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Tuesday, January 6, 2015

TEAM SEGARRA: BUYING AN ELECTION ON A DEFICIT

 
 
It's called politics. It's the power of incumbency, and if you don't have much of a track record, you need to create one.

It explains much of the work that started for the Segarra Administration over eighteen months ago. Segarra didn't have much to hang his hat on and I think he knew he needed something substantial to hang his hat on. Hell, the last major economic development project for the City of Hartford was the Walmart Plaza under Mayor Mike.  After almost 6 years in Office, Segarra's lackluster performance wasn't going to cut it and his successes were few and far between. The scandals were beginning to outnumber anything positive coming out of his media office.

Apparently somewhere along the line, someone cooked up the idea of stealing a minor league baseball franchise from New Britain. What's the saying, "the best laid plans of mice and men". I guess the mice won out on this one, and it looks like that is where the brain power planning it came from. The planning was poor and the result showed it. Many residents didn't buy into the Rockcats plan. There was strong opposition that has made what should have been the Segarra legacy and a key to his re-election an anchor that threatens to dislodge  his election hopes.

The result of the plan appears to be a huge mistrust of Segarra felt by many as well as serious questions related to his leadership, vision and planning skills. The legality of many of the meetings called to approve the project have been challenged in court and are being forced to be rescheduled in accordance with the law. Those meetings are now being held with different outcomes and explanations as to the scope of the project. As an example the retail is apparently out with the exception of the Rock Cats apparel store and a CafĂ© has reportedly been replaced by foodcarts

All things work out for the best.

But for anyone watching this election, it should be clear that every vote matters and Pedro Segarra is more than willing to buy every vote he can at the taxpayers expense.

There is a new word in the vocabulary of City of Hartford workers. It is "Mayor's Day". No, not a day to honor any great work by the Mayor, but rather their latest series of floating holidays that have materialized in time for the next election. Just in time for Segarra's re-election announcement, all City employees were given at least two "Mayor's Days". Most employees apparently used their "Mayor's Day's" to take off the Friday's after Christmas and New years as a paid day off for a long Holiday Weekend . Rather than let City Employees use a vacation day or a day off that they already have banked, Segarra has now granted an additional 2 day off benefit to certain City Employees. (Actually 3 days since he also sent them all home early on Christmas Eve and New Years Eve)

I doubt it will end there though, can the Police and Firefighters and probably dispatchers also be far behind in demanding their equal benefits from the City? I would imagine they would prevail since what is good for one is good for all. Maybe instead of Mayor's Days we should be calling them their Musketeers' benefit. And what about the Board of Ed? They were already on vacation for the holiday but many of them vote , shouldn't we allow Segarra to firm up their votes also with a couple thousand "Mayor's Days"? He'd be a shoe in at that point.

Where does the Mayor draw the authority to grant such unnegotiated benefits? What's the final cost and how does a City that is broke justify throwing money around like this. Especially since there are very few City employees complaining about their benefits packages. And lets be realistic, the Mayors office is won by a few thousand votes. If you start off by gaining a couple thousand votes on your side by "gifting" a few hundred dollars in "Mayor's Day" gift card coupons, that base comes in handy.

I got an interesting call from a City Hall insider this morning. (Maribel, don't bothering scouring the phone records to identify the source, it wasn't a City phone) The source said that as of this morning, the Police Academy class that has been stalled for months is now back on the front burner again and being rushed in for hopefully sometime in February. The reason being that Segarra and his staff have suddenly realized the timeline necessary to get a Police Class graduating in time for election season photo opportunities. And what politician doesn't realize the benefit of claiming they are putting more cops on the streets, whether it is true or not

We should probably plan on a lot more of this happening as Segarra tries to use the taxpayers who don't appear too supportive of his reelection to fund his campaign anyway. The crowd didn't look too large yesterday for his announcement at City Hall. I would have expected much more from an incumbent Mayor.


 

WHERE IS THE RESIGNATION?

I guess if history teaches us anything, rules just don't apply to anyone interested in occupying the Mayor's Office in Hartford. Anything goes and rules mean nothing. Perez, Segarra and now possibly Cruz

We will see if rules matter to the latest wannabee to jump into the Mayor's ring. Hartford Councilman Joel Cruz has apparently made his intention known that he is running for Mayor of Hartford. Why I am not sure, I am not sure what his qualifications are to manage a half a billion dollar budget or even what he has really done during his un-elected time on the Council, or even what his management skills are. Cruz was never elected but was appointed to fill the remaining term of former Councilman Cotto, who didn't complete his elected term. For Cruz though, this is America though, and everyone has the right to run.

