GOP Chair Questions Bysiewicz' Real Intentions - RecordJournal

In today's Record Journal, Mike Savino reports on comments from GOP chair J.R. Romano speculating that Susan Bysiewicz might be gauging interest in a run for statewide office. But he also gives a good overview of the residency requirements (such as they are) that would apply to the lifelong Middletown resident's pending campaign for the 13th district senate seat.  It's currently held by Republican Len Suzio.

The election is 18 months away, but the Senate is currently evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, 18-18 and the 13th has been a swing district for several election cycles. The campaigns are likely to get lots of attention.

Bysiewicz is holding a fundraiser at the Inn At Middletown tomorrow (Wednesday) night.

The 13th Senate District (in green), and
the 9th (in brown). Click to enbiggen.

 

Vote Today!

Both political parties are holding their primaries today, to select their candidate for the U.S. Senate seat held by Joe Lieberman.

On the Democratic ballot, Middletown native Susan Bysiewicz is running against Chris Murphy.

On the Republican ballot, Linda McMahon is running against Chris Shays.

VOTE!

Bysiewicz Rules Out Mayoral Bid

Susan Bysiewicz quite forcefully said she had no intention of running for Mayor of Middletown, "I endorse Dan Drew." Bysiewicz is the Secretary of the State and former candidate for Governor and Attorney General, Drew was the Democratic nominee for Mayor in 2009, losing to incumbent Seb Giuliano. Shortly after hearing Bysiewicz' endorsement, Drew said "I am strongly considering [another run for Mayor]," in 2011.

Bysiewicz and Drew, along with other Democratic Party leaders from Middletown and other communities in the area, were at a reception at Gouveia Vineyards in Wallingford, to thank supporters of her recent campaigns for Governor and Attorney General.

Bysiewicz was responding to a story in The Eye which reported that one of many options which she 'had not ruled out' was running for Mayor of Middletown. When she spied this Eye reporter at Monday's function, she immediately announced her endorsement of Drew. With a mixture of bemusement and irritation, each said the Eye article caused them to receive a flood of messages asking about the possibility of a Mayor Bysiewicz.

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Disclosure: I was invited to the function as a past supporter of the Bysiewicz gubernatorial campaign.

Lesser, Bysiewicz to Discuss State Health Plan at Russell Library

Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz and State Representative Matt Lesser will meet with the public Wednesday April 29 from 9-10 AM at Russell Library to discuss a proposal which will allow municipalities and small businesses to participate in the state health program.

Army Reserve Selects Cucia Park

The Army Reserve has selected Cucia Park as the site for its proposed Army Reserve Training Center in Middletown.

The final selection depends on final environmental approval and the results of the final public hearing. The city has thirty days after the environmental report is issued to react.

Cucia Park is one of three sites the Army Reserve was considering, the other two are an industrial park development on Middle Street and a farm on Boardman Lane.

Common Council member Ron Klattenberg, who headed the mayor's advisory panel for site selection was happy to hear the news.

"I'm so pleased that the Army has selected Cucia Park," Klattenberg said. "It puts the Army and the city on the same page because the property will serve the Army very well. And they're building it on a site that will serve the city very well."

"I'm going to ask the advisory panel to reconvene," Klattenberg said. "We'll take a good hard look at the report."

Middletown resident, and Connecticut Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz echoed Klattenberg's enthusiasm about the Army's choice.

"I am thrilled that the Army listened to the citizens of Middletown and chose this site," Bysiewicz said. "This site is the most approporiate from so many perspectives. It's near the highway. It's near other industry and it won't threaten Maromas or valuable farm land. I will remain vigilant and advocate for that site. We can't take anything for granted, and I will continue to work with Governor Rell, the Attorney General, Rosa Delauro to be sure that this is the site the Army will use."

Bysiewicz Informs Press Her Hat's in the Ring

Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz has informed the Middletown Press that she intends to file papers in a run for governor.

Secretary of State Bysiewicz surprised by Monday Army meeting

Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz finds it troubling that the Army will not be releasing a list of ranked sites for the proposed Army Reserve Training Center when they come to Connecticut on Monday especially after the work the city has done to identify usable sites.

