Why I Support O'Leary for Mayor

Before this summer, I did not know Neil O’Leary very well. I had seen him at downtown events a few times when he was Police Chief, and I had read about him in the newspaper. When NBC’s Dateline aired their special about Donna Palomba, I watched and was deeply moved by what O’Leary said. I could tell he genuinely cared about helping and about doing the right thing. He was compassionate but also determined to pursue the case. He did the right thing for no reason other than it was the right thing to do.

Neil O'Leary and Donna Palomba, 2011

I went to the launch of his campaign in February and was impressed first by the incredibly large number of people in attendance and second by his speech. I remained on the fence, because some of my specific concerns weren’t yet addressed. In particular, I wondered if he had a clear vision for the city’s future, if he cared about helping improve the quality of life in all of the city’s neighborhoods.

The turning point for me came this spring. After attending the WOW/Scovill Homes Community meeting in May, O’Leary contacted me for a sort of walking meeting. I took him on a tour of the problems at the Scovill Homes, and he took me on a tour of the PAL. By the end of the tours, I was an O’Leary supporter. Here’s why:

• When we walked through the Scovill Homes area, he didn’t just say “wow, that’s terrible, something should be done.” He came up with three or four possible solutions that could be implemented swiftly, efficiently and effectively.

• He listened to my ideas about what to do, and he treated my ideas with as much respect as his own.

• He showed genuine concern and respect for the people who live in my neighborhood, and sincerely expressed the belief that no child should have to grow up surrounded by blight and decay.

Neil being interviewed for Albanian tv RTV 21.

• PAL. This is one of the most overlooked, underappreciated programs in the city. I wish everyone could take a tour of the facilities and see what’s going on there.

- Using existing buildings, the PAL center has a strong educational component. It’s not a Police Athletic League, it’s a Police Activities League, and there’s a reason for that. They do way more than just sports.

- They are turning a blighted neighborhood and brownfield into a clean neighborhood and park.

- The neighborhood used to be one of the highest crime areas in the city, now it’s a safe place for children.

Aerial view and map of PAL neighborhood.

- Since the PAL program started, juvenile crime has dropped more than 50% in Waterbury.

- Instead of seeing police officers as enemies, the children in the program see them as mentors, which they are.

- The program helps kids who need help the most. 80% of the PAL members come from low income households—low income meaning less than $12,000 per year for many of these households. I can’t even imagine trying to raise a family in Waterbury with $12,000 a year. There are so many opportunities that children growing up in poverty simply don’t have. Even something as basic as a computer—or three meals a day. Thanks to PAL, these kids are getting those opportunities. “Today’s Youth, Tomorrow’s Leaders” is PAL’s motto.

- PAL has basically created a small campus similar to those of private schools. Talk about amazing—thousands of kids growing up in poverty are being given an advantage that will help them succeed in life and break the cycle of poverty.

What Neil has been able to accomplish at PAL is something I would like to see happen everywhere in Waterbury. He took something that was a mess and turned it into a success.

Neil and PAL members helping seniors take care of their yards.

Neil O’Leary is a good person. He genuinely cares about other people, he wants to help people in need, and he has already proven himself to be successful in that.

Over the past few months, since joining the campaign team, I have been increasingly impressed with Neil’s leadership skills, determination and vision for the city of Waterbury. Ten years is a long time to be stuck with one Mayor—we have begun to stagnate. It is time for new leadership, for fresh eyes, for renewed vigor. Neil O’Leary has a remarkable ability to bring people together, to motivate them, to inspire them, and to keep them working well as a team. He makes sure everyone knows their efforts are appreciated. He knows how to find solutions to problems, how to think outside the box, how to run a successful business. He has done great things as a police officer, as a police chief and as a private citizen. As Mayor, he will do great things for Waterbury.

Neil with Aldermanic candidates Greg Hadley and Anne Phelan,
CT Speaker of the House Chris Donovan and Congressman Chris Murphy.