A couple of things  might need to be addressed though. First off would be that pesky State statute that affects minority party representation. That is why the entire Hartford City  Council isn't made up of Democrat's. The Council can only be made up of a maximum of 2/3rds of the Majority Party and since there is essentially no Republican Party left in Hartford, the minority role has fallen to the Working Families Party.

Councilman Cruz currently serves as a Working Families Party member Councilman and is the Council's Minority leader. Cruz has announced his intention to switch his party affiliation  to Democrat to ensure him a shot at the Mayor's Office. That starts the problem. By making these announcements the clock starts ticking on numerous election law deadlines.

Cruz would most likely not be able to change his affiliation to Democrat and stay as a minority member of the Hartford City Council serving under WFP. That would pose a potential un-balance of the minority representation law  under Connecticut State Law.

It is going to be an interesting election season as the posturing begins, but the laws do matter and should be properly enforced

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

ENOUGH ALREADY, WHY CHIEF HUERTAS NEEDS TO RESIGN

 
I originally had high hopes for Hartford Fire Chief Carlos Huertas when he took over the helm of the Hartford Fire Department. His predecessor was a politician, not a Chief and played the game under a corrupt Mayor. The same issue that pushed Ed Casares out of office also ushered Carlos Huertas in as Chief.

According to several sources, the demise of Casares as Chief occurred the day he was called in to the office of acting COO Saundra Kee- Borges as Casares was getting ready to make Fire Department promotions. Saundra Kee-Borges was trying to secure a promotion for her boyfriend Terry Waller. Apparently the puppetmaster Kee-Borges asked Casares directly "you are going to make Terry a Deputy Chief, right?" Casares apparently gave her a blunt answer, "NO." That did not go over well and Casares announced his retirement shortly there after.

Luckily for Kee-Borges there was someone waiting in the wings willing to sell his soul to the devil to get those all important Chief's bugles for his collar. That person was Carlos Huertas, a veteran of the Hartford Fire Department. Huertas has not been shy about telling people about the deal he had to cut to get the Chief's job. It was a package deal, According to Huertas, he was told he would have to take Kee-Borges boyfriend Terry Waller as his Assistant Chief if he was to get the permanent Chief's position. Huertas claims the message was the same from Kee-Borges and Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra, the job was his if he took Waller.

Huertas wanted the job so desperately, he agreed to those terms and appointed Waller as  his "acting" Assistant Chief. The rest is history.


The last year of the Hartford Fire Department , under Huertas, has been a disaster. Numerous arrests of firefighters, on duty and off, and unfortunately the first on duty death in 40 years.

The most troubling part though is that a man I thought was honorable has proven himself to be quite the opposite. I personally have been lied to directly by Huertas on a couple occasions and his less than honest ways extend all the way to the Mayor's Office. As an example, I recently spoke to Huerta at an event and he unveiled his plan to me for a board of inquiry into the death of Firefighter Kevin Bell. Huertas surprised me by telling me he had appointed Deputy Chief Dan Nolan to head the inquiry.

 I think he noticed my surprise and he told me that he chose Nolan because he wanted to get to the truth. He told me that him and Nolan had "buried the hatchet" and it was all about getting to the truth of Bell's death. He even went so far as to tell me that they were having lunch that week to go over the inquiry. Nolan is not always known as a "team player" when it comes to the Administration, but if you want to get to the truth, there is no one better. Not surprisingly, the lunch never happened and later that week Huertas essentially shut down the inquiry , he claims on orders from City Hall.

Another Huertas glaring lie apparently occurred today. After the word of the McLoughlin incident surfaced today, apparently City Hall was caught off guard and somewhat embarrassed at the treatment of McLoughlin. Huertas apparently tried to explain his actions by saying that McLoughlin
refused to accept his phone calls as required on a paid suspension so he switched him to an unpaid suspension. Yet City Hall sources have stated that there is in fact an e-mail from McLoughlin to Huertas offering alternative phone numbers and contact information for use during his suspension.

I would think that at the very least, Segarra deserves honest answers from Huertas when questions are asked How can the Mayor have trust and confidence in any department head that doesn't

There is still a lot of information that has yet to come out regarding the Bell fatal fire , which will probably only further the lack of trust in the HFD administration.

