Upsets bring more women into state office
Election adding 10 to the 52 now in General Assembly
In what many have called the “Year of the Woman,” some of the biggest upsets in General Assembly races are bringing more females into office in Connecticut.
In three of the five races in which Senate incumbents lost their seats, women running for office for the first time were victorious. In five of the 11 House races in which incumbents lost, female candidates triumphed.
“I felt like women played a huge role in this election,” said Democrat Julie Kushner, a former labor leader who defeated state Sen. Michael McLachlan in Danbury. “Women are going to take the lead and be at the forefront of the change we bring to Hartford.”
Women were not only behind upsets, they also won open seats in high numbers. Of 25 open seats for the House and Senate, 10 were claimed by females.
These wins mean when the General Assembly reconvenes in January, 62 state legislators will be women, 10 more than now.
“I didn’t realize until getting into the race that our Legislature is only 27 percent women,” said Lucy Dathan, of New Canaan, who unseated Rep. Fred Wilms, of Norwalk, becoming the first Democrat to ever win in the 142nd House District. “That was really shocking to me. When I saw that, I said, ‘ Hey, actually we are 51 percent of the population.’ We need to be better represented. We need to stand up.”
Victories by women were also key to helping Democrats secure majorities in the House and Senate. Of the 17 new female candidates who won seats Tuesday, 15 were Democrats.
Democrat Alex Bergstein defeated Republican state Sen. L. Scott Frantz on Tuesday, claiming a Senate seat that covers Greenwich and parts of Stamford and New Canaan and has not been represented by a Democrat since 1930.
stated the letter. And, the writer alleged, the money in question is closer to $25,000 in profits over two years.
Hearst was able to confirm the prior existence of Public Facilities’ petty cash fund. According to one source, however, in the past it was supported by small donations from employees.
Meanwhile, the city’s Finance Department, according to a recent monthly budget report, has taken in $56,776 since July 1 for scrap metal collected at the transfer station. The 201819 municipal budget anticipated at least $ 100,000 in scrap metal revenues.
Christmas in Stamford
The anonymous letter writer also raised questions about whether public facilities contracts were properly bid and if some of those contracts were awarded businesses with family connections to the department.
As a result, City Council President Aidee Nieves and council Budget Committee co-chairs Denese TaylorMoye and Maria Zambrano Viggiano are seeking bid documents, waivers and other paperwork related to Public Facilities Department purchases.
Council members, who met privately about the
anonymous letter Monday following their regular meeting, have agreed not to discuss the matter publicly. But one member who asked not to be identified said, “Some of us feel that the letter has a lot of validity and it warrants a deeper, more intense budget review.”
Council members initially brought the claims about scrap metal sales to the Chief State’s Attorney and were advised that the council and police should investigate.
The Chief State’s Attorney was involved in a similar scrap metal controversy surrounding Stamford’s vehicle maintenance operations in 2010 and 2011. That probe, initially launched by police, found that for years, Stamford municipal workers sold small quantities of scrap metal for cash, and used the proceeds — no more than $3,000 annually — for “morale-boosting purposes” like annual Christmas parties.
The investigation found “no evidence that either the employees or the supervisors kept any of the cash for themselves (and) ... this practice has been the norm in Stamford for at least 35 years.”
But three city employees were temporarily suspended without pay, and Stamford tightened its scrap metal procedures.
Conflicts of interest?
Ricci is a City Hall veteran with plenty of political connections. He ran the airport, which also falls under Public Facilities, for years until Mayor Bill Finch fired him in 2013 for an alleged conflict of interest. Ricci sued and was allowed instead to retire from that job.
In 2015 Ricci helped Ganim, who was first mayor in the 1990s, topple Finch in that year’s Democratic primary. After winning the 2015 general election, Ganim hired Ricci to run Public Facilities. Ricci recently advised Ganim’s failed gubernatorial bid.
Other big supporters of Ganim’s 2015 comeback and his campaign for governor included Meyer, whom Ganim made City Attorney, and Perez, whom Ganim promoted from captain to acting chief in March 2016. Earlier this week the mayor named Perez permanent police chief, with a fiveyear-contract.
Asked if he had a conflict of interest of his own in probing Ricci and public facilities, Perez said no. He said the matter was in the hands of the Office of Internal Affairs, an independent branch of the police department which typically investigates other cops.
“My credibility and my ethics are unimpeachable,” Perez said. “We’re going to protect the city. If someone has done something improperly, they’re going to pay the price.”