Blight Revisited

If you haven't figured it out by now, I am greatly frustrated by the blight that plagues our city. We're drowning in blight, and the city seems incapable of solving the problem.

This isn't a new problem. Go back to the Waterbury Observer from 1997 and you'll see a full-page advertisement with a photo of a blighted building being demolished--along with Phil Giordano's campaign slogans "Promises Made, Promises Kept" and "Leadership You Can Trust," and the boast that "70 houses have come down under the Giordano Administration."

(On a side note, from a purely political campaign perspective, it's interesting the way the word "trust" gets used. Giordano's ad put heavy emphasis on his being a "trusted leader." Today's Rep-Am included a letter written by a Jarjura supporter putting heavy emphasis on Jarjura being a Mayor he can trust.)

Jarjura's track record in dealing with the blight problem is miserable.

In 2004 Jarjura gave his good friend Joe Davino one of the most important jobs in the city, putting him in charge of cleaning up blight in Waterbury (after Davino abruptly lost his job with the Waterbury Housing Authority). The situation was as "loosey-goosey" (to use Jarjura's own words) as it gets. In fact, Jarjura himself described Davino's working arrangement as "loose" (Rep-Am, May 6, 2010). When the investigation was complete, it was proved that Davino was guilty of defrauding the city of Waterbury and committing second-degree larceny. Specifically, instead of having his crew work on cleaning up blight in the city, he had them stock his private vending machines and work on his house. Mayor Jarjura spoke on his behalf and asked the judge to be lenient.

In that same article, Jarjura apparently "thought nothing of giving him permission to take time off during the week when things were slow" -- seriously??? Slow??? In a city that is drowning in blight, when can there possibly be slow times?

So there you have Jarjura's "leadership" in dealing with blight for 6 of his years as Mayor. He put one of his closest friends in charge of the problem, not because he was qualified but because he was an old friend, and thought it was perfectly okay for him to be "loose" about the job.

After the Davino scandal wrapped up, Jarjura decided to reduce funding for fighting blight from the city budget. His proposed city budget, announced in March 2011, would have reduced the blight team from 4 full time and 4 seasonal workers to just the 4 full time workers (the previous year there were 8 seasonal workers--see Rep-Am, March 31, 2011).

Most recently, Jarjura decided to bond $1 million for tearing down blighted buildings. You know what happens when you tear down blighted buildings? You get blighted empty lots.

Here is an example of what happens. This is the corner of Walnut and Wood Streets. Several buildings were torn down by the city, and then the city walked away. The lot is full of weeds and litter, and the sidewalk is full of weeds and litter.

Here's a different section of sidewalk on Wood Street. Mayor Jarjura walked up Wood Street this summer--he walked in the street because the sidewalks are unusable. Nothing has happened to fix the problem, even though he has now seen it with his own eyes. Tell me again about how there were "slow" weeks for Joe Davino and his blight crew, and I will gladly show you again that there is more than enough blight to keep a crew of 20 working nonstop.

Here's another example I've blogged about before: this building on the corner of Walnut and Wood Street is blighted, there's a giant hole in the sidewalk large enough for a person to fall down, and the intersection is a school bus stop. Mayor Jarjura stood in front of this building this summer and declared that it needs to come down. It's still standing.

Here's a "good" one. This building partially collapsed in January. Now it is October, and the mess is still making the sidewalk unusable.

What possible excuse is there for ignoring this?

There's another aspect to blight in Waterbury. The preceding blight is largely due to abandoned property. But there are also blighted properties whose owners are active in Waterbury and are not being held accountable for maintaining their buildings.

The Rep-Am recently published a story about the former Bristol Company factory, which is owned by Norman Drubner and is severely blighted. Drubner is also at least partly responsible for some of the most blighted eyesores in downtown Waterbury. He may not own them, but his name is the one prominently featured on them.

