Republican City Councilman Enrique Torres, a candidate for the February 24 special election for Connecticut’s 129th State House District, has launched a petition drive both online here and in hard copy at his Harborview Market in Black Rock to build public support to enforce the Bridgeport City Charter that prohibits city employees from serving on the City Council. From Torres:
“Elimination of conflicts of interests is a necessary ingredient to good government. Ending the current system where elected City Councilors are also functioning as paid City employees and serve at the pleasure of the Mayor, can be the first step towards an independent and effective branch of government that serves the people instead.
“Nothing highlights the problem more than the current personnel investigation of sitting City Councilman and City employee Richard Paoletto. Councilman Paoletto who also serves as the Deputy Director of Housing and Commercial Code Enforcement was placed on paid administrative leave after a college intern filed a sexual harassment claim against him in October. Under normal circumstances, Tom McCarthy, the Deputy Director of Labor Relations would get involved in a personnel matter of this nature but as McCarthy also serves as a City Councilman and City Council president he has chosen to recuse himself from his $130,000 a year job.
“Herein lies the crux of the matter, the prime function of the Deputy Director of Labor Relations is to investigate personnel matters. Tom McCarthy cannot perform his duties as a paid city employee because McCarthy has a political relationship with a fellow elected city councilman who happens to be the subject of an investigation. This begs the next hypothetical question, would Tom and any other councilman/employee of the City have to recuse themselves of voting on any legal settlement between the City and the intern.
“Where else but in the City of Bridgeport do you need a legal opinion to tell you whether or not you can perform the functions of your paid job because of political conflicts of interest. Who among us can recuse themselves from doing their paid job? It is for this reason that I have created a petition demanding that the Mayor, the Common Council, Bridgeport boards and commission and the entire Bridgeport state legislative delegation support the enforcement of the Bridgeport City Charter banning city employees from serving on the Common Council. I urge everyone who supports good and ethical government to sign this petition.
“If we can’t stop city councilors from serving in a dual capacity as paid employees and elected public servants how can we stop other actions like pay for play and kickbacks to politically connected firms and contractors? Our neighbors in New York State are going through a public corruption scandal involving the now resigned Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver who was indicted last week on taking $4 million in bribes and kickbacks. Sadly, Sheldon Silver is merely the new poster-boy for conflicts of interests and corruption in this week’s news cycle. If conflicts of interest are allowed to continue in Bridgeport then it is only a matter of time before the next political scandal rocks our city.”
Um, if conflicts weren’t allowed and ripping off the taxpayers blind became frowned upon, where exactly do you expect the city to find its political leaders? Before anyone jumps down my throat, you may wish to take the time to read the current headlines.
Also to be noted is all the time McCarthy is not available to perform his $130,000 a year job because of being at every press conference, photo op, store opening, marching in parades (St. Patrick’s Day comes to mind), etc. etc., and the way Finch/McCarthy/Anastasi are stonewalling this investigation of Paoletto is not only a disgrace, it’s a slap in the face to all Bpt’s taxpayers. They are clearly “taking care of their own” going on four months now, “investigating Richie’s SECOND sexual harassment suit in the past few years, while he continues to collect a paycheck for sitting home. Disgusting.
Long before the law gets changed, the Citizen Petition will run out of ink.
Conflicts of interest are part of American politics.
China and Russia are fantastic destinations for those looking to avoid conflicts of interest.
The mayor is famous for saying no one cares about this issue. This is the opportunity for every person, especially those candidates and those elected who have said they support this to push this petition out to the public and collect signatures.
Long before the vote happens, the Citizen Petition will run out of ink, clicks and baked cookies. The law can be changed but you don’t do it by collecting signatures.
If all we were doing is collecting signatures, you would be correct.
I think we have a conflict of interest. JB acts as if she were part of the political intelligentsia. Here’s why I’m writing: I have an outpost in Black Rock and use it to monitor political activities in that area.
I am? An admitted registered Republican and you give me credit for acting as if I am part of the political intelligentsia? Please stop, you are giving me a bit of a swelled head! Although there are those who say I suffer from this already with suspected pertinent effects.
Hennessy And Moore Introduce State Legislation To End Conflict Of Interest On City Council. Ricky, you can now stop your dog and pony show with respect to your sign the petition drive.
Donald, with all due respect, the current mayor says the conflict of interest is a non-issue for the majority of Bridgeport residents, this petition is in support of this bill, any candidate or elected official who supports this bill would show their support by either signing this, or circulating their own. When a sitting council member who actually experiences and sees the behind-the-scenes conflicts crippling this city and steps forward and is proactive in informing the citizens, is this really something to discourage?
Jennifer Buchanan, Rick Torres is the wrong person to bring this message, it won’t matter how good something is, it will go nowhere if Rick Torres is leading the charge. Jennifer Buchanan, once again you are in the wrong party if you want to make change.
Well Ron, send me a petition from any candidate or elected official supporting the bill and I will gladly sign it John Hancock style. Mary-Jane Foster signed and sent the petition to her list of friends, we are having a friendly exchange of how many signature did you get. Kill the messenger if you wish on this particular petition, all this petition is doing is showing bipartisan support, in my humble opinion.
