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Friday, September 6, 2019

TIME FOR THE ENDORSEMENT'S

I would hope that no one would vote for a candidate based upon who the media, or local newspaper or even a blog would "endorse".

I thought I was looking at the comic's page this morning when I saw the Courant was "endorsing Luke Bronin for re-election. But did anyone expect anything different?

The more I see Luke Bronin and his operation, the more similarities I see to the Trump Administration. High turnover, high arrogance, a sense of entitlement and also, much like 2016, the two "front runners" are both terrible choices and I think many Hartford voters will fill out the little bubble on their ballot while holding their noses.

 There are alternatives to Perez and Bronin though, and I would hope that as we get closer to the real election in November that the DTC coronation of Luke Bronin will be a distant memory . Distant memories of Luke Bronin and Eddie Perez both. I hope that people would start paying some serious attention to Stan McCauley and take a few minutes to get to know him.

 Most people didn't know Luke Bronin until he decided he wanted to buy a Kingdom and be the King, also known as the 2015 Mayoral election. He is trying to buy the King's throne once again courtesy of Greenwich dollars. Just think back, how many of you knew the name Luke Bronin before the 2015 election. I don't see many hands being raised out there, so maybe very few or NONE. While I am asking questions, how many of you have seen Eddie Perez out in the community since he was arrested and bounced from Office in disgrace. Why is he back suddenly? Does he see money in development t on Albany Avenue or maybe it is time to start reconstruction on Park Street since it is falling apart due to his below standards corruption , I mean construction, work performed by his cronies on Park Street. (He did get his home renovated as a result of that corruption, all we got were potholes and defective brick walkways popping out of Park Street , and not to mention huge legal costs for battling him and keeping members of his staff from going to jail)

 I think you get my point for the time being, Stan McCauley is someone that just about every member of the Community who has gone outside their homes in the last 25 years have probably met or has seen Stan and his wife and children out in the community, not because he was running for something, but because he is actually one of us.

 I really don't think a lot of people have put much time or thought into the members they elect to the Hartford City Council, but I think you really need to.

 Do you realize that when you elect a Council person, you are potentially electing the next Mayor of the City. If the elected Mayor ever becomes incapacitated or is forced from Office by a corruption scandal or arrest, the President of the City Council becomes Mayor. Remember Pedro Segarra?

So on the primary ballot under column 1-MAYOR, my vote will be none of the above.

There, that's simple. I will save my bubble for Stan McCauley in November.

As far as City Council, Minority party representation laws apply in Connecticut, so out of 9 Council seats, only 6 can go to Democrats. I've chosen 5, First off is TJ Clarke. TJ has at least remained somewhat independent from the Bronin Administration. That fact probably resulted in his demise as the Council President when the Bronin puppets on the Council orchestrated his demise with a bogus "texting" scandal. TJ deserved our support

Next is a newcomer and someone I will admit I have never met. I am hearing good things about Nick Lebron from people whose opinion I trust, so I will give him a shot. I would prefer the unknown of a newcomer to those who were lackluster or worse their first time on the Council and want to get voted back on.

I was a little on the fence over Jimmy Sanchez, but much like TJ Clarke, I think he deserves the opportunity to hopefully prove himself.

My next choice is someone I can't say enough positive things about and I was thrilled, actually almost ecstatic, the day she called me and said she had decided to run for City Council. If you look up the definition of "integrity" in the dictionary, I am sure you will see the picture of Shirley Surgeon there. I have known and called Shirley Surgeon a friend for many years. If you are having a bad day, just call Shirley and her cheerful voice and accent , and advice, can't help but get you going again. Shirley also has an uncanny knack for being able to relate to just about anyone and make them feel comfortable, exactly what City Hall needs. Shirley was also a very close friend to my late political mentor, John B. O'Connell. Although O'Connell was a diehard Republican and Shirley was a loyal Democrat, they both were able to work together and communicate like adults.

Something else City Hall is lacking is that ability to work together for the good of the City. Shirley has that. Shirley also has a knowledge of City Hall from years of experience. She was the Council Assistant to the late John Stewart, she was the Democratic Registrar for years and then moved on to work in State Government. Shirley would be a great mentor for all Council members and I think we would see some serious work accomplished without the bickering we have become accustomed to.

My Final choice is Eli Mercado. For those of you who don't know Eli, you probably aren't going to enough community meetings. Eli is a permanent fixture at many meetings of people trying to help Hartford. He seems well connected with the Community and I think his concern and community involvement would definitely be an asset for any Council member.

I hope this information helps and I would not be presumptuous enough to do anymore than ask you to  educate yourself to the choices and then get out and vote

Thursday, August 29, 2019

WHAT HAS CHANGED SINCE THE BAERGA COMPLAINT? OFFICER BAERGA RETURNS TO WORK

 The short and quick answer is nothing has changed, although it has been months since the issue came to light.

HPD Officer Kelly Baerga had filed a hostile work environment/sexual harassment complaint against  supervisors at HPD and the City of Hartford on February 11, 2019

You can read more details here.

Her is the original complaint below:
Baerga Complaint by on Scribd
The bottom line , after all of the complaints, all of the media attention, and all of the the Internal affairs Investigations, nothing, or at least very little has changed.

 Kelly Baerga this week returned to her patrol duties on the midnight shift. Sergeant Andrew Rodney, one of the officers accused of Baerga's harassment still remains in his position as a Sergeant and a supervisor. Despite his Internal Affairs Investigation and a disciplinary hearing, nothing has been resolved. No punishment for his behavior, not even any retraining or corrective action taken. I am told that Rodney's behavior is under review by Interim Chief Jason Thody.

This matter has been hanging in Limbo for far too long. Officer Kelly Baerga deserves a resolution of this matter, and some action should have been taken before she returned to work.If Sergeant Rodney's actions were substantiated, Baerga should not have to face him whenever she goes to work knowing that Rodney's actions went unchecked by "the good ole' boy network" as some have claimed. This matter needs to be resolved one way or the other immediately.

 Rodney should not be protected because of any political status as a member of the Hartford Democratic Town Committee or supporter of Mayor Luke Bronin

A request for an update on the matter made to HPD earlier today has not received a response

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

SOME POSITIVE NEWS

Some positive news.

 I received a call earlier this evening from a resident having an issue with drug dealers setting up shop in front of his home and he was looking for some advice and help dealing with them. I offered to call LT. Boisvert , who I thought was the Lieutenant for that area, apparently it is LT. Santiago's area but LT Boisvert offered to contact LT Santiago and pass the information along

. I texted the resident and told him he should be hearing back from HPD. I told him if he didn't hear anything in a couple days to let me know and I would follow up. I was pleasantly surprised when he immediately texted me back and said there were two HPD Officers at his home right then dealing with the problem, all within a matter of minutes.

 Great work by LT Boisvert and LT Santiago and HPD officers for true community policing efforts.

HPD UNION MEMBERS TO UNION PRESIDENT: "CEASE AND DESIST"

Apparently the Hartford Police Union President has taken it upon himself to allegedly begin lobbying and campaign efforts for Hartford Mayoral candidate Eddie Perez. Perez a convicted felon after pleading to charges related to his corruption arrest announced earlier that he was attempting to regain the Office that he resigned from in disgrace after his arrest, trial and conviction on corruption charges.

In a strongly worded letter sent to HPD Union President John Szewczyk on Monday, HPD union Vice President Joe Sherbo, Union Secretary Nicholas Trigilia, Treasurer Chris Reeder and Chief Steward Anthony Rinaldi all signed onto the letter asking that Union President Szewczyk  "immediately cease and desist all political activity as it relates to the Mayoral race, unless the Executive Board has discussed and agreed to support a particular candidate " 

Furthermore, the letter stated "If you decide to continue your personal support for Candidate Perez, you are strongly advised to use your own personal vehicle to attend events , and to not identify yourself as President of the Hartford Police Union in those settings. 

The HPD Union President is given a leased vehicle paid for through Union membership dues.

The letter also states that Szewczyk has apparently "partaken in and recruited volunteers to engage in door to door campaigning on behalf of Mayoral candidate Eddie Perez

 The letter also states that the HPD Union does not support candidate Eddie Perez at this time.

As a sidenote, several HPD Union members have informed me that a "Vote of No Confidence " in Interim Chief Jason Thody is being pushed for as an agenda item at the September HPD Union membership meeting.

HPD Cease and Desist Letter to Union President (my apologies for the quality of the photo)

Monday, August 26, 2019

LET'S JUST CALL IT TAHOE-GATE

 The smoking gun, read further for the explanation.

The more I research the purchase of the 10 new Chevrolet Tahoe's the more suspicious I am getting.

What am I missing here and why has one blog post sparked such an uproar? I have received several phone calls from City staff members , all trying to get me to back off on this story and trying to convince me I am wrong. Their efforts make me think more strongly that I am actually on to something, I am just not sure what yet.

Last week I had requested documents through an FOI request related to the purchase of the 10 Chevrolet Tahoe's. This is what they sent me this morning. Am I really supposed to believe  that a legitimate Chevrolet Dealer would submit a quote with a value of almost half a million dollars written in black sharpie? My sources had told me originally that the cost of the Tahoe's was $43,000 and $48,000 each. That is exactly what the quote shows ….until the "sharpie" marker notations.

I was also told last week by Chief Thody that one of the reasons that Hartford was not buying the less expensive (and extremely popular) Ford Explorer Interceptor was because HPD would have to spend at least eight  hours in driver retraining for anyone  issued an Explorer.

 I have spoken to sources from the Connecticut State Police , who operate several hundred of the Ford Explorers and they weren't aware of any specialized driver training. Apparently when they originally switched from Crown Vic's to the Explorer and Taurus, there was initially driver training, but not today. I also contacted several local municipalities operating the Explorers , asking about any special training. One training officer replied that any claims of training requirements was "Nonsense" another Police Official said that claim was "Ridiculous" and no additional training is required other than what officers receive at the Academy during initial training.


Is this Legit? Is this how the City of Hartford does business with a Sharpie marker?
I still stand by my original numbers from my source of $43,000 to $48,000 per Tahoe, and that is not even including the roughly $13,000 for the light package and other upcharges and also a couple thousand more  per vehicle for the 2 way radio.


Again, I am not sure why this purchase and my posting has sparked such a furor. Maybe it exposes the incompetence of City purchasing or maybe because it exposes the sense of entitlement that exists among the Command Staff at the Hartford Police Department. It is also somewhat unnerving the extent that HPD will apparently go to in an attempt to expose and identify my sources. This isn't confidential or protected information that I am given. It is public information.

It is a little  unusual to think that a caravan of 10 brand new Chevy Tahoe's being driven down Albany Avenue in broad daylight would not arouse some suspicion

As soon as HPD Command staff members found out that I knew about the purchase they started their witch hunt to figure out how I knew. I am told a Lieutenant met with Laz Parking, the operator of the stash house, I mean Morgan Street Garage, where the Tahoe's were originally tucked away.  Once I  posted the pictures of the Tahoe's lined up on the 5th floor of the Morgan Street Garage, they were immediately moved to an "undisclosed" location. I guess they also analyzed the pics I posted and found my reflection in the chrome grill of one of the Tahoe's.

I guess they haven't heard about or have maybe forgotten about something called our First Amendment rights. I had every right to be there and photographing anything I can see in the public view.

Photo below sent to me from a HPD source. My reflection in the chrome grill. Doesn't HPD have anything better to do?

The smoking gun, proof that I was actually there, yes those are my legs and I was wering khaki shorts. I admit it, I confess



I am not sure why. I readily admit I was in a Public Parking Garage where I have every right to be. I was not trespassing or in a posted restricted area

I think eventually I may figure this all out, but in the meantime, something stinks

Friday, August 23, 2019

RUFFLING FEATHERS

Where are They?

I am being told that is what I did when I posted this week about the 10 Chevrolet Tahoe purchases being stashed  away in the Morgan Street, I " really ruffled some feathers". (The Tahoe's were moved by HPD once they realized I knew about them, not sure why or what the secrecy is)

 I keep being reminded by city staff people that have called me to try to back off on this, and they have reminded me it is an election year.I know it is an election year, and I really don't care. Taxpayers dollars are the same in Election years as they are in non-election years I also know that no candidate  wants their management , or mismanagement exposed, especially when you claim you have put Hartford back on a solid financial footing.

I know I use this Mark Twain quote often, but maybe more people at City Hall need to memorize, and live by it "If you always tell the truth, you never need to remember the lies.

I am also amazed by our priorities in this City. The "powers to be" are up in arms and doing a full court press "to educate me" about the car purchases and that I wasn't correct about yesterdays posting of the Tahoe purchases. It boggles my mind that they are upset about my posting about the car purchases but reports I posted  this week of a Police Officer carrying on an "intimate and sexual" relationship with a Juvenile is of very little concern. He is still employed, working full time with full Police powers. I guess I don't get it.

Today, I was a guest on WTIC radio for the Todd Feinburg show. The City auditor did a preemptive strike to attempt to discredit my figures, but he failed to give the full and correct number. Craig Trujillo claimed they were getting a discount because they were "piggybacking" on a State purchasing contract and went on to say what great vehicles the Chevrolet Tahoe's were. He also forgot to mention the 12,000 to 15,000 cost for the upgrades such as lights, sirens, push bars and another couple thousand for installing radios.

here is a 2016 invoice from MHQ, the company that up fits all of Hartford's Police Vehicles. This is for the Traffic Division Admin vehicle and it doesn't include the additional $2800.00 for a light bar, similar to the Command Staff Tahoe's

MHQ INVOICE FOR PATROL SUPERVISOR UPCHARGE


  Simple question here, If the Tahoe's are/were such a great deal then why are the Connecticut State Police switching over to the Ford Explorer Interceptor's PPV? (The PPV is the identifier for the Police Pursuit Vehicle) Why has NYPD recently purchased 500 Ford Explorer's PPV's? Why have the Massachusetts State Police switched to the Ford Explorer Interceptor PPV's for their entire fleet?Not to mention they are roughly almost $9,000 less expensive than the Tahoe's but the estimated fuel savings is $3,000 to $4,000 less than the Tahoe.The estimated savings may be as high as $5,000 when the Hybrid version is released this year


Why wouldn't the Connecticut State Police take advantage of their great fleet Government pricing if it was such a great opportunity?


So back to the cars. I was told there is a delay in ordering patrol vehicles, the Ford Explorer Interceptors , which have replaced the Ford Taurus and the Ford Crown Vic. A source from HPD said that there was some sort of retooling being done and no new Ford Interceptors would be available for maybe 8 months. I started doing more research because I know I am seeing the Interceptors everywhere now, just about every town is putting them on the streets and and able to purchase them.  How are all of these other agencies able to put the Interceptors on the street and Hartford is 8 months out.


Through sources familiar with fleet purchases and Ford, that seems not to be true.  I asked one source familiar with the fleet process if they could find out for me , if an order went in today, when would the vehicles be delivered? The answer was 4 months. So if the vehicles had been ordered back in June, like I was told the first time I asked, they would probably be arriving any day now.


Ford is also very happy to talk about their state of the art Chicago production plant where over 500  Explorer's come off the assembly line every day. They are also very willing to share the videos of their "state of the  art" production line churning out large quantities of Police Patrol Vehicles. There are reportedly over 13,000 orders awaiting fulfillment for the  Ford Explorer Police Interceptor


I think the issue is more the incompetence of City Hall's purchasing procedures than Ford being unable to fill orders.


Hartford's Auditor also stated that HPD Officers trash the cars  and maintenance costs are high. Well, Craig that is part of the cost of doing business. Do you criticize DPW drivers who break a plow doing their jobs during a snowestorm? I am sure the worst thing the Auditors or City Hall staffers deal with is a stain on the carpet in their offices when they spill their Starbucks coffee. Hartford Police vehicles are subject to violent criminals kicking out doors and windows in cruisers, Some even vomit or urinate, or worse, in the back seat of a cruiser. And HPD cruisers definitely take a toll driving through potholed, poorly maintained streets racing to shootings and homicides around the City.


End the nonsense , show some regard for Patrol and let the Command Staff drive the recycled vehicles,

 And by the way, where are all the dash cameras that were supposedly purchased last year, and  are yet to be installed in any vehicle? Are we waiting to get a better deal when we return those to the vendor because the technology is outdated?


Here is a HPD Purchase Order for 5 Ford Explorers that were allegedly ordered back in March. Where are they? but as you can see, the cost is substantially less than the Tahoe's, $30,789.80






HPD Purchase Order for Explorers  on Scribd> From Ford:
"The new Police Interceptor Utility with standard hybrid all-wheel-drive powertrain has a projected EPA-estimated rating of 24 mpg combined, a 41 percent improvement over the current model equipped with a 3.7-liter gas engine. Projections indicate the first pursuit-rated hybrid police utility will save between $3,500 and $5,700 per vehicle annually in fuel costs versus the current Police Interceptor Utility*. If those savings were applied to every Police Interceptor Utility sold in 2017, it would equate to between $118 million and $193 million*, or more than 43 million gallons of fuel".