Let's start with South Main Street. Here's a building viewed by thousands of people going to shows at the Palace Theater. It's dragging down the entire block.

At street level, it's hideous. It reminds me of some of the scarier-looking parts of Bridgeport.

Over on the Bank Street side, things are slightly better, but not great.

The building is crumbling apart.

Graffiti on the front door. Who would want to buy or lease something that looks like this?

And then there's the former Jimmie's Restaurant, on the corner opposite City Hall. Jarjura must see this every day that he goes to work for the city. How can he stand to look at it every day?

Drubner may not own this building, but surely he could do something to make the restaurant entrance more appealing. If it weren't for the efforts of Main Street Waterbury, it would look even worse.

Where is Mayor Jarjura's leadership on blight? Norman Drubner has allowed blighted buildings to remain blighted. Jarjura wants the city to give Drubner nearly $2 million for his open space property. How about getting Drubner to commit to using the money to fix up blighted buildings? Better yet, how about requiring that Drubner fix up any blighted building he owns before the city gives him any money.

UPDATE 10/12: Sometimes I write blog posts because I'm upset about something. This was definitely one of those posts. I've seen the same blight day after day for years. It's very frustrating. In fairness, maybe the building owners can't afford to do any repairs. Maybe Drubner isn't involved enough to help out. That's when I would expect to see leadership from the Mayor. There are a lot of different ways in which a city can help in these situations. Jarjura has shown little interest. Imagine if Jarjura had made the renovation of blighted downtown buildings a top priority. For that matter, imagine if, instead of developing property in Middlebury, he and his partners had chosen to invest in rehabbing our historic downtown buildings? Other cities have made it happen: why not Waterbury?

Voter F.A.Q.

Here are some answers to questions I've had in the past, and to questions I know other people have had. Let me know if you have questions I've missed, and I will try to find the answers.

Am I eligible to vote?

To be eligible to vote in Waterbury, you must be:

• A U.S. citizen

• A resident of Waterbury

• At least 18 years old by Election Day (November 8, 2011)

• Completed with confinement and parole if previously convicted of a felony and have had your voting rights restored.

How do I register to vote?

You must complete and return the State of Connecticut Voter Registration Form, which can be downloaded from the Waterbury Registrar’s webpage.

What is the deadline for registering to vote?
This year (2011), you have until October 25 to register by mail. You have until November 1 to register in person at the office of the Registrar of Voters.

Who is the Registrar of Voters?

Waterbury has two Registrars. Patricia Mulhall is the Democratic Registrar. Timothy DeCarlo is the Republican Registrar. Their office can be reached at (203) 574-6751.

The Registrars of Voters are responsible for conducting elections, primaries and special elections and maintaining accurate voter records. Other activities include redistricting, canvassing and registering voters, having special voting sessions and conducting registration sessions at high schools.

Where do I go to vote?

Your polling location (where you vote) is assigned based on your home address which you gave when you registered. If you have moved, but haven’t updated your information with the Registrar of Voters, your polling location will be based on your address when you registered.

You can look up your voting location online at http://www.dir.ct.gov/sots/LookUp.aspx

When do I vote?

Elections are held on the second Tuesday in November. This year (2011), Election Day is November 8. The polls open at 6 a.m. and stay open until 8 p.m.

What do I bring with me when I vote?

You will need to bring some form of identification. Acceptable forms of ID at the polling place are:

• Driver’s license or other current and valid photo ID showing your name and address

• Any other preprinted form of identification that shows your name and address, such as a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck or other government document that shows your name and address.

For more information, please visit http://www.sots.ct.gov/sots/cwp/view.asp?a=3679&q=432116

Can I use an absentee ballot?

You may vote by absentee ballot if you are ill; physically disabled; serving in the military; those who will be out of town on election day; those providing service as poll worker in polling places other than their own; or those whose religion forbids secular activity on election day.

To obtain an absentee ballot, call the Registrar of Voters at (203) 574-6751.

