Hopefully, this is a sign that the investigation is moving ahead. There must be some middle ground between a thorough investigation and an expeditious one.

Don’t assume that the slightly-more rational choices for candidates all won in the primary. Despite the Hartford Police Department’s release of documents showing a complaint had been filed against Hector Robles–a cop being accused of misusing his authority–voters of the Democrat persuasion selected him over Carmen Sierra for a General Assembly seat by a difference of 102* votes. Here’s to hoping that he is successfully challenged by a Republican or Third-Party candidate in November who is actually on the up-and-up.

The full list of primary results is here, and eventually will be here.

*A final tally was released after I posted this, changing the numbers slightly. To see those results, go here.

But I have to disagree with the way we are looking at certain financial problems.

Just off the top of my head, I know that there are reports on how the Mark Twain House and Old State House have been struggling. Two branches of the Hartford Public Library have closed. A number of public school employees have been laid off. The state is having budgeting issues (which apparently means that some state employees get to currently work without having the security of signed contracts. Employees can get paid for what they have worked, but be told not to return for the rest of the term. source: personal experience). When hearing about each of these issues, the message I am receiving is that nothing can be done. Our hands are tied. The library does not want to take responsibility for their budgeting mishaps. Some politicians don’t seem to want to step up and do their jobs, which directly involve city budgeting issues. What’s more, the city has this image problem (exacerbated by the media on a nearly daily basis) which allows outsiders to justify letting everything here crumble.

Money problems are not the same as late stage cancer or earthquakes–there is, in fact, something to be done. Capitalism, the whole concept of money, and esoteric budgets involving huge sums are all manufactured, aka, they are all man-made things. This is America, and no matter how awful our economy is right now, we, as a country, are faring better than many places in the world. The American Dream myth of pulling oneself up by his bootstraps is flipped. If anyone has the ability to succeed in that way, it’s not the individual, but the larger entity–the organization or corporation. (more…)

If you follow the hyperlinks, you can find the complete charter for the City of Hartford, as well as a transcript from a City Council discussion of this issue. This will provide you with an idea of exactly what is being debated and what the time frames are.

If you read this blog even sporadically, you have probably figured out that I prefer it when people call things as they are, rather than attempt to obscure reality. Well, I watched this segment last night and was in awe that someone who is somewhat respected in the media actually had the nerve to put in plain language what this country is being subjected to.

Well, classic for the internet age.

John Rose, Jr. sent an email intended for Carl Nasto to Kevin Brookman. The Courant has a write-up on this. What relevance does this have?

Rose was criticized recently in another FOIA case against the city in which a group of Hartford’s small businesses were seeking data from the city assessor. In a settlement of that case, Rose admitted to having violated the section of the FOIA requiring a prompt response to requests.

You know, because Rose, like others with power, are apparently above the law.

Here is your latest work published today:

Let Grand Jury Take Its Course
In response to the Dec. 26 editorial “A Cloud Over City Hall”:

The Courant’s editorial board endorsed Hartford Mayor Eddie A. Perez on Oct. 28 [editorial, “Mr. Perez For Mayor”]: “His leadership has put Hartford on a more promising path than it’s followed in decades. He should be re-elected.”

Well, he was. Hartford is moving in the right direction. Public safety, education, homeownership, and neighborhood economic development are all paramount. Hartford has become safer, more vibrant and more of a destination of choice in the last six years (the years that Mayor Perez has been in office) than it has been in decades.

In fact, Mayor Perez has an ambitious agenda for the next four years. He was re-elected handily by the voters of Hartford who looked at the facts and put their trust in Mayor Perez.

So, why publish an editorial about the grand jury when the process should be allowed to take its course?

It is unfortunate that The Courant has selectively leaked certain portions of the secret proceedings of the grand jury and has done its best to create a circus atmosphere of the judicial process. Making improper comparisons to politicians who have been found guilty doesn’t help the matter. What is happening now should be compared to Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy, who was subject to a long public investigation and was cleared.

The people of Hartford and all the readers of this newspaper deserve better from The Courant.

Sarah Barr

Director of Communications City of Hartford

Allow me to break this nonsense down for you.

Perez’s homeownership initiatives, to start, are a joke. Most Hartford residents rent because, money aside, there are not enough ownership opportunities. There are apartment units. The city, as it is, unfortunately is not designed for much more homeownership than already exists. By claiming this as one of Perez’s feats, you are distracting the public with a sleight of hand.

As for the crime statistics, this was something used in the mayoral campaign that also proved to be less than truthful. Certain kinds of crime have decreased, and yet if we do something as simple as look at the Hartford Police Department’s 25 Year Crime chart, we can see for ourselves that crime ebbs and flows, not in line with any single person’s position in office.

You claim that Hartford has become a more vibrant city, a destination. This is still a stretch, but I’ll grant you this one. People who have any sense in them know that Hartford has more going on now than it has in decades. I’m not certain we can quite call it a destination city yet. But you neglect to mention that Hartford is also laughed at for a number of things, like the Convention Center, vacant Constitution Plaza, and the failed Patriots deal.

But it’s not your desire to portray Hartford in a positive light that has got me sitting here, writing to you. It’s what came afterwards.

If you had it your way, Sarah Barr, it seems that you would allow the censorship of any information that does not fit in with your rose-colored version of Eddie Perez. You ask why the Courant has to “leak” pieces of information about the criminal case to the public. Then you continue to assert that Perez should be compared to the politicians who have been found not guilty.

There should not even be a grand jury because the mayor of Hartford should not be doing anything remotely unethical, let alone illegal. When he involves himself in various sketchy activities, he needs to own up to that. As the public, as voters and tax payers, we absolutely have the right to know about what our representatives are being accused of. I know that cutting sweet deals for parking lots, trash hauling, and home remodeling is not as awful as killing orphans or waging war, but these are still crimes connected to greed (as opposed to crimes committed so a person can have a meal or place to sleep).