Democratic mayoral candidate John Gomes, former director of the city’s government-efficiency CitiStat Program, says Mayor Bill Finch’s appointment of Kristin duBay Horton as director of the Health Department appears to be a good selection, but the Health Department itself is a disaster. From Gomes:
It appears that Kristin duBay Horton’s appointment by Mayor Finch to serve as Director of the Health Department was based on her qualifications, skills, and experience. Her status as a City resident is an important factor, especially since so many other Mayoral appointees are not. Ms. duBay Horton shops in Bridgeport goes out to City restaurants and interacts on a daily basis with City residents. She knows this City. And I’m sure she feels the pain and discouragement of City residents in relationship to the administration.
The Health Department has been in a constant downward spiral under the Finch administration. This Department, which should be the foundation for the healthy well-being of our residents, has been derailed from its core function of providing vital health services. Our City has 28% of her children living in poverty. In 2010, there was a 28% increase in the number of families with children receiving food stamps. More than 35% of Bridgeport families do not have health coverage, and our City’s unemployment rate hovers around 13%. These statistics clearly demonstrate why the Health Department should never have been delisted as a priority one department.
Critical programs such as WIC (Women, Infant and Children), School Based Health, Dental Hygiene, and Public Health Nursing have been stripped from the Department. Many of these services now require fee-for-service, a terrible burden for so many City residents given the statistics above.
The Health Department itself is housed in a derelict building on East Main Street. Health inspectors have been moved out of the building, leaving just a few small remaining agencies to cope with the water leaks, the rats and the physical deterioration.
To get this Department moving in the right direction again, multiple and parallel remedies are immediately needed. This includes professional training, cross-training, proper inspector certification, current technology systems, and facility support. The Health Department has a history of successful grant acquisition, but that process has been effectively sabotaged by a series of actions encouraged by the Finch administration. If the revenue stream generated by grants as well as inspections fees could be restored, this Department would once again be viable.
I hope, under the new leadership of Kristin duBay Horton, that the Department will once again have the freedom and flexibility to execute innovative ideas, to re-establish the core functions that have always been associated with the Health Department, and to fulfill its mission of “promoting and protecting the health of the people of Bridgeport.”
That ain’t sick, this man is sick:
“… The word ‘minority’ from our standpoint should mean African American. I don’t think women, Asians and Hispanics should be able to use that title,” he said. “That’s why our numbers cannot improve — because we use women, Asians and Hispanics who are not people of color, who are not people who have been discriminated against …”
www .suntimes.com/news/cityhall/2877318-418/women-meeks-contracts-percent-african.html
Joel Gonzalez // Dec 21, 2010 at 12:49 am
To your posting
Joel,
Can you believe it … even today there is no progress for so many in their thinking …
Thanks for your link …
I forgot to mention that I don’t like Bill Finch only because I lost my job, and am working on John’s campaign out of spite.
Blurry is an asshole.
James Meeks and all those who think like him need to sit down and listen to black history from “The Teacher.”
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albizu_Campos
How KOOL *** a mayoral candidate who actually can form a complete sentence *** SWEEET ***and he knows what’s goin’ down in the city? Maybe cares? Deli dude is comin’ out of the closet to grab the bad city by DA BALLS? *** Last 2 MAYORS couldn’t spell health dept *** Keep it up Gomesy ***ay da force be with you!!!!!!!!!
Are we sure he can form a complete sentence? Read carefully.
A complete sentence includes a punctuation mark at the end.
Lake Forest Guy, take note.
Local Eyes,
Good thing I’m not the one running for mayor here, isn’t it?
I agree this appears to be a good appointment. My question is why did it take so long? Hasn’t this position been vacant for a year or so since the last director was not reappointed, causing a brouhaha in and of itself? Funny how things are done purely for political purposes in an election year. I wonder how long Ms. du Bay Horton lasts if Finch is re-elected and she doesn’t play ball.
Remember this administration is not about the best person for a job or the best interests of the taxpayers, it’s about what’s in it for me.
I hope this information is published elsewhere so it reaches more people. OIB is a wonderful forum but I’m afraid only the very well-informed and political junkies come here and we all already know the deal. The average voter needs to be exposed to this kind of information if this city has any hope.
During the past year most of the health dept grants were purposely sabotaged or outsourced causing many layoffs of city workers. That was the plan from day #1.
