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An unusual announcement from Commissioner James Rovella of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection:

“Effective immediately, Major Arthur Goodale, Jr., [employee number omitted] police powers will be suspended until further notice. While Major Goodale’s police powers are suspended, he is not authorized to hold himself out as a member of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, and is not authorized to access or utilize any COLLECT/NCIC; or any other law enforcement computer database.”

Goodale has been serving as Commanding Officer of State Police Western District Headquarters in Litchfield.

Governor Ned Lamont’s renovation of economic development agencies continues with the search for someone to lead  the Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC). The new co-chairs of the non-profit organization, Indra Nooyi and Jim Smith, are “partnering” with the international executive recruitment firm Heidrick & Struggles to find a new president and CEO for the organization.

They are looking for “ideal candidates” who “would likely have significant private sector leadership experience, an understanding of BD/External Relations/Sales and Marketing as well as a 24/7 action-orientation and dynamism. Familiarity with Connecticut would also be advantageous.” It certainly would.

If this describes you or someone you know, contact Elizabeth Zessman, Engagement Manager at the New York office of Heidrick & Struggles.

There may be a permanent template in the editorial offices of the Wall Street Journal that sets forth Connecticut’s most recent economic policy blunders. The newspaper used it again today to take apart Governor Ned Lamont and the legislature’s most recent misbegotten decisions. The editorial is shorter but no less painful than usual.

You have your choice of chilling paragraphs. The last two are especially painful:

Population flight is taking a toll on the state’s economy and budget. Last week the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that Connecticut’s GDP grew a paltry 1% in 2018, 44th in the country and the slowest in the Northeast after Rhode Island. The U.S. economy grew about 3%.

Slow economic growth has depressed tax revenue and contributed to a $3.7 billion budget deficit that Democrats are now scrounging to fill with new taxes that will drive more taxpaying citizens out of Connecticut.

The regular session of the legislature concludes four weeks from today. It will not be a surprise if Journal editorial writers find another occasion to give the state’s leaders another barracking.

State Senator Alexandra Bergstein (D-Greenwich) declared to a TEDx event at Wesleyan University on Saturday that she’d had enough with privilege and the patriarchy.

The Wesleyan Argus provides this summary of Bergstein’s contribution to the event:

Alexandra Bergstein ’88, a state senator for Connecticut’s 36th district, discussed a similar experience to Hayes regarding resistance to her candidacy, but in her case, the problem was internalized rather than external. Bergstein says that patriarchal values shaped the course of her life, holding her back from pursuing what she wanted. However, at the insistence of her friends, she ran and became the first woman to hold the position of state senator for her district, and the first Democrat in 88 years. 

“When I turned 50, I made a simple decision that changed everything,” she began. “I decided to live fearlessly, and to reclaim my narrative of what success was. Because after 50 years on the same path, I realized that I had been giving my power away to two of the strongest forces in our society: patriarchy and privilege.”

“I have never felt more alive and fulfilled, and I didn’t even know it was possible,” she said. “And the more I put myself out there, the more love and purpose I got back. And all those layers of conditioning telling me who I should be and what I should want melted away. I was breaking the bonds of patriarchy and privilege and anything else that told me I was not enough.”

Bergstein’s taste for privilege may be winning her internal war against it. An April 4th contempt motion filed by Seth Bergstein, the defendant in Alexandra Bergstein’s divorce action, asks the court to intervene to put the brakes on the victim of privilege’s spending. The motion included examples and also mentions Senator Bergstein’s hiring a private aide to assist her in discharging her public duties duties.

Privilege is an especially heavy burden when you try to persuade others you don’t possess and enjoy it.

Susan Hatfield, the 2018 Republican candidate for attorney general, is seeking support to become the vice chair of the state party organization. Elections for state central members are held in mid-May. The newly elected members choose their leaders in June.