How do I get a ride to the polls?

Campaign volunteers are happy to give you a free ride to your voting location. The Democrats can be reached at (203) 753-6345. You do not have to be registered as a Democrat to call.

(Full disclosure: I am a Democrat, active in the campaign, which is why I have that phone number. I do not know what numbers the other parties are using for rides to the polls, but I am sure they will publicize them before the election.)

What is the ballot like?

In Connecticut, voting is done by filling in an oval for the candidate with a black marker. When the ballot is completed, it is fed into a computer scanning machine.

Each slate of candidates is presented in a row. Because the current Governor is a Democrat, the local Democrat candidates are on Row A (in previous years they were on Row B because the Governor was a Republican).

You may select one candidate each for Mayor, Town Clerk, City Clerk and City Sheriff.

You may select any nine candidates for Board of Aldermen.

You may select any three candidates for Board of Education.

You can vote for more than one candidate per column for Board of Aldermen and Board of Education, so long as you do not vote for more than nine total candidates for Board of Aldermen and no more than three total candidates for Board of Education.

Why should I vote?

Local elections have a direct impact on your quality of life. The local government is responsible for the taxes you pay on your car and home, they are responsible for the local public schools, parks, sidewalks and streets, water and sewer services, public safety and winter plowing.

It has been my experience that city officials pay more attention to districts with high voter turnout, especially during campaign season (every other year in Waterbury).  

How do I find out more about the candidates?

Biographies of all the Democrat candidates are available online at olearyformayor.com

Short resumes of the Republican candidates are available online at mikejarjura.com
Information about the Independent candidates is online at ipwtc.com

Profiles of candidates from all three parties will be available from the Republican-American at http://rep-am.com/elections/

The Waterbury Observer has conducted two-hour interviews with each of the three Mayoral candidates and will be publishing the transcripts online soon.

What does a Mayor do?

The Mayor is the chief executive officer of the City. The Mayor is responsible for the City Budget, the good order and efficient government of the City, appointing department heads and members of specific boards and commissions, and other duties as described in the City Charter. The Mayor reports to the Board of Aldermen on the condition of the City in relation to government, finances, public improvements and other issues.

The Democrat candidate for Mayor is Neil O'Leary.
The Republican candidate for Mayor is Michael Jarjura.
The Independent candidate for Mayor is Larry DePillo.

What does a Town Clerk do?

The Waterbury Town Clerk, currently Democrat Antoinette “Chick” Spinelli, is responsible for recording and indexing land records; issuing and recording vital records such as marriage licenses, birth certificates, burial permits and dog licenses; recording military discharges; keeping notary, justice of the peace and campaign finance records; issuing absentee ballots and preparing state election reports.

The Town Clerk’s office, located on the first floor of City Hall, is open Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

What does a City Clerk do?

The City Clerk, currently Democrat Michael J. Dalton, is the keeper of records for all Municipal Boards and Commissions; receives all correspondence for most Municipal Boards and Commissions; is the public service agency to allow access to records of all Municipal Boards and Commissions; and is the recipient of all claims and writs served on the City.

The City Clerk makes available copies of the City Charter, Operating Budget, Capital Budget, Three Year Financial Plan, Labor Contracts and other documents.

The City Clerk’s office is open Monday through Friday, 8:50 a.m. to 4:50 p.m.

What does a City Sheriff do?

The City Sheriff, currently Democrat Stephen M. Conway, is responsible for directing public speaking at meeting of the Board of Aldermen and other Municipal Boards when requested; serves violations for many city departments such as the Health Department, Building Department and City Planning; and serves expulsions for the Board of Education.

What does the Board of Aldermen do?

There are 15 aldermen for the City of Waterbury, elected in odd years. They are the legislative body of the City Government. No more than 9 members shall be of one political party.

