UPDATE, Statement from city: Alanna Kabel, the city’s assistant chief administrative officer, will be leaving the city for a position with the federal Housing and Urban Development office in Hartford, according to the mayor’s office. Kabel had once served as deputy chief administrative officer in charge of the Community Development Block Grant Program.
She returned to the city in 2011 as assistant chief administrative officer at an annual salary of $126,000 following a brief stint with the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority. She’s a key figure in Mayor Bill Finch’s government inner circle, highly regarded by the mayor and some city managers, not so by some of those who worked for her.
Kabel raised some eyebrows in the Health Department two years ago when she issued a “Memorandum” to employees about “Chain of Command Policy … ‘Employees are not to skip the chain of command and contact the Mayor’s Office directly under any circumstances. Failure to follow the chain of command policy will be considered insubordinate behavior and may result in disciplinary action.'”
It was that type of communication with city employees that made Kabel a polarizing figure in City Hall.
Starting an early professional career in city government, she was rehired to work in the city during the John Fabrizi mayoral years, but moved up the ranks during the Finch years.
Statement from mayor’s Communications Director Brett Broesder:
“Mayor Finch is very fond of Alanna. She’s incredibly talented and dedicated. She’s produced tremendous results for the state’s largest city. That said, it’s far from shocking that others see her immense value, too. Her new role with HUD is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. She can’t pass it up. Mayor Finch supports her decision. And, in her new role, she’ll remain in close contact with the city, continuing to help make her hometown of Bridgeport a better place to live, work, and raise a family.”
Alanna worked for the City as far back as Tom Bucci. She was there during the Moran Administration. The memo you reference as a negative is standard procedure in the real world. The Mayor doesn’t have to deal with day-to-day grievances. That is what the union and human resources dept. deal with.
Intentionally going over a supervisor’s head is insubordination and a vain attempt to show disrespect. In every business there is a chain of command. The problem arises when subordinates are patronage positions and they think they have the ear of the Mayor. Some of these individuals need a pat on the head daily from the Mayor instead of a kick in the ass out the door. Alanna was a professional and personalities aside, apparently she does her job well. Good luck in Hartford.
Steve,
Here is my question. Is the hypothetical employee you are talking about being insubordinate a city resident? A city taxpayer? Don’t they have the right to address issues directly with their Chief Elected Official without having to go through their boss?
Do you believe when you become a city employee you surrender your freedom of speech?
I believe when you are a city employee you deal with your supervisor. The Mayor does not have the time to deal with that crap. Maybe you think the Mayor does. Maybe a state employee working for the department of transportation should be able to call Dannel Malloy for a meeting. Does a Walmart employee call the CEO?
Hopefully Bill Finch will soon be following Kabel to a position with the federal Housing and Urban Development office in Washington DC, PLEASE.
Amen!
Great. One less Nazi in City Hall. And by the way, what has she done? Apart from terrorizing city employees and their relatives. Actual results? Zippo. ROI? Zippo.
Good riddance. To lead is to serve Alanna, and not yourself. On to better caliber and higher integrity leaders, I hope. Word to the wise for HUD: There goes the neighborhood.
One fewer fly or leech on the government dole. None of these governmentals could make it in the private sector. And you paid their salaries.
It was observed early in the history of man’s maritime achievements, rats would sense the sinking of a ship before anyone else would realize it and make for safety and land. They would appear out of the bilges and run across the decks in a thundering herd as the ship settled. The metaphor indicates people are bailing on the situation like rats do when the ship sinks.
Good riddance!!! I have friends and relatives who work at City Hall and the Alanna stories I have heard completely disgust me. She has treated City employees in a threatening, mean-spirited, and often unjust manner that at times goes beyond belief! But let me clarify, that’s just employees who aren’t connected. I know of plenty of other circumstances of City employees and/or elected officials who are incredibly incompetent, grossly inappropriate, and at times a legal liability to the City and are under Alanna’s jurisdiction, yet she has done nothing about it! If you aren’t connected you will no doubt suffer the wrath of Alanna, regardless of your work effort and skill, however if you are connected she is hands off, proving she is ultimately just another puppet of this sickening administration. On a positive note I will say no one, man or woman, young or old, can match her discipline, energy, and devotion when it comes to the job at hand. Unfortunately those positive traits are far overshadowed by her tyrannical demeanor, her bullying, and just plain ugly and disgusting way she treats other humans.
Steve, you don’t know what you’re talking about. Chain of command was never the issue. The issue was controlling, bullying and intimidating employees and making sure no one reported anything to the mayor’s office. Alanna managed by fear and intimidation. She may have been a decent human being under Bucci but she was a Finch puppet these last several years. She preyed on people in a way I have never seen. Like pure evil. She didn’t last long in her last HUD job. Some workplaces don’t stand for this type of behavior. We’ll see what happens this time around.
Any truth to the rumors other dept heads, like David Kooris, have been complaining about her?
Well said, smoker. You can be “professional … and do your job well” but that’s no excuse to be abusive beyond belief to fellow humans under your authority.
OMG. Seriously? Are you kidding me? So she was a bitch. You worked for city hall. Life was rough. Really? In the old days you’d leak stuff to the papers. Seriously, she ruled with an iron hand? You were petrified of her? OMG, grow a pair for crying out loud. In the real world she apparently did a fine job. I wonder just how many grievances and investigations were done on this Nazi? Honestly, this crap is embarrassing. No wonder you guys never use your name. I can’t believe I’m defending her. My gut always told me she loathed me as much as Mary Moran. But she was a professional. If she was a lousy manager, shame on the City for not addressing it.
Steve, you are either blind, deaf or dumb if you truly believe the words you wrote about Alanna. A person can still have a good work ethic and be a leader without the unjustified bullying behavior she consistently displayed. Hey, I’m old school and can’t stand lazy whiny workers any more than you, but her style of intimidation went far beyond what is fair. The stress she caused among good honest and hard-working people was completely unjust and absolutely disgusting. Don’t you find it interesting every comment on this blog says the same thing? Heck, even I praised her hard work in an earlier post, but she loses all respect because of her insane behavior.
Pork, I did not work for her. You may be right in everything you have said. No person should ever have to work under such abhorrent conditions. If there have not been any grievances filed, then it is a shame, isn’t it?
The best news out of this is the city has the potential to save $140-$150k if they don’t replace her. Unfortunately they will probably not replace her but use the money to hire political patronage people with an election coming up.
Shucks. I polished up my resume …
Kabel was one piece of shit to work for, another piece of garbage out the door. Sorry for HUD.
I believe this is the second time around for her getting a State job. It did not take them long to throw her dumb ass out the door.
Yup. HUD, there goes the neighborhood.
I’ve never met Alanna Kabel but I must say I’ve never heard anyone ever talk about a woman the way people here are talking about this woman, wow!!!
You know what, Ron? I have never heard a nice word about this woman on OIB or anywhere else, ever. Apparently she treats employees like servants, threatens them with retribution if they don’t do her bidding, and keeps things from the Mayor’s office so she may continue to stay in his favor. Apparently it worked. Lucky break for Bridgeport city employees she is leaving.
Lucky break, indeed. I just heard a collective sigh of relief coming from 999 Broad Street. But you never know. She may be back. Fabrizi seems to have high regards for her. Shows how out of touch he is.
Bond Girl, did any men work for Alanna Kabel?