under the supervision of the Joint Committee on Legislative Management and in accordance with rules adopted by the committee.
(b) In even-numbered years, no such mailing may be sent after July fifteenth. A member shall be deemed in compliance with this subsection if the member delivers the mailing to the offices of the Joint Committee on Legislative Management no later than said July fifteenth. 
 
Coleman clearly had to have had the piece in Legislative Management well before the 15th as require by State Statute to be arriving in his constituents homes on the 15th, so as you can read above , he followed the law.

Do I agree with the procedure, no. But as long as the letter of the law is followed, it is legal and a low blow to sling mud over a statute that any decent lawyer ought to be able to interpret .

This type of campaign is far beneath the integrity of the Connecticut Senate. lets get to the facts.

Mr. Wooden what are your plans if elected?

 I am surprised you are seeking the support of the Hartford Police Union after  you have decimated the ranks of the Hartford Police Department and under your "leadership" we have seen the ranks of HPD drop to dangerous levels that that promise to drop even further before your term on the Council expires. The Mounted Patrol now is basically non-existent due to your cuts, no new Police vehicles will be purchased this fiscal year because of your cuts, and Police Academy class after Police Academy class  has been cut under your "leadership".

Yet you were fully prepared to give away $60million taxpayer dollars with no questions asked

Now lets stop the nonsense and get to the facts, The residents of Hartford , Windsor and Bloomfield deserve that