What Crisis? Bronin Gives $15,000 Boost to New Spokesman.

Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin appears not to be much of a negotiator. The first-term mayor’s original spokesperson, Samaia Hernandez, lasted three months in her $80,000 a year job. Hernandez was replaced by Democratic operative Brett Broesder, whose salary working for the Bronins is $95,000 a year.

Bronin has been struggling to explain to local residents, state legislators, and an assortment of union leaders why he should be given expanded powers to deal with public employee contracts. Someone who spent more than $170 a vote in last summer’s Democratic mayoral primary may think $15,000 is chump change. Others will disagree. Some who pay attention to identity politics will be struck by the big difference between what Bronin paid a woman to do the job and what he’s paying a man.

An inquiry on Thursday afternoon last week about Hernandez’s salary elicited this strained Friday night explanation from Bronin chief of staff Thea Montanez:

“We’ve reduced the communications budget by more than $60,000 compared with the Segarra administration, since we have permanently eliminated an assistant communications director position. Brett is assuming a broader range of responsibilities, yet his salary is still lower than than the director was paid in the prior administration. When Samaia joined the city, she was given a salary that was $5,000 more than she was making at her last job. Conversely, Brett took a $25,000 pay cut from what he was making in the private sector.”

Broesder made $91,304 a year when he began working for Bridgeport mayor Bill Finch in 2014, which makes his $95,000 deal in Hartford look pretty good, bearing no resemblance to a sacrifice. Finch was defeated for re-election last year.