My offshore satellite has moved into position. It’s now hovering over the Harborview Market and my special training is finally becoming useful. Here’s what I’ve learned: The Citizen Petition is a smokescreen. Serious people and oodles of PAC money are hard at work twisting arms and gaining favor with selected pols. Under inspection, the details become unclear. More later.
LE,
Your aluminum stocking cap is reflecting sunlight this morning. Your drone is frozen in place. And yet you drone on. For your own delight? Certainly not to assist Bridgeport taxpayers, voters, or the large group of awakening citizens. The public can see in the Bridgeport Passion Play, the “bad” actors suffering from dark moral issues of sex, money and power. The actors use “method systems” encouraged by loose monitoring and no checks and balances. Some performances like those of Council representative DeJesus in the past couple weeks display new combinations of excess not previously known to the public. Some laugh at the absurdity of the political sideshow that attempts to control the citizens. But these men are not dressed like circus clowns. They are serious in thinking the public enjoys their show.
The Citizen Petition is a method of “waking” the politically unconscious to the new reality and depravity of the City machine. Is there more to the story? Does Mayor Finch, as magician, have more tricks up his sleeve? What do you think? Time will tell.
Johm Marshall Lee,
My satellite has stealth technology–useless in space but potent at low levels.
I’m not here for my own delight. I’m a rider with The Guardians of American Democracy, who oppose those who cannot tolerate public knowledge and then disguise themselves as reformers to fix it.
It’s a fast world we live in. We just completed a bake sale to fund the status quo for Bridgeport’s City Council. We raised $7.25. That’ll be enough to overcome those who seek to change the law.
From the Federal Government office of ethics web site:
The overall purpose of these restrictions is to prevent an employee from engaging in activities which create an actual, or apparent, conflict of interest. Activities that amount to an appearance of a conflict of interest are sometimes difficult to identify definitively. However, an appearance of a conflict is present if a reasonable member of the public would believe that the employee benefitted from access to official information or otherwise from his official position. Moreover, the appearance of a conflict may be heightened by the perception that the activities could have been undertaken while on official duty, using Government resources. Even though public perception may be inconsistent with the facts of a particular case, Standards of Conduct are designed to prevent such appearances of conflict.
LE,
You are not a “rider.” You are a “fly” who enjoys low-level and higher escapes from reality. You are a certifiable Guardians of American Democracy (GADfly). I think you need to go a little farther in flight to secure adequate funding. $7.25 does not buy much today.
Finally, who is the “we” you reference, the “we” who worked at baking in Bridgeport? Who is going to spend that $7.25 and on what? Time will tell.
In all our promotional efforts, The Guardians of American Democracy appear on horseback as befits our origins, which date to 1721.
In 1721 the colonials of necessity were engaged in a French & Indian War if memory serves me. Please supply more info about your horseback origins and the tenets of Guardians of American Democracy. GADFLY? GADZOOKS? GADDARN? LE, what’s the story? Time will tell.
Here’s the story: if we had lost that war, we’d all be speaking French.
Alors, quel est votre point?
Just ask Anthony Musto whether people care about this issue! It was probably the primary issue that caused him to lose his re-election bid. This is a “no brainer” and basic “good government” issue. I will sign the petition. I encourage others who want to restore integrity in government and create a better future in Bridgeport to do so as well.
It will take more than an ancient city charter to restore integrity in government. Bridgeport doesn’t have a $17 trillion debt. This is a “use-your-brain-er” issue.
I think Dave Walker saw the futility of national economics and made the switch to softer targets like local government.
Forget about everything else for a moment except this simple point. The people of Bridgeport voted to eliminate this conflict of interest. If you don’t support this legislation, then you don’t support the democratic process upon which our entire federal system is based. And all elected officials who choose to take this position should be held accountable by that very same process. The fact they aren’t in this town speaks directly to the inherently unhealthy condition resulting from a one-party system. I applaud Councilman Torres’ efforts to highlight the importance of this issue.
I reject the proposed legislation yet support our democratic process. I disapprove of Phil Blagys’ version of America.
Here’s why: It was the democratic process that produced the loophole and it was the democratic process that failed to remove it last year. Changing the law is what the democratic process is all about. If legislators can’t legislate the democratic process has done its job.
“Democratic process” is your momentary banner but you fail to describe or define it. And if you would say all towns around have “democratic process” then your point disappears, into outer space, perhaps.
Our own Charter says NO to the City job and City Council pairing. Doesn’t matter says a legal interpretation that has had staying power, but no one in any town or State with whom I have discussed our City impasse thinks we have anything close to what can be considered “democratic process,” unless you wished to attach the descriptive “bottom-feeder level with no upright monitoring or checks and balances.” These features have been stolen, mostly by stealth, and the public would not know their pockets were picked. Of course the public also never got to vote on these diminutions in government structure and framework.
Perhaps the only two things that substantiate “democratic process” are election days and the right to vote. Time will tell.
So right, Phil. I’m at a loss to understand the carping about this effort. It is all worth the effort–every time someone speaks up, writes, acts–it is worth it. I hope we will all support this effort. Time for change in Bridgeport.