“Ms. duBay Horton shops in Bridgeport goes out to City restaurants and interacts on a daily basis with City residents. She knows this City. And I’m sure she feels the pain and discouragement of City residents in relationship to the administration.” — Not that this is bad information, but when a serious mayoral candidate releases a grammatically incorrect press release, and this is the most information he knows about the person in question, it is a bit frightening. Not to mention many of his points are very vague.
Lake Forest Guy // Dec 21, 2010 at 10:03 am
To your posting …
Looks as though you could be a big help to us … Why don’t you stop by HQ and enlighten us as to the merits of a few missing commas as compared to a few missing truths from the current administration?
I mean … do you know what the real point of the press release was? I can assure you it wasn’t to give a complete bio of Kristin duBay Horton as much as it was to tell what she is up against. Nothing vague, just facts …
Carolanne,
Point taken. I feel as though “but that process has been effectively sabotaged by a series of actions encouraged by the Finch administration” is vague. It’s apparent that Mr. Gomes is criticizing the current administration because of the fact that he was let go by Finch and is now running against him, but it seems as though everything he attacks is faulting the mayor. Politicians are always criticized, but its important to be realistic in these criticisms. Pointing fingers and saying everything is wrong in the city is not very productive.
Lake Forest Guy // Dec 21, 2010 at 3:53 pm
To your posting
You will find everything that has so far been mentioned as being wrong with the operations of City government is substantially due to the gross irresponsibility of Bill Finch to take principled actions on behalf of all the residents of this City. John Gomes is one of nine high-level employees unfairly dismissed by Finch, and perhaps the only one at this point able to call into accountability the actions of this Mayor.
These “criticisms” are productive to the extent that no one should remain under the illusion that he serves the people of Bridgeport … he doesn’t.
By the way,
Please enlighten us … “few missing truths from the current administration.” Such as? I thought this newest hiring was thought of to be a positive move? This is what you are choosing to criticize? Isn’t this the first step in fixing the “broken” health department?
Lake Forest Guy // Dec 21, 2010 at 4:00 pm
To your posting
“few missing truths” … where is this quote from?
I’m not following you.
But universally, everyone applauds the appointment, but like many others, I think what I read is an inventory of some obstacles she faces and will this administration support her efforts towards remediation.
Carolanne,
“Few missing truths” was from your post.
“Guess who’s coming to dinner” Does that end with a period, question mark or exclamation point? Lake Forest Guy can’t see the forest for the trees.
What happened at last night’s council meeting? The BOE administrators contract was supposed to be voted down by the council. This contract covers 80 administrators who already total $10 Million in annual salary.
It seems Rich Paoletto and our erstwhile labor relations guru Tom McCarthy engineered a coup and got the contract tabled and thus passed. At the end of the meeting Paoletto was seen shaking hands with the BOE attorney.
Question of the day, who got to the council members?
TC,
Not to worry, neither Richie Paoletto or guru Tommy Mac engineered a coup. But common sense prevailed.
Bob Curwen wanted to vote down the contract because he felt this union is overpaid and has not given back enough. However, none of that falls under the council purview. The council was given the contract that includes a 0% increase in year 1; a 1.0% increase in year 2 and a 1.6% increase in year 3. He wanted to make a statement but I am not sure what that statement is/was. The council should find contracts with minimal increases like this as unacceptable?
And what Councilman Curwen did not tell you was if we rejected the contract then it would have gone to binding arbitration and that compared to other contracts for similar professional education unions, we probably would have lost in arbitration and ended up giving the union bigger raises than what they agreed to.
So what exactly was the statement that we wanted to make?
Bob I have no idea what statement Curwen was trying to make but I do know these administrators should have been given 0% raises. There are 80 of them and they make a total of $10 million. Bob people use the excuse of binding arbitration will award them higher raises potentially. You never know if you don’t try.
You asked should the council find contracts like this unacceptable? The answer is hell YES as long as we are getting contract givebacks from the workers making the least then hell yes. The BOE has given squat back and please don’t tell me about last year’s screw-up where they underspent their budget. Here is the problem Bob nobody has any guts they all worry about reelection and how they can feather their own nests thus what happened last night is commonplace in this city.
Come on TC, you know how arbitration works. We are not talking about 5% raises. What was presented to the council was 0%, 1% and 1.6% for the three years along with an increasing percent of employee-paid medical insurance every year.
Do you honestly believe an arbitrator is going to go under those amounts because the city thinks their individuals are paid too much?
