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State Senator Robert Duff, the Senate Majority Leader, claims the state’s constitution exempts him from the Freedom of Information Act. Bob Welsh, a writer for the respected local news website NancyOnNorwalk.com, requested from Duff on April 19th and June 21st, “emails received during the period February 1 through March 31 2019 [sic], regarding school regionalization, which mention Norwalk.”

Duff refused to comply with the request. His Senate Democratic caucus attorney claimed in a message to Welsh that the request is barred by Article Third, Section 15 of the state’s constitution. It reads:

SEC. 15. The senators and representatives shall, in all cases of civil process, be privileged from arrest, during any session of the general assembly, and for four days before the commencement and after the termination of any session thereof. And for any speech or debate in either house, they shall not be questioned in any other place.

Welsh is not seeking to have Duff arrested. He’s seeking information on school regionalization in Norwalk. The Freedom of Information Commission will hold a hearing on Welsh’s complaint Monday, September 9th at 11 a.m. Duff’s assault on open government is the most serious mounted by a high-ranking public official in many years.

The hearing comes at an embarrassing time for Duff. On Thursday, he endorsed Pete Buttigieg for the Democratic nomination for president. Buttigieg has tried to stake out some turf in the crowded field as a notable advocate for transparency in government. His campaign website declares, “Pete believes in our democratic republic, but knows that our government has not been nearly democratic or accountable enough.”

Duff and Buttigieg appear ill-suited for each other.

Robert Matthews wants some public assistance. Matthews was one of John G. Rowland’s favorites when the Waterbury Republican served as governor. The real estate developer and con man was at the center of a scheme for Rowland to sell his Washington, D.C. condominium in his first term as governor. The plan caught the attention of federal investigators and resulted in the 2004 conviction of straw man and schnook Wayne Pratt, who gained some fame and notoriety as an antiques dealer.

Matthews left Connecticut and reinvented himself in Palm Beach, a favorite haunt of shady real estate developers. He came to grief last year when he was charged, according to The Hartford Courant, with “conspiracy, money laundering and tax offenses for stealing millions from foreign investors he persuaded to invest in a moribund Palm Beach hotel-condominium project.”

The mansions and yacht are long gone. Matthews and his wife are no longer familiar figures on the Palm Beach gala circuit. There are legal bills to be paid and Matthews says he’s out of money, the AP reports. The bankrupt Matthews found a benefactor to pay a $50,000 retainer to the Connecticut firm Wiggin & Dana. Matthews needs more money for his complicated legal affairs. The public will step in to pay the freight at reduced hourly rates under the Criminal Justice Act, according to the AP.

Matthews reported having $178 in a bank account in his bankruptcy filing.

Dear Ructions:

I saw your letter about New Haven, and as a Hartford resident, I find myself deeply conflicted. While I loathe the idea of Matt Hennessey returning to power in City Hall, through his patron Eddie Perez, I am also deeply disturbed by the colonial administration of Mayor Bronin.

Should I cast my ballot for a man convicted of a felony committed while in public service – the standard corrupt contractor does house renovations while in exchange for public works contracts? Or, do I vote for a man who has engaged in a soft corruption to maintain his power without the city even getting a new sidewalk for it?

The incumbent, in this Me Too moment, needs the support of a married member of City Council who stands very credibly accused of sexually harassing a council aide for more than a year. The incumbent also, according to a state audit, violated the law in getting money to build Dillon stadium for Bruce Mandel (who gave $45k illegally to Bob Stefanowski). The incumbent’s wife chairs the city’s Planing and Zoning commission, although her term expired in February 2017, she or a replacement has never been reappointed, so she remains by default.

While Eddie is at least accessible, empowering another Joe Ganim redemption story makes me kind of sick. And though Luke has the cooperation of corporate community, he does not listen to even those closest to him, who warned him against running for governor.

Which kind of corruption is worse? Eddie’s pay-to-play, or Luke’s blind, amoral ambition? Or should I just vote for the guy who parks his BMW in a handicap spot (who also is allied with the alleged sexual harasser)?