Bysiewicz, who has addressed correspondence to the Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of Defense says "she has not gotten any reply."

"Anything I write or do for constituents in this office," she asserted. "Is available for public inspection. It's strange to me that the Army hasn't come forward with legal opinions on the BRAC law."

This latest development has left her more puzzled.

"I haven't heard about any meeting on Monday, and I'm dismayed that Colonel Landry (of the Army Corps of Engineers), has not been in contact."

Bysiewicz also expressed concern about the lack of involvement by the governor's office.

"The governor is pretty unengaged," Bysiewicz said. "She hasn't answered the questions raised on Smart Growth. She's established an office on Smart Growth and this would be the perfect opportunity to engage Smart Growth principles with a large federal project. She is Commander in Chief of the National Guard, and yet in terms of her response, the silence has been deafening."

Consensus builds for Cucia Park

Click document to enlarge.






Proposed Common Council Resolution







From Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz













From Governor Jodi Rell to Army Secretary Geren

Citizens Advisory Panel Member Unhappy with Delauro Response

Stephen Devoto, a member of Middletown's Citizens' Advisory Panel on the proposed Army Reserve Training Center, is unhappy with State Representative Rosa DeLauro's response to Army Secretary Pete Geren's interpretation of BRAC law.

According to a letter Devoto sent to fellow committee members and town leaders:

I am extremely disappointed that Congresswoman DeLauro can even think about accepting the obtuse and illogical stone-walling from (Army Secretary) Geren...Geren did nothing but parrot the same "absolutely none of your business why we think that" statement that we have heard from Dale. I can't believe that DeLauro waved the white flag without a whisper of protest.

DeLauro's response to Geren letter was released by her office. In it, she said:

I am encouraged by the Secretary Geren’s willingness to work with the Middletown community as we move forward with the siting and construction of the Armed Forces Reserve Center. In its response, the Army maintains that the language is clear on Middletown as the location...It is through open communication that we can ensure the community is fully involved in this process and provides Middletown’s citizens with greater input. Clearly, we all want to avoid the frustration that was experienced earlier this year. This week’s public meeting will provide both the Army Corps and the citizens of Middletown the opportunity to review and discuss those sites which have been recommended by the Mayor’s advisory panel.

While he sat on the site advisory panel, Devoto is still of the opinion that a majority of Middletown's voters are against the construction of the army facility on property in town. In the letter he writes:

If there is anything that unites all of your constituents, it is a recognition that the army base can only be a destructive drain on our resources. Do any of you think that an army base on ANY site in Middletown would be approved by a vote of the people (considering that a high school was defeated)? There will be no cheering if Cucia Park is sold, there will be cries of pain and anguish that we were forced to choose a bad option, just because the alternatives were so much worse.

In addition, Devoto underscores the opposition to the Army's legal manuvers from Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz and State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal who reject the Army's interpretation of BRAC law. They both insist that the Army publically share its legal opinion. Although both Blumenthal and Bysiewicz concede that a new facility is needed, and could be built in Middletown, on an appropriate site.

From the Bysiewicz letter:









Correspondence on the topic can be found here.

Finally, Devoto feels that he has found the Army's precedent for its Middletown decision in a similar case, with different BRAC language in Ayer Massachusetts, where a similar consolidation took place, and where BRAC language specifically cited Ayer, without the predominat if clause ("if the Army is able to acquire land suitable for the construction of the facilities") which appears in the law regarding the Middletown location.

Delauro satisfied, Bysiewicz not

It appears that Representative Rosa Delauro is satisfied with Army Secretary Pete Geren's letter asking for a clarification on the legal status of why the Army Reserve Training Center must be built in Middletown. While Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz is not satisfied with the response.

Here's what Delauro had to say:

I am encouraged by the Secretary Geren’s willingness to work with the Middletown community as we move forward with the siting and construction of the Armed Forces Reserve Center. In its response, the Army maintains that the language is clear on Middletown as the location; that the criteria will include price, sufficient buildable area, site access, environmental issues, zoning and construction cost; that the Army needs to acquire suitable property in time to complete the project before the 15 September 2011 BRAC-imposed deadline; and that the Army Corps of Engineers will need to get the environmental permits necessary to comply with the Clean Water Act. With this letter we have a clear understanding of where the Army is coming from and this should offer some additional guidance for the officials and residents of Middletown in how we proceed on the Center.