It would never happen.
What you and Curwen are advocating is to take a very risky bet with the high probability that the city loses to try to prove a point.
From the CT Post – BRIDGEPORT — A real estate company is claiming the city played favorites during the bid process to find a buyer and tenant for a building and parcel at Sikorsky Memorial Airport.
In a lawsuit filed recently in Bridgeport Superior Court, Watch Hill Properties LLC accuses the city and the Airport Commission of “fraud, corruption and favoritism” for selecting aircraft management business GAMA Aviation Inc. to purchase a single-story professional building and lease the 2.9-acre property the building sits on.
FRAUD, CORRUPTION AND FAVORITISM!!!
Come on Lennie, weigh in on this one. What’s your take?
“This is what happens when people of limited IQs are allowed to have some sort of power, they become the movers and the shakers they have no pride you’re lucky.”
You’re right, Bpt guy. People of limited intelligence should not be allowed to have some sort of power.
By the way Bpt Guy, are you supporting John Gomes?
Methinks Lake Forest Guy should go by his real name *** I work in Mayor’s office guy *** Spin~Spin
Serpico,
I wish I worked in the mayor’s office … I don’t.
Can someone re-read Mr. Gomes’ release and tell what he says he is going to do differently as mayor? I don’t see it anywhere.
First of all, as Director of CitiStat none of this should come as a surprise and if anything I am surprised he did not weigh in on the changes in the Health Dept. as they were occurring. A budget-focused analyst might fully agree with the privatization that has been going on in this area as a means of creating savings to the bottom line. And if he were against these changes, I would have expected a greater in-depth explanation of the changes in the quality of health care delivery more than simply that Bridgeport residents may have to pay more of a fee for services as a result of cuts.
I can tell you this. John Gomes was not fighting against any of these cuts. John Gomes was not fighting alongside Public Health Nurses when negotiated pay raises were withheld. John Gomes was not offering budget alternatives to fund these cuts.
We now know John Gomes can read the BCAC Annual Report on the State of Children in the city based on the statistics he quoted but did he read the newspaper articles that talk about how the State of Connecticut pulled the WIC grant from the city because of the city’s inability to deliver services? Isn’t that what CitiStat was supposed to be about?
And what did Mr. Gomes promise to do as mayor? There was nothing in his press release. Is he pledging to restore these programs even if the burden falls on the city taxpayers? Empathy is free; action is costly.
Although I don’t always agree with Bob Walsh he is dead on here.
Bob Walsh // Dec 21, 2010 at 2:33 pm
To your posting …
I think perhaps you missed the point … This was not a position paper as much as a congratulations to Ms. duBay Horton, and an itemization of what she faces as the new Health Director.
What you might want to do is review what the essence of a CitiStat program is. It is not what you are attempting to portray, and it is not what you are inferring that John Gomes should have done.
As I said to Lake Forest Guy, perhaps you’d like to come by HQ and provided us with some of your insights … especially those insights from your tenure at the Health Department. We’d be deeply appreciative.
By the way I disagree with your disparaging tone regarding empathy. It may be “free,” but it was a hallmark of the work by former members of the Health Department. And it should be the hallmark of every City Department …
Grin Reaper is that a ? or a statement? Do you want to know if I have made up my mind who I am voting for or supporting the answer to your ?/statement is I know who I’m not voting for but I’m waiting to see what other possible candidates their are and what any of them bring to the well-being of OUR CITY and not a minute sooner. I think what you’re getting at is you think John Gomes is of limited IQ but you don’t have the wherewithal to ask that ? directly so you do a scratch and sniff or like dogs do smell each other before you decide to pick a fight or be asshole buddies. I think the person I will support he or she has not announced their intentions as of yet.
Bob good job on taking Gomes apart but do me a favor. Read your statement while looking in a mirror because what you state also applies to you and every other damned politician in this city.
Just once before I die I would like to vote for a politician who states I am going to make the hard choices and I don’t care about reelection. I am going to bring this city up to where it should be and I don’t care about reelection. I am going to make the tough choices and I don’t care about reelection. I am going to make sure this is a safe and caring city. Doing all of that instead of running for reelection the day after they are sworn in would be refreshing.
No TC. You are totally wrong. When Finch was dismantling the Health Department I was putting forward budget amendments to find funding elsewhere, to reduce services and to reduce the number of sites with SBHC’s. You are just so jaded you wouldn’t know the truth if it bit you on your ass.