Sign me,

Confused in the Capital City

Dear Confused,

Despair has not diminished your powers of analysis or decription. You have joined the crowded ranks of baleful Hartford primary voters. This race pummels optimism. Your question suggests the answer. You sound like you have concluded Brandon McGee is the least objectionable of the three contenders on the September 10th ballot.

I must cavil with the notion of equivalent veins of corruption.  Eddie Perez engaged in the criminal betrayal of the public trust for home improvements and tried to blame it on dyslexia during his trial. Luke Bronin is a disappointment to many but not a felon. Still, you are right to be alarmed that Bronin’s spouse continues to chair the zoning commission with a term that goes on and on while also aggressively raising campaign funds for her husband. Down that path awaits disaster. Bronin was a high ranking official in the Malloy administration where the rule of law was never a priority.

Tumult in the police department—three chiefs in four years—announces Bronin’s management skills are not improving with experience. These stumbles become obstacles to competent leadership.

That leaves state Representative Brandon McGee. The car problems (handicap parking and local taxes) were more  disappointment than disqualifiers. In case he thinks no one noticed, McGee should not have solicited lobbyists for campaign contributions during this year’s legislative session. He doesn’t appear to value vengeful, which sets him apart from his competitors in an important way.

McGee deserves credit for running a campaign that emphasizes neighborhood issues. It’s heartening to see a candidate who understands the value of libraries and parks. Credit McGee with the virtue of not contemplating a run for governor in 2022.

Politics does not offer choices among perfect alternatives. Your savvy message tells me you have paid attention, weighed the risks, and arrived at the verge of a decision that should not embarrass you or Hartford. Don’t go wobbly.

If you are impaled on the horns of a dilemma and want to risk receiving advice, send a message to kfr@dailyructions.com. Identities will be protected. Messages may be edited.

Governor Ned Lamont has chosen Daniel Toscano to chair the University of Connecticut’s Board of Trustees, Daily Ructions has learned. An announcement is imminent. Toscano, a managing director at Morgan Stanley, graduated from UConnin 1987 and went on to earn an advanced degree at Wharton.

Toscano, originally from Bristol, has served as Chair of the UConn Foundation and continues was a member of its board.

Lamont was seeking a leader who is UConn alum with a weighty resume and commitment to the state’s premier public university. He appears to have met those requirements in the well-regarded Toscano.

Along with the Toscano announcement, Lamont will reappoint Charles Bunnell, Andy Bessette, Shari Cantor and Andrea Dennis-LaVigne to the board.

Wethersfield Democrats may stand down for now. Their September 10th town council primary has been called off. A challenge to the petitions of candidate Kaci White caused White to withdraw from the field of battle today.

White announced on Facebook that “technical errors” in the collecting of signatures to force the primary had caused her to drop her challenge in the September 10th primary.

There were no other primary challenges in Wethersfield.

Kevin Kane, Connecticut’s Chief State’s Attorney since 2006, will retire on November 1st. He is by far the longest serving Chief State’s Attorney, an office created in 1973. Kane made the announcement Monday at a meeting of state’s attorneys.

The Criminal Justice Commission will undertake the process of finding and appointing a successor.

Dear Ructions,

I’m in a fix. There are some intense local primaries in Connecticut in two weeks. I live in one of the cities in which the mayor faces a serious challenge. I’m involved in politics and dread these fights at home. I’ve tried to keep my head down but there’s no safe zone in a town with intense politics. Grudges here have a half-life longer than what’s buried in Chernobyl’s Unit 4. 

The incumbent has not been very good. The challenger is running an energetic race. On the merits alone, the challenger ought to win. Merits, however, are never the only factor. I’m more interested in improving the bigger world than I am in making sure traffic lights are synchronized, but local fights can end the most glittering careers in formation. These grudges don’t fade. 

How can I maneuver through these treacherous weeks?

Jammed and jelly

Dear Jammed,

Why so timid? You’re in New Haven and think you can be a bystander in an epic battle. Have a look at Jimmy Stewart in the 1965 movie Shenandoah for a look at the fate of the righteous bystander. However will you survive the early going in the crowded 2020 presidential campaign?