This so called leadership or lack there of has only fostered the lack of accountability at HFD and has attributed to the tone of anything goes. This is a perfect example of what happens when you push politics  into promotions and force people who are less than qualified through the ranks for personal or political gain.

It needs to end and a competent Chief  needs to be found. The lives of our firefighters and our residents deserve it. A Chief needs to be identified and appointed immediately who isn't willing to sell his soul to the devil to get the position. Integrity matters and that needs to be the tone set through the entire Hartford Fire Department if these problems are going to be turned around and brought under control.

That change needs to begin at the top of HFD and the Huertas tenure needs to end immediately.

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

DESPICABLE, TRULY DESPICABLE

Usually I like to get stories out, but a couple weeks ago, I as made aware of a story, and the subject of the story asked not to have the information put out. Normally I go with stories once I am able to confirm them, but in this case I was asked to hold off. Due to the nature of the story, I reluctantly agreed. This will start making sense shortly as I go on.

Apparently, on or about December 10, 2014, Hartford Fire Department Acting Assistant Chief Terry Waller voiced his concerns to Chief Carlos Huertas that he had reason to believe that newly promoted District Chief James McLoughlin may be suicidal. Other sources claim that the accusations may have also initially come form the Hartford Fire Union an "anonymous" sources, no substantiation has been obtained to these claims. According to sources, it is unknown how Waller arrived at that conclusion. There apparently are no other witnesses other than Waller and there was apparently no suicidal behavior or threats by McLoughlin.

It is also important  to note that McLoughlin and Waller both may play a role in the investigation of the October death of Firefighter Kevin Bell and the injury of other HFD members. Waller was, according to sources, the highest ranking Hartford Fire officer at the fatal fire, even though he never took command of the scene. This could play a key role as to who was responsible for critical decision making during the fire and whether those decisions could have played a role in Bell's death Under normal  protocol's and the HFD chain of command, Waller would have been at the top of that chain once her arrived on scene.

That could potentially be to avoid putting responsibility on Waller, but rather shift the responsibility for decision making to Mcloughlin, HFD's most junior Chief, having been recently promoted to the District  Chief position.

Regardless, on the morning of December 10, McLoughlin was called into Fire Headquarters and Waller expressed his concerns.According to sources, Huertas, Waller and Union President Fusco were also in  that meeting No more action was taken and despite Waller's accusations of the suicidal behavior, McLoughlin was allowed to return to his position, commanding approximately 70 firefighters for at least another 10 hours before any action was taken. Apparently no possible concern for the firefighters under McLoughin's command, but there was a need to fill a shift so McLoughlin was sent  back out for the remainder of his shift. You can's make this stuff up.

A the end of the day when his shift was over, McLoughlin was once again called in, and after being allowed to work all day, he was now being told that he was being suspended on paid administrative leave pending a psychiatric  examination by a psychiatrist Saint Francis. Mcloughlin was forced into the exam based upon Waller's accusations.

I guess at that point the City has an obligation to look into the matter for the sake and well being of the City and its employees. No matter what Waller or any one's motivation might be. Right or wrong, once the accusation is made, for liability reasons it has to be dealt with one way or the other.

I am told that McLoughlin, during that time also requested to attend a retreat for Police and Fire Commanders who have had firefighters and police officers under their command die in the line of duty. Chief Huertas and the City of Hartford apparently rejected Mcloughlin's  request to attend. Mcloughlin apparently used his own time and paid his own expenses to attend the retreat.

To add insult to injury, this week McLoughlin didn't receive his regular payroll check, He called the City's payroll department and was told that they had received an e-mail from Chief Huertas changing McLoughlin's pay status from "Paid Administrative Suspension" to an "Unpaid Suspension", essentially meaning that McLoughlin is no longer a paid employee of the City of Hartford and not receiving any pay. This is at the same time that at least five others accused of criminal activity and wrongdoing and currently on paid suspension and  are still being paid by HFD. McLoughlin is not accused of any criminal  behavior nor any verified wrongdoing. Just Terry Waller's alleged fictitious rantings that are probably more about protecting himself and what he didn't do at a fatal fire scene than about anything else.

And just as a point of information Mcloughlin, did submit to the psychiatric  examination at the hospital and was apparently cleared of any potential concerns. Even after the psychiatrist advised Waller of their  findings, Waller still refused to allow McLoughlin to return to work, instead they eliminated his pay without  any due process or hearings. How is this legal?