They are partners in shame, reunited to punish Hartford. Former Trinity College president Evan Dobelle is raising money for felonious former Hartford mayor Eddie Perez’s mayoral campaign, Daily Ructions has learned. Perez worked for Dobelle when the former Pittsfield, Massachusetts, mayor was president of Trinity College.

Dobelle came to grief during his controversial tenure at Westfield State University, where he made profligate use of a university funds on travel, hotels, and meals. Massachusetts Inspector General Cunha, according to the Boston Globe, “found that criticisms of Dobelle’s spending were well-founded, concluding in July 2014 that he used hundreds of thousands of dollars from university accounts to pay for trips, electronics, and even a portrait of himself.” Dobelle sued Westfield State officials for their criticisms of his practices, claiming they had damaged his reputation and ought to pay him $1.6 million in compensation.

Rather than receive a payment, Dobelle settled claims against him by agreeing to pay $185,000. In addition, Dobelle  was “banned from working for — or even volunteering at — ‘any public institution of higher education within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ under the settlement,” according to the Globe, which exposed Dobelle’s spending.

Dobelle’s named was removed last year from the Middlesex Community College library. He served as president of that school from 1987-1990.

Perez, who was convicted of corruption during his tenure as mayor of Hartford, served as an assistant to Dobelle until he became mayor in 2001.

Dobelle has been making fundraising calls for Perez, who is challenging incumbent Luke Bronin for the Democratic nomination for mayor. Bronin got off to a fast start in the fundraising competition, collecting $500,000 mostly from donors outside Hartford. Bronin’s wife, who serves on the city’s zoning board, has been making unpleasant fundraising calls, a reminder that dubious fundraising surrogates are not limited to the Perez campaign.

Director of Public Works Bill Russo is running for mayor of Middletown. Russo, who has worked for the town’s government for 35 years, faces council member Mary Bartolotts in the contest for the Democratic nomination to succeed incumbent Dan Drew.

“To me, good government and Democratic values are all about making sure people get their money’s worth for the taxes they pay. We need to keep taxes down while making sure we have great parks, safe roads and streets, solid infrastructure and strong schools. It takes experience to make that happen, and I’ll put my experience and work ethic up against anyone who wants to run for this office,” Russo declared in a written statement.

Middletown’s Democratic politics have been more fractious than usual. A Democratic town committee challenge saw Drew supporters and others ousted on a winter night early last year. A chunk of delegates to last year’s Democratic state convention declined to support Susan Bysiewicz, a local Democrat, for governor or lieutenant governor.

Barlotta ran into some headwinds early in her campaign for mayor when her husband’s ugly Facebook posts came to light. Sebastian Barlotta issued the standard “to anyone who was offended” apology. Mary Barlotta disavowed his nasty sentiments and the view of the world they suggest.

Geen Thazhampallath, director of parking for Middletown, is also seeking the Democratic nomination for mayor.  He was a registered Republican until 2018. He was chief of staff to former mayor Sebastian Giuliano.

Connecticut Republican chairman hopeful David Mathus supported New York Democrat Charles Schumer in his 1998 bid for the United States Senate. Schumer defeated three term incumbent Alfonse D’Amato in a ferocious battle. Mathus donated $500 to the Schumer campaign.

Mathus, 60, has contributed to Republicans, including the presidential campaigns of John McCain, Mitt Romney, Chris Christie and Jeb Bush.

The Darien Republican has launched a website, BoldCTGOP.com, to set out his stall for the June contest to lead a party that lost considerable influence in managing the affairs of Connecticut in an anti-Trump suburban rout. Mathus may face incumbent J.R. Romano. Former party chair Dick Foley is also in the race.

The vulgarian Trumps were generous contributors to Schumer before they set out to destroy democratic norms via the Republican Party.

Connecticut dropped 1,300 jobs in March, even as the national job picture continued to be robust. The loss will frustrate state policymakers as they continue to wrestle with shaping a balanced budget for the next two fiscal years. The Hartford Business Journal has more.

The state has lost 3,400 jobs in the first three months of this year.