It is through open communication that we can ensure the community is fully involved in this process and provides Middletown’s citizens with greater input. Clearly, we all want to avoid the frustration that was experienced earlier this year. This week’s public meeting will provide both the Army Corps and the citizens of Middletown the opportunity to review and discuss those sites which have been recommended by the Mayor’s advisory panel.

Talking to the wall on Wednesday

Duh! I feel stupid.

For a moment, I thought that this week's public opportunity to speak was going to be a real occasion during which all of our high-rolling Democratic political allies on the Army Reserve Training Center controversy would be present to hear the thoughts of the PUBLIC, along with those of the Army Corps of Engineers!

Silly me. Wrong again. Rosa Delauro, Susan Bysiewicz and Richard Blumenthal will all be in Denver at the convention, as delegates. Now it's clear why there was a meeting last week. One meeting for the important politicians, another, this week, for the public.

Hello, Jennifer, can you stick an Eye blog in front of the CT delegation on Thursday morning? Paste it to the bottom of a bowl of red, white and blue M&M's.

Sure, we'll see our town council members, Democratic and Republican, and maybe even some of our state reps, but the faces which draw the cameras (or the faces drawn to the cameras), will be at the Pepsi Center tossing confetti.

Military and Civilian Support

Commentary, by fishmuscle

Two recent, opposing opinions in the Hartford Courant suggest that some may view support or opposition for the military training facility proposed for Boardman Lane as an indication of support or opposition for our armed forces. In Saturday's Courant, George Swepson, a Vietnam veteran, expresses his outrage that Middletown is opposed to building an army training facility on Boardman Lane:

We are at war. Where has Middletown been? More than 4,000 have been killed; 50,000 have been wounded; and more than 200,000 are still in harm's way in Afghanistan and Iraq. Additionally, another 500,000 to 600,000 members of the armed forces are ready to put their lives on the line for us at any time. And Middletown is against building training facilities? Shame on you!

In Sunday's Courant, Secretary of State Bysiewicz reiterates her call for Governor Rell to step up as the leader of the Connecticut military and implement her own smart growth policies. Perhaps in response to sentiments like those of Mr. Swepson, she uses the opening sentences of her commentary to vigorously support the military and a training facility in our community:

As someone who grew up and currently resides in Middletown, I welcome the proposed U.S. Army training facility to our community.
This essential facility will be a regional hub of training exercises for our Reserve and National Guard troops in New England. Since the tragedy of 9/11, we have all seen what a crucial role these men and women have played in our national security, both here and abroad.

It is true that unlike Secretary of State Bysiewicz, the Mayor, Common Council members, and other residents of Middletown who have opposed the Army Corps of Engineers siting of the training facility first on Freeman Road and now on Boardman Lane have not often taken the time to express their profound gratitude to the members of the Armed Forces. However, it would be incorrect to interpret the absence of such statements as evidence of a lack of support for our Armed Forces. The Mayor and Common Council members, several of whom are veterans or attended one of the Service Academies, are unanimous in their opposition to the use of Boardman Lane. Many of the Middletown residents most vocal in their opposition have likewise served long proud careers in the military. It is insulting to their intelligence and service to claim that their judgment about the unsuitability of the Boardman Lane site for a military base shows a lack of support for the Armed Forces.

The Army Corps of Engineers has not taken the time to state that they have the utmost admiration for the expressed desires of the citizens of Middletown. Nobody in Middletown has suggested that this indicates contempt of civilians by the Military. The dispute over the siting of a training facility on Boardman Lane is no more evidence of Middletown's antipathy to the Military than it is evidence of the Military's antipathy to Middletown. Middletown's residents, like the Army Corps of Engineers, want a training facility for the National Guard and Army Reserve that is built on land suitable for the facilities. To want anything else would truly be unpatriotic.