Here’s a good first question to ask a candidate: Do you live here? After that, if you need to proceed to the next question, move on to assessing achievements, ability, philosophy, character, and the inner circle. Your ambivalence suggests you have not had a look at that spreadsheet of charges on a city credit card that’s been making the rounds. You could talk to your trusted friends, if you have any, and decide to divide yourselves equally between the competitors with an eye to protecting each other from reprisals when it’s over. 

If you are determined to hide, do it in a visible spot. See if you can work as an official in a polling place on primary day. Check in voters, hand out ballots or stand near the exit giving out “I Voted” stickers. Guard your future by staying well clear of absentee ballots. 

You could also organize a fundraiser with a local non-profit. set up outside a polling place and sell (or give away if you can find a generous benefactor) those reusable bags with the organization’s logo on each side. Those bags, when we remember to put them in the car, are saving the planet. We are continue in the intense purchasing phase of bags as we adopt another way to improve our world in daily life. Isn’t that why you’ve chosen a life in the stew of public service and politics?

If you are impaled on the horns of a dilemma and want to risk receiving advice, send a message to kfr@dailyructions.com. Identities will be protected. Messages may be edited.

The Day published a disturbing account of an extraordinary intervention by Governor Ned Lamont’s office to use the State Police to intimidate a critic. You can read it here.

The story involves New London activist Kevin Blacker, a persistent and vocal student of the problems at the Connecticut Port Authority. He sent an email last Saturday commenting on the growing scandal and a legislative hearing on the port authority scheduled for Tuesday. Blacker referred to Lamont as a “wimp,” which for many would be considered almost polite in this caustic age. The email caused Lamont aide Paul Mounds to comment the State Police.

Here’s The’s Day’s David Collins’ account of what followed:

Flash forward to Tuesday morning when Blacker, waiting patiently on a bench in the marble lobby of the Legislative Office Building before the start of the hearing, was approached by two Connecticut State Police officers in plainclothes. They flashed their badges and led him to a nearby closed room.

They were joined by a uniformed officer, who stood at the door while the two detectives sat across a table from Blacker and questioned him about his email. They said they were investigating a complaint of a threatening email.

At this point in the story, you are probably thinking, this is America? Actually, it turns out, this is indeed Gov. Lamont’s Connecticut.

By the time I caught up with Blacker during a recess in Tuesday’s hearing, he told me about, well, I guess you’d call it an interrogation. He still looked a little unsettled and worried out loud about whether he should call a lawyer.

The officers said they wanted him to wait for a cruiser to come and escort them to their troop headquarters and sign a statement, he said, missing the hearing.

The police officers wanted to know why he sent the email to so many recipients, Blacker told me. They asked if he does that a lot. They wanted to know if he knew that the public would not be allowed to speak at the hearing, and they warned him about not disrupting the proceedings, he added.

Blacker has attended dozens of hearings related to the port authority, usually contributing a few minutes of comment when allowed, and is always polite and restrained.

Lamont is concluding a vacation at his family compound in Maine, 12 miles offshore from the American mainland. The Greenwich millionaire ought to take charge of this abuse of power at the second tier of his office organization. There was a time when Ned Lamont would have been angry and vocal about the use of state authority to intimidate a critic of the government. We’ll soon know if that instinct is just a memory.

This is what the restaurant business calls a soft opening.

Woodstock gets all the attention for notable musical events 50 years ago this summer. The most remarkable achievement may have been “Is That All There Is?” Miss Peggy Lee’s masterful interpretation of the singular Lieber and Stoller collaboration put it on the charts and snagged her a Grammy.

“Is That All There Is” remains the rare hit popular song that alternates speaking with singing. Lyricist Mike Lieber found inspiration in “Disillusionment,” a Thomas Mann short story. It took 20 takes and a fair amount of cognac to find perfection. Then record label executives worried about Lee’s fading appeal refused to release the masterpiece. She introduced it on Joey Bishop’s faltering ABC late-night talk show and forced its released with a paltry initial pressing of 1,500 copies.

The ethereal Lee, long a favorite of disc jockeys, rescued her future as the song climbed the charts into the fall.