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The Legislative Office Building will be thick with presidents Monday morning. CSCU President Terrence Cheng is requiring presidents of the state’s universities, community colleges and other campus leaders to skip the business meeting they were planning to attend and serve as his gallery at his 10 a.m. press conference.

Campus leaders received the command in a Wednesday email from Alice Pritchard, Ph.D. (She/Her/Hers), Chief of Staff and Chief Strategy Officer. “Good afternoon all,” it began. “Rather than the all campus leader meeting scheduled for Monday April 24th, President Cheng will hold a press conference at the state legislative office building at 10am. Your presence is required.“

Observers are braced for an early Festivus airing of grievances. Mandatory attendance at someone else’s press conference about state budget appropriations is never to thank the governor, legislature and the people of Connecticut for their generosity. Expect Cheng to mewl about unmet and underfunded needs. Do not expect a discussion of the state’s falling college age population and its continuing contortions to fill empty classrooms and dormitory space at on especially burdensome university.

Campus leaders will be expected to nod often and applaud at appropriate moments. This will not, however, be a day of action–just unhappy talk. Action will follow on Thursday when union members will enter the halls of government and search for their elected representatives.

Cheng is at a distinct disadvantage from University of Connecticut President Radenka Maric, who threatened end UConn men’s basketball games at Hartford’s XL Center. Earlier this month when Governor Ned Lamont was not complaining about Houston, he and Mrs. Lamont were sitting with Maric at the NCAA men’s basketball finals.

Both UConn and CSCU had been told to prepare for an end to Covid-19 pandemic funds. Lamont’s budget director, Jeffrey Beckham, scolded the leadership of UConn and CSCU when they complained about the proposed immediately after its February release. “The ARPA funding was one-time federal funding, for emergencies to keep the doors open to pay their expenses, despite the fact that they didn’t have revenue because kids weren’t there,” Beckham pronounced in a rebuke, according to the Hartford Courant. “They should have been used for one-time expenses. They should not have used that for ongoing programs.”

Published April 21, 2023.

West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor continues to urge reform-resistant members of the MDC to act on the crisis of confidence they have created at the regional water and sewer authority. On Wednesday, Cantor wrote to the board members Wednesday and called upon them to enact an anti-corruption policy that could disqualify Chairman William DiBella from continuing his decades-long domination of the quasi-public agency.

Cantor wants the board to adopt and enforce a policy “prohibiting anyone from serving as an officer or attorney for the MDC who has been found civilly or criminally liable for public corruption – including violations of the state ethics code or participating in a scheme to defraud public funds.” An op-ed by Cantor published in Tuesday’s edition of The Hartford Courant called for DiBella’s removal in the aftermath of an independent attorney’s report on DiBella’s attempt to steer MDC legal business to a friend. DiBella initially refused to cooperate with the investigation.

As Cantor continues to place herself on the side of action, others continue to maintain a public silence, including the three leading candidates for the Democratic nomination for mayor, state Senator John Fonfara, former state senator and retired judge Eric Coleman and former lobbyists and Lamont administration official Arunan Arulampalam. Supporters of both Fonfara and Arulampalam on the commission’s board voted with DiBella to shutdown debate on the independent investigation.

Here is Cantor’s letter:

Re: Adoption of anti-corruption policy 

Dear Commissioners of the Metropolitan District Commission: 

Like many of you, I was deeply disturbed to read the investigation report issued by the independent counsel for the MDC. 

The MDC takes in hundreds of millions of dollars annually from consumers, as well as the state and federal governments. Despite cynical claims to the contrary, member municipalities do in fact have a vested interest in ensuring good governance of the MDC. I write to you on behalf of the 63,000 West Hartford residents I represent, as well as the countless West Hartford businesses and nonprofits who rely on the MDC to provide affordable, reliable, and clean water and sewer services. 

The investigation report concludes that serious violations of the MDC’s charter and bylaws have occurred, and the findings of fact raise grave concerns about the possibility of fraud and misuse of public funds at the MDC. 

