While a local political action committee has asked the state to investigate a high volume of absentee ballot voting in last week’s Democratic City Council primary on the East Side, the Connecticut Elections Enforcement Commission recently dismissed a complaint against City Councilwoman Lydia Martinez that accused her of taking unauthorized possession of absentee ballots at an apartment building at 1491 Central Avenue for last year’s November general election. Martinez and her running partner Milta Feliciano lost on the machines last week to Maria Valle and Aidee Nieves but had enough absentee ballots to put them over the top. Martinez had been fined twice the past several years for violations of state election law.
The complaint brought early this year by East End District Leader Ralph Ford against Martinez maintained Kevin Johnson witnessed Martinez handling absentee ballots against state law. Johnson, however, according to the commission decision dismissing the complaint, failed to validate Ford’s complaint. From the decision:
Mr. Johnson was provided with multiple opportunities by Commission investigators to substantiate the allegations alluded to by Complainant, but failed to confirm the allegations detailed above or otherwise submit a sworn affidavit of complaint or written statement to the Commission detailing improper conduct by any individuals in connection with absentee ballot applications and absentee ballots solicited from residents at 1491 Central Avenue for the November 8, 2012 election in the City of Bridgeport.
Read the full commission decision here.
Investigators from the Connecticut Elections Enforcement Commission probed allegations in the complaint brought by Ford who’s been on opposite sides of Martinez in a variety of city races including last year’s State Senate primary won by Andres Ayala over Ernie Newton and Ed Gomes. State investigators William Smith and Gilberto Oyola blanketed the 1491 Central Avenue apartment complex with letters requesting cooperation from residents.
“It has been alleged that some of the applications and ballots were obtained fraudulently,” the letter stated to one resident of the complex. “Since your name appears on the list of voters voting absentee from that address we need you to confirm whether the handwriting and signature appearing on those pages correspond to you.”
Ford claimed, in his complaint, that Kevin Johnson, a resident of 1491 Central Avenue “reported that two ladies came to his building at 1491 Central Avenue and told the residents to sign the absentee ballot applications. These applications were filed under false pretenses including Mr. Johnson’s. A few days later one of the ladies returned to the building and picked up Kevin Johnson’s ballot telling him “not to tell anybody.” Mr. Johnson as well as other residents were unaware of the elections laws regarding absentee ballots. When I informed him about the regulations he became quite upset and agreed to file a complaint. Apparently, other residents of this building were victimized as well. It was alleged by other residents that Lydia Martinez, a city councilperson (was) involved in soliciting and carrying these applications and ballots.”
When it comes to an absentee ballot operation, Martinez is the queen of the court in city politics. She’s extremely attentive to the task of prevailing upon unsophisticated electors to cast a vote by absentee ballot, even organizing constituent outings to casinos and Port Jefferson. She often claims she’s simply helping voters that cannot make it to the polls, particularly the elderly. For a seasoned political operative such as Martinez, her absentee ballot constituents are money in the bank for city elections. Martinez also has some clout on the City Council serving as chair of the Economic and Community Development Committee that steers funding for the needy from the city’s Community Development Block Grant program. Her absentee ballot operation generally centers on her East Side council district, but the complaint brought by Ford accused her of interloping in his district.
Ford actively worked against last year’s November ballot question that asked voters to approve mayoral appointment of school board members. Martinez worked in favor of the question. Ford’s heavy African American constituency voted against the question at both his precincts, Harding and Dunbar. Ford, once a supporter of Bill Finch’s, had a falling-out with the mayor more than a year ago, stemming from patronage jobs. Ford has been a player in city politics for decades, leveraging his political action committee to support his candidates for office–dubiously, say his political critics. Ford is a behavioral health physician, which sometimes comes in handy for city politics.
How she gets away with this atrocity is beyond imagination.
She gets away with it for a number of reasons, just like in the case above no one came forward to say Lydia did anything wrong. Next, there is NO real strength in the law itself. Change the law would a good start, something with some real power and with funding to look into the complaints.
*** Rumor has it Lydia was top in her Gym class when playing dodge-ball! ***
The Lydia queue is one busy queue up there! They emptied this queue just in time to fill it up with a new gaggle of complaints.
Inquiring minds want to know: if it’s on the ground it’s a gaggle, and if it’s in the air it’s a flock, right?
The lesson here is citing statutes means nothing. A complaint must be made by a person of integrity who is willing to submit a sworn affidavit.
And this woman, along with Brantley, chaired the Economic and Community Development and Environment Committee. Harborview got something like $1.5 million for new windows. Marionville, a private condo, got something like $500,000 for a new roof out of Community Development Block Grant money, distributed by her committee while callously ignoring pleas from community improvement efforts. She is Finch’s pawn and enabled by his minions in the Economic and Community Development Department Office. We’ll get her next time.
I take issue with the office of OPED being a bunch of minions. Other than the new director, the rest of that office is a group of hardworking people. Birdman Finch had Lydia’s back during her worthless time she spent in the OPED office. She was and still is one major waste of time, better known as a plate washer.
*** Voters, mostly A/B voters were and still today are responsible for her winning primary and general elections to stay in office. Whether low voter turnouts or not, she continues to win, no? So what’s that tell you about that district in general when it comes to knowing what’s going on with their neighborhood and local city government that affects them in the long run? *** WELCOME TO ZOMBIELAND! ***
Our state elected reps who did not support HB5734 tell us to vote city employees out of office. Do they realize how hard we are trying to do this and how impossible it is with the AB abuse?
Jennifer Buchanan, the answer to that is real simple, vote them out of office.
Thank you–why did we not think of that!
*** Jennifer, be sure to write that down so you can inform city voters on your show, no? *** Just Vote Them Out, Yo! ***