The Board of Aldermen derive their authority from the City Charter and the Connecticut State Statutes. The Board of Aldermen can modify the city budget as submitted by the Mayor, have the power to investigate all departments, officers and employees; oversee and adopt legislation pertaining to the finances of the City; provide for public works; and other powers as detailed in the City Charter.

The Board of Aldermen meets the first Monday after the first and third Thursdays at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted.

What does the Board of Education do?

There are 10 Commissioners on the Board of Education, serving four-year terms. Their terms are staggered so that there are always some veteran members on the Board following each election. No more than 6 members shall be of one political party. Five members are elected every two years. No more than three candidates from each party can be on the ballot.

The Board of Education appoints and evaluates a Superintendent of Schools, determines the number of principals, assistants and teachers to be employed and their salaries, is responsible for the construction and repair of all school buildings, and submits an annual Operating and Capital Budget to the Mayor.

Western Woods

This has been a difficult issue for me, since I am very much in favor of open space and I love driving through Park Road, with its gorgeous woodlands. But there are some things about the proposal that bother me.

I had trouble with the proposal two years ago. See my blog posts from August 27, 2009 and September 2, 2009 for my earlier concerns.

One of my concerns, the guarantee that the property would be preserved as open space, has been addressed. But there are other concerns, or maybe questions.

The latest development in the story, the news that Norman Drubner is no longer offering the property for sale, has yet to bring a conclusion to the tale.

Is it possible for Drubner to withdraw his offer without penalty? The city has invested time and staff power to pursuing funding for the purchase. Was this done with any written contract or guarantee between the city and Drubner? Surely Mayor Jarjura, himself a prosperous real estate developer, must have formalized the arrangement with a written contract between the city and Drubner before directing his staff to spend their resources on the project.

When I watched the promotional video about purchasing the Western Woods, there was one thing in particular that stuck out in my mind: Norman Drubner stating that he would like to see the land preserved as open space. Norman Drubner owns the land. If he really wants it preserved as open space (which apparently he does not, since he's now saying he will sell to a condo developer), he can make that happen without my tax dollars. Why do we have to pay him $1.75 million to do something he wants to do? Whatever happened to philanthropy?

The only philanthropist in this scenario is the City of Waterbury, which has not been charging Drubner taxes on the full value of the property. From what I can tell, he's been paying only a couple of thousand or less in annual property taxes for the land. The city assessor's online database indicates that there are only 114 acres of land (not 134) -- with a total appraised value of $31,100.

This does not sit well with me. The people pushing the loudest for the city to give him $1.75 million for the land insist that the current appraised value of the property is between $2.3 million and $4.2 million. So why does the city have it appraised at $31,100?  I feel swindled. Either Drubner hasn't been paying enough taxes, or his asking price for the land is grossly inflated. No matter which way I look at it, Drubner is profiting at the expense of the Waterbury taxpayers.

I also feel railroaded. Two years after the topic was first raised, and one year after the grant was awarded, the Board of Aldermen were told they needed to approve bonding for the project immediately or risk losing the grant. They were told to hurry up and push it through during campaign season, adding to the pressure. Why the last-minute rush during campaign time? Why wasn't it presented to the Board of Aldermen sooner?

Now we find out that Drubner doesn't like the politics involved and is backing out of the deal. Which in turn has become a political issue with Drubner accusing the entire Board of Aldermen, which voted unanimously to go to referendum, of making their decision in order to undermine Mayor Jarjura's re-election campaign. This accusation doesn't hold a lot of weight for me, since the two Republican aldermen also voted for the referendum.

Bonding to acquire open space is a new venture for the city, something it has never done before. It should not be done as a last-minute decision made in reaction to pressure from the property owner. It should be done as part of a long-range plan to preserve open space in a logical manner throughout the city. There are numerous other parcels of open space that are available for purchase, including some that have been sitting unsold for years. What about Holyland? The asking price is $750,000. Can the open space grant be used to purchase that instead?
 