For these reasons, I am calling on the MDC Board to immediately adopt an anti-corruption policy prohibiting anyone from serving as an officer or attorney for the MDC who has been found civilly or criminally liable for public corruption – including violations of the state ethics code or participating in a scheme to defraud public funds. Any such person should not be allowed to serve in a position of power and trust for a public utility like the MDC. 

While other reforms of the MDC are also needed, this simple policy would have likely prevented many of the abuses outlined in the investigation report. 

All of you are stewards of a public asset that provides critical services to hundreds of thousands of people, and I trust that you will act in the interest of the public you serve. 

Published April 20, 2023.

Celebrations of the legalization of cannabis in Connecticut will be held today, 4/20, around the state. This would also be an appropriate time to pay attention to the dangers loosening the state’s drug laws pose to children.

A December letter to parents from Fairfield Superintendent Michael Testani explains a threat that policymakers have not effectively addressed.

Hello Fairfield Public Schools Community,

Considering a recent report from a neighboring school district, I would like to warn our families of the dangers of drug-laced products that are being accessed by children.  

Many are consuming edible cannabis products which look like regular candy or baked goods. Therefore, I am asking all families to speak to your children about not taking any candy or baked goods from unknow individuals. These products are being sold in “copycat” packages that make them look like common candy or sweets. They are extremely dangerous because they can contain up to six times the average level of THC.  Children who eat cannabis edibles can become very sick, and may struggle to walk, sit up and breathe normally. If you observe any of these behaviors in your child, please call 911 immediately.

This is an example of how these products are being packaged and the difficulty in determining the difference between normal candy and one that contains THC.

Sincerely,

Michael J. Testani

Superintendent of Schools

Published April 20, 2023.

West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor entered the controversy over the fate of MDC Chairman William DiBella with a sharp-edged call to action. The West Hartford Democrat called on DiBella to resign in a Hartford Courant op-ed published Tuesday.

Cantor calls for the election of MDC commissioners by voters in the towns they represent, the commission to be subject to the state’s ethics code and the Office of State Ethics, disclosure to property owners of sewer charges, a recall and removal procedure of commissioners, and a ban on any commissioner who has been sanctioned for or found to have violated a public trust.”

If DiBella can be stung, that last proposal might have done it. Cantor points out that “a jury found Chairman DiBella civilly liable for aiding and abetting then Connecticut Treasurer Paul J. Silvester, in a fraudulent scheme involving state pension funds.” DiBella paid $800,000 in penalties and was accused by the Securities and Exchange Commission of having “willfully disobeyed” a court order to pay the penalties in the state pension scheme.

Cantor’s proposals were prompted by the regional water and sewer authority’s board vote at its April 10th meeting to silence discussion of an independent report that found DiBella had used his position to intervene to send legal work to a friend and initially refused to cooperate with the investigation. The board voted to uphold DiBella’s rulings, allowing him to maintain his narrow majority of support on the board.

DiBella prevailed with the votes of members appointed by Governor Ned Lamont. The anti-reform Lamont appointees were Andrew Adil, Diane Lewis, Bhutan Patel, David Steuber and James Woulfe. That disappointing Lamont bloc provided decisive votes for maintaining the bad habits of quasi-public agency.

One of Lamont’s appointees and a DiBella loyalist, Andrew Adil of Wethersfield, issued a notably cringe-inducing statement Tuesday. Adil claimed in a foaming-at-the-mouth message sent to board and public members, “Through the incomplete and biased reporting of the Hartford Courant, the goal appears to sway public opinion against the Hartford delegation’s leader, Chairman DiBella,  and force his removal.” 

This would be a late but still appropriate moment for Lamont to speak with his obstructing appointees and explain that he didn’t pick them to serve as a gateway to the MDC’s hackerama of debts and favors. With his appointments, Greenwich Democrat bears significant blame for the growing public mess at the MDC.

Published April 18, 2023.