I am confident SKB as the puppetmaster is pulling the strings behind the scenes to benefit her love interest Acting Assistant Chief and Part Time Psychiatrist Terry Waller. Can a similar exam for Waller be scheduled

There are so many conflicts of interest with this matter that SKB and Waller should be nowhere near this process. As with most things they are involved in, the result will be based on a strategy to benefit them and in the end cost the taxpayers of Hartford big time when settlements come about.

If the truth is, as Huertas himself has told   many people, that he(Chief Huertas) was forced by Segarra and Kee-Borges to take Terry Waller as his Assistantint  order to get the Chiefs job, that sure sounds like extortion and needs to be investigated fully by both the State and the Feds.

In the mean time it is time get Chief McLoughlin, an honorable and reputable man, back to work, Chief Huertas and his shameful leadership is the one  who needs to step aside. Threats of mental illness need to be taken seriously and dealt with swiftly, not used as a tool to remove your detractors

THE SEGARRA INSANITY

It is often said that a generic definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different outcome. Isn't that also the definition of the Segarra Administration. You need to look no further than his puppetmaster, Saundra Kee-Borges to realize why City Hall is a mess, but Segarra allows it to continue.

Now his panel to restructure Hartford Fire has  many wondering how his mind works and where his management style came from.Can you imagine any major corporation who is trying to struggle out of bankruptcy hiring their former CEO who forced them into bankruptcy to now lead them out?

That is essentially what Segarra has done. By inviting back the former Chief's who began the demise of HFD, Segarra is now allowing the decay to continue. A Chief who admitted, under oath, to accepting bribes. A Chief who told firefighters caught up in a drug scandal, resulting in arrests, he knew about addictions, including his own and he had their backs, after they were scooped up in an HPD sting for dealing drugs out of a firehouse on Park St. This is not the leadership HFD needs.

HFD needs a Chief that knows how to run a Fire Department. A Chief that knows right from wrong and is able to enforce it. A Chief that knows how to stand up to political forces that may not have the well being of his Department at heart. A Chief that knows how to say "no" when he needs to. If the Chief can't do that, then he needs to step aside and allow someone to come in that can and will.

Chief  Huertas needs to take a long look in the mirror and ask himself if a potential choice for Assistant Chief is the best possible candidate available. Chief Huertas needs to ask himself if his son was a firefighter, would he feel completely comfortable that he made the best possible choice in the promotion of an Assistant Chief. Would he feel comfortable that he put his son's life in responsible hands ? I know the answer to that because I have already spoken to Chief Huertas , and the answer I received wasn't reassuring. And just so you know, there was another party to the conversation who heard the answers.

I don't think there is a lot of hope for Segarra or the puppetmaster SKB, but that doesn't mean we can't continue to expose what we feel is wrong in our City

KEE-BORGES OUT

 
 
City Hall sources are confirming that Saundra Kee -Borges is out at Hartford City Hall. The conditions are not known or the reason behind her departure , but sources are confiring that SKB is done. It is unclear who the new puppet master pulling Segarra's strings will be.

MAYOR SEGARRA ANNOUNCES DEPARTURE OF CORPORATION COUNSEL SAUNDRA KEE BORGES
Deputy Henri Alexandre to Become Acting Corporation Counsel

--- NEWS AND COMMUNITY STATEMENT---

(December 30, 2014) Today, Mayor Pedro E. Segarra announced that he has accepted the resignation of Saundra Kee Borges effective Friday, January 30, 2015. Kee Borges started her career in city government in the Office of Corporation Counsel after graduating UConn law. She served as deputy corporation counsel and later as the city manager under Mayor Mike Peters. She left in 2002 to open her own law firm, but returned in 2010 to serve as Corporation Counsel.

“Sandy’s commitment to the City of Hartford spans many years,” said Mayor Segarra, “She has been a valued member of my team and I wish her well in whatever she chooses next.”

“I want to personally thank the Mayor for having confidence in me and for giving me the opportunity to serve the people of Hartford,” added Kee Borges. “I’m pursuing several opportunities but first look forward to spending some much needed time with my family.”

Mayor Segarra is appointing Deputy Corporation Counsel Henri Alexandre to serve as Acting Corporation Counsel. Alexandre is a former legal director at the State Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, and served as an assistant attorney general for over 15 years. By appointing Alexandre who has over 20 years of legal experience within a public agency, Mayor Segarra is confident the office will continue to operate efficiently during this transitional period.