Personally, I don't see what's wrong with a referendum. We had one for bonding on City Hall. It failed in referendum but still happened. For the past ten years, Waterbury has been heavily dependent on bonding to cover its debts and expenses, and that makes me nervous.

Waterbury is broke. Mayor Jarjura declared earlier this year that we can't afford to bond any more money. Now he wants to bond money for the Western Woods, and money for blight. We just bonded $30 million for general operating expenses. If we have to borrow money, with interest, to cover our general operating expenses, how can we possibly afford to borrow money for anything else?

Here we go!

Great night tonight at the A.O.H. Club, where the Democratic Town Committee selected their slate of candidates for this year's election. Also announced tonight is the news that I will be the campaign spokesperson--very exciting! To find out what the campaign is all about, please visit the O'Leary for Mayor website. There will, of course, be plenty of updates soon.

Waiting for everyone to arrive.

There was a strong turnout tonight despite the oppressive heat. Lots of energy, lots of enthusiasm, lots of hope for Waterbury's future.

Greg Hadley and Larry Butler, State Representative for the 72nd District.

I am VERY pleased that my neighborhood has a shot at representation on the Board of Aldermen. Greg Hadley has been director of the WOW/NRZ Community Center for many years and is a candidate for the Board of Aldermen. Now that we have a candidate, the voters of the 72nd District need to show up on election day. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but we have three months to reach out to the voters and I know that we can do it.

For even more information on tonight's event, check out The Waterbury Observer website and Penny Overton's coverage in the Republican-American.


Slate of Candidates:

Mayor: Neil M. O’Leary

Town Clerk: Antoinette Spinelli

City Clerk: Michael Dalton

City Sheriff: Steve Conway

Board of Aldermen:
Paul K. Pernerewski Jr., An­thony T. Piccochi, Anne P. Phelan, Ernest M. Brunelli, Ronald Napoli Jr., Joseph Begnal Jr., Gregory Hadley, Ruben Rodriguez, Ryan A. Mulcahy.

Board of Education:
Patrick J. Hayes Jr., Eliza­beth Brown, Gregory Harkins

Where Are the Women?

Sometimes I wonder if I am the only one who notices that only 2 of the 15 members of the Board of Aldermen are women. Both are Democrats, Joyce Petteway and Anne Phelan. Petteway and Phelan were the only women candidates for Board of Aldermen in 2009, out of a grand total of 24 candidates from three parties. The Republicans and the Independents did not have even one woman candidate.

2007 was a banner year for Waterbury women in politics, one of the best in recent years (but still not that great). The Democrats had four women out of their allotted nine candidates: Petteway, Phelan, Sandra Ramirez and Laurie Singer Russo. The Republicans still had no women candidates, while the Independents had one, Allyson Modica.

I'm not sure how to interpret this data (more research is needed). Do women in Waterbury lack interest in being on the Board of Aldermen? If so, why? Should there be some sort of tripartisan outreach program to get more women involved? Alternatively, are women being shut out of Waterbury politics by men controlling Town Committees? (hey Republicans: no women Aldermanic candidates in years? really? none?)

It would be nice to believe that we live in an enlightened era, that since it is 2011, nearly 100 years after women were given the right to vote, women would be viewed as equals by men. Unfortunately, there are still many men who marginalize women, who don't think of them as leaders, who make jokes about women being inherently inferior to men, and who are intimidated by strong women. The situation certainly has improved over the decades--thank goodness we are finally in an era when women are taken seriously as candidates for President even if they are embarrassingly clueless about U.S. history--but we still have a ways to go. The demographics of the Board of Aldermen is stark evidence of that.

I'm looking forward to seeing what happens this year. Will the Republicans, who have been struggling for years, finally realize that half the city voters are women and should have representation in city government? Will all three parties put at least four women candidates on their Aldermanic slates to better represent the city residents, or are there simply not enough qualified women who are interested? I'm going to be looking for the answer to that last question, and I'm going to be looking to get more women involved in local politics.