State Senator Bob Duff (D-Norwalk) has sponsored a bill punishing participation in rebellion or insurrection. The purpose of the bill is to deem “state and municipal office holders who engage in rebellion or insurrection shall be permanently ineligible to be elected or appointed to any state or municipal office or to serve in the armed forces of the state in the future….” The proposal also bars “persons convicted of sedition, rebellion or insurrection, or a felony in relation to such act” from being employed by the state or any municipality.

The crucial missing piece is who determines if an office holder has engaged in a rebellion of insurrection and what standard will be applied to the accused. Must ineligibility be preceded by a conviction? Will a video recording suffice? The law provides little help.

The Duff proposal is, according to the Democrat’s testimony submitted to the Government Administration and Elections Committee, is modeled on the Disqualification Clause found in Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Congressional Research Service points out in a memorandum updated in September that “[d]etermining who has engaged in either of the two disqualifying activities—that is, engaging in insurrection or rebellion or giving aid or comfort to an enemy—is likely to be a difficult task given the scarcity of precedents and lack of clear definitions.”

The memorandum continues, “Once an insurrection is deemed to have occurred, the question becomes whether a specific person engaged in it. Section 3 does not establish a procedure for determining who is subject to the proscription on holding office, instead providing only a process by which the disability may be removed (i.e., by two- thirds vote in both houses).”

Duff’s proposal provides ideal fodder for his twitter habit, but it would add only confusion as a Connecticut law. The response to attacks on the rule of law should not be to retreat from the rule of law, especially in the Constitution State.

Published April 17, 2023.

Jacqueline Crespan announced Sunday she will not seek a second term on Manchester’s Board of Directors, its governing body of nine members. Crespan was elected to her first term in 2019 and was chosen to serve as the leader of the board’s three Republicans.

Crespan was the Republican nominee for the 4th Senate District last year. The district, which includes Manchester, Bolton, Andover and part of Glastonbury, has become a safe Democratic seat in recent years.

Here is Crespan’s statement:

To my constituents, today I announce that I shall not seek re-election this November as a Director on the Manchester Town Council.
There are many people whom I have worked closely with that have done amazing work on behalf of our residents. I have decided not to seek re-election because I have personal goals that require more of my time and energy to achieve. This does not mean that I am going away. I plan to stay involved and help my community and the State as much as I can. If another public service opportunity arises in the future, I plan to keep my options open.
It has been an honor to serve and I would like to thank my fellow Board members and most importantly, my mother, my community, and friends for the enormous amount of support you have given and continue to give me. I would not have made it this far without you.
See you soon.

Jacqueline Crespan.

Published April 16, 2023.

A Hartford Democrat has broken ranks and his silence. Nick Lebron, the Hartford city council member seeking the Democratic nomination for mayor, resigned Thursday from the MDC’s finance committee. Lebron, a citizen member of the committee, expressed his “frustration and dissatisfaction with the lack of transparency of the board and unresolved investigations.”

Lebron revealed his frustration with the MDC’s commissioners’ focus “on political patronage, instead of the delivery of services to the Hartford community.” MDC chairman William DiBella succeeded Monday in blocking commissioners from discussing an independent report that revealed DiBella’s attempts to send MDC legal business to James Sandler. DiBella told commissioners last year that Sandler had represented him in personal members.

The report included details of DiBella’s repeated attempts to dodge cooperating with the investigation. The report has caused officials from Hartford’s suburbs to call for DiBella’s resignation.

Lebron wrote, “During my time as a Board member, I have witnessed firsthand the lack of oversight made by the board and its leadership.” The Democrat claimed “decisions were often made based on personal relationships and political considerations.” The rewarding of cronies, according to Lebron, has come at a cost. “[T]he residents of the North End of Hartford continue to have sewage overflowing in their homes. Our collective energies should be focused on the needs of the residents the MDC serves.”

Resigning from his position at the MDC, and explaining why, sets Lebron apart from the three candidates for mayor at the front of the pack seeking the Hartford Democratic Town Committee’s endorsement this summer. Democrats Arunan Arulampalam, Eric Coleman and John Fonfara have remained silent as the legal fees investigation at the MDC continues to provide embarrassing revelations on how the regional water and sewer authority is run.

