COMMENTARY by John Milardo
This is an opinion piece originally published in an occasional newsletter, "And Justice For All," by a former longtime Middletown city employee, union member and union representative. Statements made in this commentary are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of other editors and authors whose work appears here.
Our Mayor, Dan Drew,
has announced he is looking into running for Governor of our State. Well that comes as no surprise to me and
probably most of Middletown. As
Councilman Thomas Serra once said, he wanted Middletown government to be transparent. Our mayor is the most transparent person you will ever see through.
Drew claims in his current political propaganda how Hilary Clinton’s loss as
Presidential candidate was an eye opener for the Democratic Party. How he is the best person because of his
vision, for these political times to correct the States woes. How Governor Dannel Malloy has created a mess
in Connecticut (which I cannot disagree with), and he can fix it. (Drew sounds like Bernie Sanders now that
Hillary has lost) Dan Drew was one
of Hillary’s biggest supporters and denounced Sanders during the Democratic
Presidential primary. Now, he critiques the Democratic Party and all that he and Malloy stood for, but not
totally. He still needs their money and
support for a Governor run.
Dan Drew
and Dannel Malloy were conjoined at the hip until Hilary Clinton was defeated
this past November. What changed their
relationship that Drew is contemplating running for Governor now?
1.) Everyone knew when Hillary won,
Dannel Malloy was going to be appointed to some type of seat in Washington D.C.
2.) When Malloy left Connecticut for
Washington D.C., Dannel would have endorsed Dan Drew as his successor for Governor
of Connecticut.
3.) Oops!!!
Donald Trump won the Presidential election!
The
Democrats didn’t think Trump had a chance in hell to win the Presidential
election, and that put a monkey wrench in everything! Everything includes both Malloy's and
Drew’s future political dreams.
Back to
the present. Dan Drew is not going to
sit in Middletown and wait to get to higher office. It's clear to me that he had a game plan, which was disrupted, so
he will go to plan #2 -- which is to run for Governor now! If that fails, he will run for another
political Connecticut position which will help land him in Washington D.C. eventually. If you think that won’t happen, just wait and
see. No one, including Dannel Malloy, had
an inkling that his favorite Connecticut Mayor would announce he was running for Governor.
Nothing is sacred to Drew.
Mayor Dan
Drew loves to tell everyone how he changed and brought Middletown into the
future. That it is only because of his
leadership that Middletown is such a great City. In his estimation, all past and present department Directors, have or had, no idea how to do their jobs. Of course he won’t acknowledge any
shortcomings of Middletown while he’s been at the helm.
That’s my job.
Drew consolidated
departments with his reorganization plan, stating it would save the taxpayers
hundreds of thousands of dollars to millions each year. That it would better serve the public and get
work done more effectively and efficiently. It has been an epic
failure of money and efficiency. It has
cost the taxpayer much more money than if he had left the departments
alone. He has never proved the
reorganization has been effective. His
own budgets have proved that point.
Drew attended
school while he was Mayor to receive a Masters Degree from Columbia
University. All under secrecy and on the
taxpayer’s dime. Reportedly staff had to fudge his absences to the
public and newspaper reporters when asked where he was.
Drew never said a word when
Governor Malloy took money away from Middletown. All he said was it won’t affect us because we
can pay for it with funds in our budget.
Drew's attempt to show what a great administrator he is indicates, it seems to me, that we must be over taxed if you’ve
got that kind of extra money in the kitty.
Under his
leadership the City has taken over street lighting, which we were told was
going to save millions. Currently,
according to budgets, it seems as though we are breaking even or maybe saving
a little. But, there is no funding for
replacement of lighting poles, fixtures, and so on, in the budgets. That equipment replacement is going to be very, very, costly. When
will that cost be dumped on the taxpayer?
Middletown
currently has over $100 million in bonds out for projects in town. The projects are needed, but this is taxpayer
debt to be repaid over time. The reason we are
highly rated for bonding is because we pay our debts back. It's a debt the taxpayer will pay it
back through higher taxes.
Drew proposed a $34
million bond for Public Works and Parks improvements, with absolutely no
plans. It's a blank check for the
Director of the department and whatever committees are put together to disperse
the funds. I’m sure a few cronies will
be on the committees. Never heard of a
bond going out without an approved plan of action. This is a first.
Speaking
of taxes. Mayor Drew states he lowered
Middletown’s taxes. I don’t know about
you, but everyone in Middletown has paid higher taxes each year, with the exception of election
year, since Dan Drew has been in office.
As a matter of fact, Dan Drew’s budgets have been higher than what is
approved by the Common Council. If it
weren’t for the Common Council cutting the Mayor’s budget proposals, we would
be paying even higher taxes. In the end, Drew will take the credit.