To the women reading this (including those not in Waterbury): if you're not involved in local politics, why is that?  Please share. (anonymous comments are fine)

WOW/Scovill Homes Tour

Until you get out and walk through a neighborhood, you can't really see what the problems are. Today, thanks to the persistence and determination of Patricia Sockwell, several key city leaders walked our streets as a follow-up to the community meeting held at the WOW/NRZ Community Center last month.

In attendance today were Mayor Jarjura, Board of Education Commissioner Neil O'Leary, Bryan Baker, President of the Board of Aldermen Paul Pernerewski, Alderman Ryan Mulcahy, Alderman Larry DePillo, Jimmie Griffin, Richard Wood, Nelson Simoes (Health Department), Deputy Chief Vernon Riddick, Michael Gilmore, Officer Andrew Abney and Lt. Scott Stevenson. As Pat Sockwell pointed out later, she and I were the only women present.

Staring in disgust at the remaining dilapidated building on the corner of Walnut and
Wood Streets. Now that he's seen it, Mayor Jarjura agrees it needs to be torn down.

We started at the WOW center, walked down Walnut to Wood Street, up Wood to Oak Street, down Ives Street, then went down the length of the common area behind Ives Street (lots of dumping, in one case many years worth of dumping), back across Carpmill and Young Streets, pausing to talk to residents at the intersection of Young and Rose Streets, continuing on to Webb Street, pausing to look down Vermont Street (arguably the worst street in the neighborhood), then back up Walnut Street.

Wood Street, in front of abandoned triple-deckers.

Several triple-deckers on Wood Street went up for auction by the city recently. Minimum starting bid of $3,000. No bidders. Given the state of the economy and the condition of the buildings, this is not too surprising.

A beautiful old building that's getting ready to fall down.

I think you get the idea of how bad it is (and how little they realized it before now) from some of the expressions on their faces.

 

Lots of discussion of the problem, lots of discussion of the need to find a solution.

Sockwell led the group through some of the most run-down, trashed-out areas. "Watch your step" was repeated many times.

There are 110 Scovill homes. I need to do an inventory to find out how many are abandoned.

During the tour, talking with Nelson Simoes, I learned an important little detail about the fight against blight and litter: the city can't set foot on private property in order to see if there is blight. In other words, if the property next to mine has a yard full of trash and overgrown weeds, and I complain about it, all the property owner has to do is push the garbage back to where it can't be seen from the street. I can still see it, since it's up against my fence, but the Health Department can't--unless, of course, I invite them into my yard to see the trash (which I have now done).

So at the end of the day, what do we have? Certainly there is now better awareness of just how bad it really is here, which of course comes with many good intentions to find solutions. Some specific actions have been promised: cleaning up overgrown weeds and falling trees behind the rowhouses on Ives Street, getting the abandoned building on the corner of Walnut and Wood Streets torn down, going after the owners of certain trash-filled properties. We'll be holding another community meeting later this summer to assess where we are and what's been accomplished.

Campaign Season

Remember three months ago, when I complained that streets hadn't been fully plowed during the January snow storms, causing dangerous situations for drivers and pedestrians? Remember how I was told that I was being unfair? Remember how the Mayor declared that it was unreasonable to expect people to keep one side of the city streets free from parked cars during storms?

Well, now it's spring and the city has to clean all the winter sand off the streets. In order to do so, the city requires that all cars, on both sides of the road, be removed to make way for the street sweepers. Any car in the way will be towed.

How to interpret this... Let's see.

1. It is more important to clean the sand off the streets than to remove snow from the streets.
(This assumes that the city will actually enforce the parking ban during street sweeping.)

2. The city is run by a system of chaos, disorder and total lack of consistency. The Mayor has no ability, or perhaps simply no interest, in effective management of city services.

I'm leaning towards Interpretation 2.

In the past ten years that Jarjura has been Mayor, the city's financial standing and credit rating have improved dramatically. This is a good thing.