Rosa Delauro convenes a meeting on the Army Reserve Training Center

Representative Rosa Delauro invited Westfield residents, city councilors, and the owners of the property coveted by the Army, to talk about the proposal to build an Army Reserve Training Center on Boardman Lane in the Westfield section of Middletown.

Because it was a private meeting, I agreed not to report on the meeting itself, but only on the press presentation which followed.

Delauro reported that at the meeting Westfield residents, and others from Middletown, council members, the mayor, Sebastian Giuliano and Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz, discussed and debated the proposed Army Base. Westfield residents oppose the siting of the training center in Westfield for a number of reasons, from environmental and traffic concerns, to questions about the economic impact of the base. New concerns about water, sewer and flood issues surfaced.

At this point Delauro, Giuliano and Bysiewicz are all opposed to building the training center on the site in Westfield. All cited the intractability of the Army, and their lack of communication on the topic, as problems in solving the siting issue. Delauro and Bysiewicz are also amenable to having the training site built outside of Middletown, while Giuliano stills supports building the training center on one of three city-recommended sites, a site adjacent to the Pratt and Whitney plant on Aircraft Road, a site next to the Kleen Energy plant on River Road, and a site behind an auto junkyard on Saybrook Road. All three sites are technically in Maromas.

Delauro has promised to lobby Secretary of the Army Geren, and along with Bysiewicz has authored a letter to Governor Jodi Rell, who is commander-in-chief of the Connecticut National Guard, and may have some influence in determining where the training center is built.

The press conference drew all four local TV stations, two newspapers, the state TV station CTN, and at least three radio reporters. Delauro, Bysiewicz, Giuliano (the three political leaders who are most deeply involved in the issue) and Jennifer Mahr, a representative of the Westfield Residents Association addressed the gathered reporters. Then a parade of less-directly-involved, though concerned, politicians including state representatives Ray Kalinowski, state senator Paul Doyle and state representative Joe Serra (who was not at the meeting with residents because of a dental appointment), took the opportunity to express their opinions for the gathered press. Also in attendance was state representative Brendan Sharkey who represents governor Jodi Rell's push for smart growth.

It's become clear that the Army will have a fight on its hands if it insists on the Boardman Lane site, but it's not clear whether they will abandon Middletown, or reconsider building on brownfield sites.

The Middletown Common Council meets on August 4th to consider a resolution which will oppose the Army Corps of Engineer's choice of the Westfield site.

As Mayor Giuliano indicated, that to make the site buildable, "thousands of tons of trap rock will be shifted into wetlands. If the city had asked the Corps of Engineers to approve the site for the building of the new high school, they would have stopped us."

Special Occasion

No matter how you feel about the war, gas prices, President Bush, Senators McCain and Obama, even our own Joe Lieberman, one of the more interesting events around the July 4th celebration in Middletown is the annual Naturalization Ceremony. The event takes place Thursday July 3 from 1 - 2 p.m. in the Council Chambers inside Middletown City Hall.

The ceremony is conducted by the Honorable Stefan R. Underhill, United States Federal Judge, and usually attended by CT Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz, a member or 2 from the state delegation to the House of Representatives, a State Senator and/or Representative and the Mayor.

It's amazing to watch the people young and old taking the oath surrounded by family members and friends. One cannot help but be touched by the tears streaming down many of the faces. These people, representing many different countries, have come here transfixed by the idea and ideals of freedom. They know what a difficult task it is to become a citizen but they also know what it means.

Monday June 30 was the birthday of one such "citizen", the poet-essayist Czeslaw Milosz (1911-2004) who was born in Lithuania and settled in Poland during World War II. After defecting to Paris, France,in the early 1950s, he came to the United States in 1960. Milosz taught at the University of California/Berkeley, won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1980 and was awarded the U.S. National Medal of Arts in 1989. An astute observer of the human condition, he wrote the following words about the U.S. in his book, "Milosz's ABCs" (published in 2000 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux.)

"What splendor! What poverty! What humanity! What inhumanity! What mutual good will! What individual isolation! What loyalty to the ideal! What hypocrisy! What a triumph of conscience! What perversity!"

I'm sure the new citizens understand Milosz's sentiments, many agree with him, but, like him, they still want to be part of this "dream."