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Tuesday, January 13, 2015

THE CITY HALL CANDY SHOP IS OPEN

It is and always has been inevitable, but this year promises to be worse than usual. Any incumbent running for re-election usually has an advantage. The power of their office allows and offers them perks that they can use to benefit their campaign. This is especially true when that incumbent knows that they are on shaky ground.

Apparently Mayor Segarra is using the power of incumbency to his benefit.

According to City Hall sources, Segarra has recently hired the daughter of a Hartford State Representative to work in his office.  According to other sources, the hiring came with a deal to shore up Segarra's support in the State Reps home district where both she and her husband are members of the Districts Democratic Town Committee.

The source also detailed the hiring of a female acquaintance  (girlfriend) of a Councilperson for a City Hall position. I am awaiting their employment information pursuant to an FOI request to see what procedures were followed  and whether it was a competitive process. Somehow I think I already know the answer.

It is a promising sign though that Segarra has to take  steps  like this , knowing that his endorsement is far from a done deal according to Democratic Town Committee members I have spoken with. Normally the incumbent is pretty much assured the nomination, apparently not in this case though.

I will continue to update the latest new hires in the Candy Store as election time gets closer, including the names and affiliations once the employment applications are received through FOI.

Tuesday, January 6, 2015

THIS SHOULD ALLOW YOU TO SLEEP EASIER TONIGHT

Wednesday: MAYOR SEGARRA attends GovERNOR Malloy Inaugural Events

— MEDIA ADVISORY—

(January 6, 2015) Tomorrow, Mayor Pedro E. Segarra will attend events throughout the day in honor of Governor Malloy’s second inauguration, including the parade, swearing-in ceremony and the inaugural ball in Hartford.

---
WHO: Mayor Segarra
WHAT: Governor Malloy’s inaugural parade
WHEN: Wednesday, January 7, 2015. Parade kicks off at 11:30 a.m.
WHERE: Trinity Street and Jewell Street

WHO: Mayor Segarra
WHAT: Governor Malloy’s swearing-in ceremony
WHEN: Wednesday, January 7, 2015 at 1:30 p.m.
WHERE: State Armory, 360 Broad Street

WHO: Mayor Segarra
WHAT: Governor Malloy’s inaugural ball.
WHEN: Wednesday, January 7, 2015. Doors open at 6:00pm.
WHERE: Connecticut Convention Center, 100 Columbus Blvd.

A SAD ANNIVERSARY

 
 
Even after 11 years the memories don't seem to fade. I Guess having the memories is a good thing, but it doesn't get easier.

This past Sunday would have been my father's 85th birthday. Today, January 6th is the 11th anniversary of his death after a battle with cancer. He wanted so bad to make it through Christmas and his Birthday that year. Why I'm not sure, but he definitely did it with dignity and courage. It was also important to make it to his 50th Wedding Anniversary with my mother and he did that also.

His final birthday was held at Hartford Hospital in his room and we were all well aware that the end was coming anytime . But I don't want to get too deep, but when the priest came in to give my father the last rights, he said "ths is what death is about, it should be a celebration of life"  His room was full of our friends and family, and like any of our family gatherings there was plenty of food also. That's back when we were a Family , before all of the nonsense.

Having the family support made the next several days bearable and I know it was improtant for my mother. She has held up very well and carried on over the years without her best friend and partner  of over 50 years by her side. Her true strength has shown through and she has done so much to give hear a sense of purpose in life without my father to be with her. 

She has done so much from volunteering for the Red Cross to knitting booties and hats for preemie babies at the NICU at Hartford Hospital.Every Wednesday is a do not disturb day with her. That is her day set aside to drive several of her neighbors to the local senior center to get them out of their homes for an afternoon of lunch and board games. She loves it and they rely on her as the capable driver to transport them. I'm glad she still is capable of getting around on her own.

My dad was never a politician or an elected officail, probably a good thing, but I think about him when I have improtant decisions to make and ask myself "what would Dad do?" You too mom, but I can just call you.

At times like this when you have time to think, I think you realize the importance of family and being able to spend time with your parents and family. We probably don't think about it enough when we are younger and busy but as more time passes, it becomes important.

Happy birthday Dad, and I know Mom will be  calling shortly giving me hell for making her cry after reading this posting

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.