On the other hand, city services have languished. There have been no improvements to city services, even though our taxes have been increased. There has been no indication that the current administration wants to improve city services.


In this election year, it seems that what city residents want most is improved city services for improved quality of life and a more beautiful and pedestrian-friendly city.  Will Jarjura continue to base his campaigning on his fiscal record, or will he switch his focus to the address the concerns of the citizens? For that matter, where do the other candidates stand on these issues?

This is one of those things that makes me realize just how far I've come. Once upon a time, I had no idea how city government functioned and no idea how to decide which candidates to vote for. Now I actually download the proposed budget, read through it, and try to figure out ways to save money and improve services. I pay attention to what candidates say and what they do--and I am increasingly left thinking I can do just as well, if not better.

Let the Race Begin!

Just to be clear, THIS is a politically-charged blog post.

Let me also make clear where I'm coming from on this. Two years ago I ran in the Democrat primary as a candidate for the Board of Aldermen on Paul Vance's slate. I consider myself a community activist, not a politician. I believe that if you think things should be done differently, you have a duty to step up and try to help out. I have been encouraged by several people to again run for political office, and if I am invited to do so, I will. Until then, I am just another voter who wants to see a change in city leadership.

The Mayoral campaign season began in earnest today with Neil O'Leary's campaign kick-off at 62 East Main Street (in the Lombard Building). I attended not as an ardent supporter, but because I wanted to hear what he had to say. I try to approach this sort of thing (assessing a candidate) in a logical, analytical way, weighing the pros and cons, so forgive me if this comes off as cold or harsh.

Before I even stepped inside, I was impressed by the number of people waiting to get in.

Here's when I thought I knew how big the crowd was. I was impressed by the large number of people. For those of you who keep track of these things, some of the political types in attendance included former Mayor Bergin, Karen Mulcahy, Paul Pernerewski, Paul Noguiera, Antonio Pinto, Victor Diaz, Jimmie Griffin and a few others I'm forgetting right now (apologies to those I've left out!).

Then I walked to the far end of the room and got a better idea of the size of the crowd. At this point, not everyone had yet arrived. There was still a very long line out the door of people waiting to get in.

 


Cotton candy, a clown and balloon animals to keep the little ones happy.

Finally, everyone made it inside and the speech began.

O'Leary hit on a number of points that are important to me: getting the buses to run after 6, changing horrible unemployment rate (which has been the worst in the state for a decade), continuing to revive downtown, seeking private funds when possible instead of relying just on tax dollars, and striving for something better than the status quo. I was also impressed by his desire to create collaborations with state government and to improve the effectiveness and quality of government. He drew on his experiences on the Board of Education to highlight inefficiencies and poor communication within the school system that can easily be changed. He recommends changing the meeting schedules of the Board of Education so that the Mayor and the Aldermen can be more involved. And, of course, he highlighted the successes of the PAL program (all well-deserving of praise), from which he said he has learned a few things about the realities of education in today's world. O'Leary pledged that he would not accept his city pension while earning a salary as Mayor.

It was a good speech, and there is also a lot of information on his campaign website, olearyformayor.com, but I still have some unanswered questions and concerns. Two years ago, while I campaigned, the one thing I heard over and over from voters is that they pay their taxes and feel like they get nothing in return. Quality of life in Waterbury needs improvement for all residents, not just those in Bunker Hill. Does O'Leary have a clear vision of how Waterbury will be made better under his leadership, or is he just mouthing things that sound good? Will he, in fact, be a positive change in leadership? I think he would be an improvement over Jarjura, but is he a better choice than Vance? It's only February, so there is plenty of time to find out the answers!

Here's one last photo, of the crowd slowly filing out of the room. O'Leary has not yet rented a campaign headquarters. This space was chosen for today's event because of its large size and because it is an empty storefront downtown, symbolic of how much room for improvement there is in Waterbury.