William DiBella has been chairman of the agency for more than 20 years. His son, Marc DiBella, is the chairman of the Hartford Democratic Town Committee. Both are lobbyists.

Published April 14, 2023.

Friday’s finance committee public hearing agenda includes a bill authorizing $15 million in bonding “for the purpose of providing grants-in-aid to business and industrial development corporations” as defined by the state’s banking laws. Those non-bank banks, known in the state’s banking department as Bidcos, will use the funds “to provide assistance to minority-owned and women- owned small businesses serving or seeking to serve underserved or minority communities.”

Any participating Bidco “may use up to ten per cent in the aggregate of the amount of such grant-in-aid for operational costs and to fund a loan loss reserve fund.” No Bidco may receive more than $5 million in the authorized funds.

The absence of lenders is a hurdle that the legislation ignores. According to Department of Banking spokesman Matthew Smith, there are no business and industrial development corporations licensed by the state. There hasn’t been one, according to Smith, for several years. The last one, the regulatory agency’s website reveals, was Business Lenders, LLC, is incorporated in Delaware and maintains its office in Hartford.

Business Lenders, LLC’s president and chief executive officer is Penn Ritter, former clerk of the House of Representatives, brother former Speaker of the House Thomas Ritter and uncle of the current speaker, Matthew Ritter.

Published April 14, 2023.

MDC Chairman William DiBella withstood a challenge in what sounded on an audio link like a raucous meeting Monday. The commission voted 15-13 to table a discussion of a report critical of DiBella for funneling legal work to his friend James Sandler without authorization.

DiBella is in his 22nd year as chairman of the regional agency that provides water and sewer services to greater Hartford communities, eight of which have seats on the commission. DiBella detractors have been gaining gaining supporters since the Sandler invoices became an issue last year. They did not properly reckon with DeBella’s decades of experience thwarting challenges when he looks like the final act has arrived.

Rebels and reformers, remember the saga of East Hartford Republican John Grottole. In 2004, a majority of the members of the commission were Republicans. On paper they had the votes–until they did not. Republicans on the commission claimed that Grottole told them DiBella had been behind a land deal the East Hartford Republican made with Hartford. Grottole voted for DiBella. DiBella denied any role.

Monday’s vote signaled how determined DiBella’s supporters are willing to abandon norms to protect the veteran Democrat. They would not allow a discussion of the critical report. Nothing has changed.

Published April 12, 2023

It may be the beginning, but of what no one can be certain. Mayor Beth A. DelBuono of Newington called for MDC chairman William DiBella to resign in the aftermath of the release of an audit report on DiBella’s role in finding business for a law firm. If DiBella does not resign, DelBuono calls on commission members to use every tool at their disposal to remove him.

DelBuono wrote in her April 6th letter to commissioners, “I continue to have concerns regarding the ability for Chairman DiBella to lead the MDC Commission.  Based upon the Facts of Finding and the violations of the MDC’s Charter and By-Laws that are stated and expanded upon on pages 43-44 of this document, I respectfully request that Chairman DiBella resign effective immediately from any and all positions held within the MDC and Commission.  Should Chairman DiBella refuse to do so, I would ask that the Commission take any and all action possible to remove him from his position as Chair.”

DelBuono, a Republican, is serving her second two-year term as mayor. Her letter notes she is out of town and unable to attend Monday’s meeting but has asked “my Deputy Mayor, Gail Budrejko to read my letter into the record for your consideration.”

DiBella is a master of the dark arts of maintaining control over the MDC board–no matter who is on it. His opponents have an evenhanded report critical of his conduct but the voting commissions include a big block from Hartford–where DiBella maintains his residence by keeping supplies for his ablutions at his son’s condominium near the MDC headquarters.

The commission convenes a special meeting Monday at 5:30 p.m. to review the audit report. The meeting notice contains both a video and telephone link for members of the public.

Published April 10, 2023.