Bob When was I talking about the Health Department? I was talking about the administrator’s contract pay attention!
Bob Walsh I’m not a supporter of John Gomes but the state did not take WIC away because of city’s inability but by the inept supervisors of the dept that failed the women and children in every way possible. It is the responsibility of every elected official to ask these questions not ask someone who was appointed then fired what he was doing when this happened. I ask you what were you doing when all this was happening don’t tell me you did not know because that doesn’t work you are supposed to be a burr under the saddle, the rebel with all the causes the I don’t give a shit who is behind this ineptitude I need to know for the good of the city BOB WALSH that’s the guy I voted for not an apologist for the rest of the council we are all responsible for our own action or inactions.
Bob these programs were funded by grants not matching grants the taxpayer would not have had to come up with anything, these were fully funded. Optimus now gets the funds. John and CitiStat were like tits on a bull, useless. Bulls need horns and balls; the Mayor, CC, Andy Nunn, Tom Sherwood and the city council cut the horns off and castrated the bull at the citizens’ expense.
Wrong Bridgeport Guy; very, very, wrong.
Initially when School Based Health Centers started they were fully funded by the state. However over the years the city opened two Health Centers fully funded with city cash. And as the programs continued and the state stopped increasing the grants to recognize Cost Of Living increases, increases in health insurance, negotiated wage increases, unfunded unemployment insurances, etc. etc. etc. more of the costs of operating these centers became the responsibility of the taxpayers.
Optimus took the money that the state provides, reduced services and pays employees less. That is what happens when you privatize.
And that is why privatizing anything in government goes against the entire purpose of government, which is to serve the people. The purpose of a private company is to turn a profit, which is primary to serving the people.
Isn’t Optimus the company former councilwoman Leticia Colon works for?
Doesn’t Iris Molina sit on the board of Optimus? Wasn’t Iris Molina in charge of the WIC program these last two years? Didn’t the city just lose WIC because of gross mismanagement? Didn’t Optimus get the WIC program and all the grant money?
Glad to see so many of you here ripping apart the man for issuing this statement. I don’t understand what anyone thinks he should or could have done to prevent what happened at the Health Department. As you might recall, he was fired from CitiStat for trying to do just that. And that firing was made to be as publicly humiliating as possible so as to send a message.
As for being vague, all candidates are vague!!! Didn’t any of you watch any of the hundreds of political ads that ran non-stop this past election season?? Was one of them specific on anything??? How specific can anyone even be when they’d be tarred and feathered for walking back on anything they said? Like promising a property tax decrease as a candidate but then facing the reality of a huge deficit when you’re mayor.
I’d be vague, too. You can WANT to do a lot of things, and actually be specific about them, but actually getting them done, politically and/or financially, is another thing entirely. You will never please everyone but should always do what is in the best interests of the most people. That is not the objective of the current administration and people should keep their focus on that fact instead of worrying about commas.
Bob you didn’t answer me? Are you with us or against us you are wrong they pay them more. Does WPCA pay them less, no. WIC was totally funded you spoke of WIC not School based health centers check your earlier posting. Bob you are trying to make an appointed employee responsible for elected officials, where were you when this happened that you are trying to hold John Gomes’ feet to the fire. If you are for privatizing state so that city employees know because you paint such a pretty picture of it. Bob the more you speak the more I notice you’re not such a maverick but are in lockstep with the administration.
I’m wondering which of these statements merits a disclaimer. Reads like an infomercial.
TC do us and yourself a favor don’t compliment Bob Walsh on ripping into Gomes because he is confused today he doesn’t know if he’s a maverick or Ricky Starr the wrestler.
TC you are right on the money she is one and the same cradle to grave that’s how privatization gets the gravy. She was part of the deal sacrifice the health dept for the good of the councilwoman she didn’t know what she was doing before but at least she can start things someone sits on their board that works for the city she is trying to feather her nest.
Time to get back to basics and roll up the sleeves. If Finch doesn’t get the bailout money from the ‘burbs he will be heading out of the city faster than a speeding bullet.
*** Arbitration is always a crapshoot & whether both sides agree or not, you still can’t please everyone when making a fair decision, no? *** Government is in some ways “Big Brother” watching over the public they serve while private business worries more about making a profit, no? So lately, just who is watching & worrying about the city’s health dept? *** “You can get with this or you can get with that!” ***