Here’s your chance to become Personnel Director of Connecticut’s largest city. The deadline to apply is Wednesday, according to the job posting on the city’s website.
The person who ends up with the job will be tasked with conducting a national search for a permanent police chief. Rebeca Garcia has the role in an acting capacity.
Eric Amado, who has a dual role as director of Labor Relations, is acting personnel director. He replaced David Dunn who also had the position in an acting role for more than a decade until his resignation about a year ago following his federal arrest for scheming with former Chief AJ Perez to rig the top cop test.
The personnel director position had been sacrosanct from its birth, created under the mayoralty of Socialist Jasper McLevy, 1933-57, who instituted the Civil Service testing system as a firewall against political intrusion. In 2009 then Mayor Bill Finch took a fire hose to its institutionalism lining up the Civil Service Commission votes to can Ralph Jacobs with whom he had a scratchy relationship.
It came with a price tag for taxpayers.
Former Mayor Tom Bucci, an expert in labor law, represented Jacobs in a financial termination agreement totaling $180,000.
A mayor with an accommodating personnel director is like harnessing a de facto patronage department shoehorning political supporters into positions. Personnel directors who play by the book are loyal to the testing rules and regulations set forth in the City Charter.
In the old days voters would come after pols with hatchets if they messed with the system. In 2015 Finch lost the mayoralty to Ganim who kept Dunn, a loyal political soldier, in place. When the 2018 police chief test blew up publicly last year Dunn was done and Perez was also charged forcing his resignation.
The Civil Service Commission, whose members are selected by the mayor except for one chosen by city employees, is the appointing authority.
Well this could be good news for recently Arrested and disgraced former Civil Service Director David Dunn who could apply for the job. After all you have a Mayor who spent a lot more time in prison that Arrested and disgraced former Civil Service Director David Dunn who only did 86 days in prison. Oh yes you also have a Mayor who said he believes in 2nd chances. Welcome back Arrested and disgraced former Civil Service Director David Dunn.
You’re right Don. Similarly, after he completes his time, A J could be hired as a consultant to whoever the new police chief might be. Nationwide search for that position! The last national “search” for police chief worked out well!
The new pick will be very interesting.
I heard that Defilippo is giving an after work adult education course about voter protection rights.
At least Bridgeport continues to move in the right direction???????????
Cheers!
My moneys on Eric Amado. I hear everybody like Erik. He could then hire David Dunn as a consultant to run the tests and do the dirty work. He can also give David the Labor Relations job to make him whole.
Joe Ganim created this mess, as a convicted felon he ran for governor after the voters of Bridgeport elected him mayor in 2015 and before his term was up for Mayor Joe decided that he wanted to be governor but the voters the state and Bridgeport and candidate Ned Lamont had other plans in that Democrat primary. Joe should had been doing your job as Mayor and replaced David Dunn 7 years ago. At no time did it ever come to your mind that having someone in the position of “Acting” for 12 years was wrong and more importantly it was against the City Charter. Next, why in the world did David Dunn think that it was ok to violate the City Charter to do you a favor?
Lennie, who is the consultant that the hired to process this exam and how were they selected? The City in the past has offered to hired Larry Osborne to work in the Labor Relation Office. Eric is a nice but that’s not we need, we need someone who can bring experience, confidence and trust as the Personnel Director, Eric would be better as the Labor Relation Director. David Dunn is a disgrace prison felon who should never have anything to do with the City.
Ron..Your question to Joe..”Why in the world did David Dunn think that it was ok to violate the city charter to do you a favor?
I’d imagine Dunn did Joe the favor of giving Perez the answers to the test,to make sure he kept his job as “acting personal director”, it was a good job. Imagine the things Joe asked him to do that he never got caught doing??.. Oy Vey!
Bottom line, if you choose to be Joe’s “friend”, he will eventually lead you down the wrong road, then, when you get caught, he’s done being your “friend”.
Waiting game is still on. Many have folded and did or are still doing time. Others are next in line. Future will show if anyone “rolled” on Joe, OR- one of his cohorts. Lots of irons in the fire! 🔥! If anyone else has “talked” we may never know. But we’ll have some pretty accurate guesses.
Cheers!
Click on Civil Service Commission and you arrive at their website with a listing of their important administrative duties which, when overlooked or ignored or even knowingly broken cause harm to employees, to would-be employees and to taxpayers.
Currently the listing shows one vacancy. And two listed members with expiry dates in 2010 and 2017. More administrative excellence from Ganim2 who has had specific people tasked with Board and Commission oversight, but issues continue. Within the past decade the Civil Service Commission was chaired for too many years by a resident and registered voter from Trumbull who finally capitulated and resigned.
Such a position could have halted the Civil Service Director acting career years earlier, but that never happened. And currently the personnel practices in the City continue to cost the City Attorney office who has to defend employment claims. But Committee Chairs continued to accept the direction of the Mayor’s office, allowing “acting” lessons by Dave Dunn to continue. And now he gets to sport “electronic ankle jewelry” that provides legal oversight limiting his movement these days as part of his consequential sentence.
Employment with the City is reasonably secure as a gig. But where is the energy and specific objectives that will provide support and encouragement to folks who wish to grow skills and capacity for their work and see it as a career rather than merely a job? Time will tell.
Lennie has provided a excellent historical and factucal information concerning Bridgeport that ALL elected officials need to know. Let me start from the end of Lennie’s comment:
“In the old days voters would come after pols with hatchets if they messed with the system. In 2015 Finch lost the mayoralty to Ganim who kept Dunn, a loyal political soldier, in place. When the 2018 police chief test blew up publicly last year Dunn was done and Perez was also charged forcing his resignation.”
The City’s union members did absolutely nothing and said nothing during the 12 years that David Dunn was the “Acting” Personnel Director and as the of the City’s Cvil Service Commission that deals with union grievances of union members against their department head. Next, Lennie wrote:
“A mayor with an accommodating personnel director is like harnessing a de facto patronage department shoe horning political supporters into positions. Personnel directors who play by the book are loyal to the testing rules and regulations set forth in the City Charter.”
As we all can see this is what got AJ Perez federal prision time along with David Dunn because all of those elected City Council members during the past 12 years sat on their ass and did nothing and they allowed this corruption to exist. It took the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to finally get a nationwide search to find a new Personnel Director who passed a civil service exam for that position.
Again Lennie! Your website updated in the middle of my typing and all is lost.
Thought it was just me! Seems better now.
Again Lennie!!!!!!!
Maybe I should keep my posts to ten words or less.
CT Post is reporting a gun rights group is suing the City of Bridgeport for not issuing gun permits fast enough.
Are they crazy????
We don’t have a functioning Police Dept!!!
Our last Chief of Police is in jail for cheating on the promotion exam.
Our Personnel Director is on home release for helping the Chief cheat.
The city is being sued over the appointment of the acting Chief of Police because they say she should not have been appointed and she is not qualified.
Bob, you notice that the police union has not said anything publicly about the appointment of the ‘Acting” Police Chief and the cheating that David Dunn the “Acting” Personnel Director helped with AJ Perez, the union has said nothing in protecting the right of those union members.
And they are suing because the Bport Police Dept is not issuing permits fast enough?
Get in line.
Who the hell gets gun permits in Bpt?.