Mayor Drew
always touts he is a great leader. Yet he has left Director and other management positions unfilled for years, not
months. Only one or two have been
filled within a year's time.
The
Director of Recreation is a position which has been vacant for four (4) years
now. The Assistant Director was
appointed to that position in the “Acting” capacity. Drew refused to appoint her permanently. Why?
She has all the qualifications needed, and has been doing the job. If she wasn’t doing the job, I would assume
the Mayor would have removed her from the position immediately!
Drew appointed a Director to a position he/she did not meet the required minimum
qualifications for. He did that by violating
the Personnel Rule for the City of Middletown. The person worked only long enough in that job to bolster their pension by
quite a lot.
The Water
& Sewer project was $15 million over budget (and yet to be completed), but
no one in the department is held accountable.
The Director has since retired, and the Deputy Director is now
the “Acting” Director of Water & Sewer.
Another qualified person in the “Acting” position.
The IT
Director position was vacant for 3+ years also.
Drew had the Assistant filling in as the “Acting” Director, and did not
appoint him to the position. To appoint
someone in the “Acting” capacity, said person must, not may, be
qualified to do the job. How can that
person then be told when they apply for the vacancy they are not qualified?
The
Planning, Zoning & Conservation Director is currently vacant, for the
second time while Drew has been Mayor.
Instead of appointing the Assistant Director in an “Acting” capacity as
Director, Mayor Dan assigned his Administrative Assistant, Joe Samolis, a political
appointee in the Mayors Office, as the Acting PZ&C Director. A person who has absolutely NO
qualifications or experience to be in that position. How can this happen!! Where is the Union? This is an UPSEU position and should have been
filled with an UPSEU member. That is
what the Assistant Director is there for; to fill in for the Director during
his/her absence - for whatever reason.
Can anyone tell me why a Union complaint has not been filed? This is an UPSEU bargaining unit
position! For full disclosure, this is
my old Union which I am calling to task.
The
Mayor is hoping the Democratic Council will approve Samolis as a
permanent Director. If that does happen,
will Drew's new appointment for the Administrative Assistant be a
former political consultant who will be tasked with helping in Drew's run for governor?
Mayor Drew
brags about saving $800,000 for the taxpayers through his adjustment of
Retirement funds several years ago. The
truth is he refused to adhere to constraints of the Retirement Actuary to properly fund the
pension plan, playing dangerous games with the funding.
In the past, the Trade Unions have endorsed Dan Drew for his Mayoral runs. I am very familiar with the Trades and other
Union organizations and understand how and why they make endorsements on the
State and National levels. I
would recommend that the State and National reps consult with the Unions of the towns from which the candidate hails.
Middletown
Unions, with the exception of one, have had a tumultuous relationship with
Mayor Drew, especially during negotiations.
The local Unions have taken a step or two backward economically under
Dan Drew. He has yet to complete Union
negotiations under time limits. Police
have gone to mediation and arbitration.
AFSCME has been to mediation/arbitration. UPSEU’s negotiations were on the verge of
meditation/arbitration until they gave up certain Union members to the Mayor.
UPSEU lost many members to reclassification as exempt status (non-union) employees.
Mayor Drew has proved to be anti-union through his workings with the local
Labor Organizations he is directly responsible for. The City employees who were once Union
members and are now “exempt”, receive better wage and benefit packages matching Union member advances. You cannot tell me he
doesn’t do that for any reason.
There are
Union representatives who are afraid to properly represent their membership
because of Dan Drew’s heavy handedness.
They have experienced his intimidation and harassment for doing their job as a Union Representative.
Lastly, to
my Union Brothers and Sister I say this, and I say it with love and respect, as
I know how difficult being a Union Representative can be. If you unable to do your Union job properly
because of fear of retaliation, step aside, and have your International Local
represent your Union. You are not
serving your constituency well if you cannot perform the job you were elected
to do. A Union represents all the
members and issues all of the time! Not
doing so only injures them and their families.
In Brotherhood and
Sisterhood. Stay strong, stay involved,
seek the truth!
You can make a difference in the lives of these cats and the community. As a Feral Colony Caretaker you will:
· Need to have a minimum of 1 day/week available to volunteer
· Need to dedicate 1 hour per morning on designated day(s)
· Have a car and valid driver’s license
· Ability to drive in inclement weather and shovel snow to access the colonies in the winter
· Communicate with Cat Tales Feral Colony Coordinator after each visit
Optional: learn how to trap feral cats for spay/neuter/release
Cat Tales provides all food and supplies.
To volunteer, leave a message for Becky C at Cat Tales by phone 860-344-9043 or by email: Info@CatTalesCT.org 
You can make a difference in the lives of these cats and the community. As a Feral Colony Caretaker you will:
