Lebron quits MDC finance committee. Mayoral candidate says board is focused on political patronage, not services.

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.