People ask me, “Why are you
so against Mayor Dan Drew?” I am not
against Mayor Drew, I am for the truth, honesty, and integrity in the position
he holds as the Mayor of Middletown, my hometown. Elected officials say it’s an “avocation” to
be a politician. For some it is. In my opinion, for Dan Drew it is not a
calling; he wants to make politics his forever profession and career. His goal is to be a lifelong politician, and
Middletown is his first stepping stone.
And I don’t use the word “stepping” lightly. So, when I hear and read what Mayor Daniel T.
Drew tells the public, and I feel it’s a bunch of malarkey, I
research it. In my opinion, the people of Middletown
are not respected by this man; they’re being used by him to further his
political future.
Mayor Dan Drew’s newest
campaign financial report has just been released. He has more than double the amount of
campaign contributions in his coffers than Republican Mayoral candidate Sandra
Russo-Driska, with her grass roots campaign.
Currently, Drew has a total
of $105,058 worth of contributions for his re-election campaign. The
donor list is extensive and interesting.
Of the $105,058, a total of $77,240 was from contributors outside of
Middletown and Connecticut. That’s a
whopping 74% of his funding coming from outside Middletown and Connecticut sources.
I have attached a spreadsheet
(Sheet 1 of Dan Drew Campaign Contributors
.xls) This spreadsheet only contains out of town/out
of state contributors as they were his largest monetary donors. Many of them are past and current City
contractors.
There is nothing illegal
about receiving donations like this, but it leads one to ask where his allegiance lies? Is it Middletown residents,
or the lawyers, lobbyists, politicians’ and businesses that gave him all that
money? It makes me think, they bought his services, he
“owes them”! I feel Dan is “For Sale” to the
highest bidders, and he therefore puts Middletown up “For Sale” too! Dan Drew is out to promote himself to further
his political career and use our city as his stepping stone. In my opinion, he's a clone of Governor Dannel
Malloy, who he admires and emulates. Nice
friendship they have! Middletown
recently lost $200,000 plus in State aide and Middlesex Memorial Hospital is going
to lose $2 million in State funding for health care services to our community which
will definitely have a negative impact for our people. He’s done nothing so far to get those funds
back to our town.
My Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) request of the Mayor’s calendar now comes into play in respect to Mayor
Drew’s donor list. The Mayor held the
below meetings between Monday through Friday, and 8am to 5pm. Anything on weekends or after 5pm was not
calculated. Even though a Mayor’s job is
a 24/7, I understand there is a need for a “personal” life and time for a
politician to fundraise in a proper manner.
These are not those instances.
Point of information: During Dan Drew’s mayoral elections he has
employed (paid for) a “hired gun” called “The Vinci Group”. His campaigns have been spear headed by Geoff
Luxenburg of this group. According to calendar logs, Drew regularly
meets with Luxenburg on city time, and does what Mr. Luxenburg recommends him
to do. He is Dan’s “handler”. The Mayor’s appointment calendar shows a
total of 84.5 hours, or 10.5 eight hour days, which the two have met; mostly
during work hours.
·
March 23, 2015, Monday,
Mayor Drew has a meeting with Geoff Luxenburg between the hours of 10am and 1:30pm. On the same day he garners 10 donations for his campaign.
·
March 26, 2015,
Thursday, from 11am to 3pm, Mayor attends a meeting at a local restaurant per
directive of Geoff Luxenburg, and adds another 10 donations on this date.
·
June 15, 2015,
Monday, Mayor Drew meets from 10am to 2pm with Geoff Luxenburg, and earns a
$1,000 donation from a Massachusetts realtor on this date.
·
June 18, 2015,
Thursday, Mayor Drew, had a meeting with his paid political consultant Geoff
Luxenburg of “The Vinci Group”, in Hartford from 10am to 2pm. The meeting was with the law firm of” Updike,
Kelley & Spellacy” and included lunch.
Coincidentally on that same day, this law firm’s employees made nine (9)
separate significant donations to Mayor Drew’s campaign.
·
Monday, June 29,
2015, meeting with Mayor and Geoff Luxenburg, from 2pm to 4 pm and receives two
(2) more large contributions on same day.
·
June 30, 2015, Tuesday,
Mayor Drew and Geoff Luxenburg meet from 2pm to 4pm, and receive a $1,000
contribution from one (1) donor on this date.
There are other donations
Drew received the following day after meetings which included Geoff Luxenburg
of “The Vinci Group”, but I have not listed them in this article. The FOIA of the Mayor’s calendar was from
September 1, 2014 through August 10, 2015.
According to published reports, Mr. Luxenburg and “The Vinci
Group” have been investigated for ethical issues during election campaigns
before. (http://m.journalinquirer.com/mobile/page_one/political-boundaries/article_fcf389a8-3da6-11e3-bcea-001a4bcf887a.html)
NBC Connecticut news also
published an article on their website dated May 21, 2015 regarding the millions
of dollars “The Vinci Group” and three (3) other political consulting groups
have received. It’s entitled, “Majority of Taxpayer Funded Campaign Cash
Goes to Connected Few." http://www.nbcconnecticut.com/troubleshooters/Majority-of-Taxpayer-Funded-Campaign-Cash-Goes-to-Connected-Few-304644521.html
Mayor Dan Drew has current expenditures
to “The Vinci Group” and Geoff Luxenburg in the amount of for $37,413.51.
In Middletown, our Charter states: “The Mayor shall be the chief executive officer of the
City and shall devote full time to the duties of the office. Full time shall
mean primary occupation.” I for one believe that
campaigning when you should be conducting Middletown business is a violation of
this code, as well as election laws of Connecticut.
Middletown needs a full-time
Mayor, who is not concerned with self promotion to heighten his political
career. Mayor Drew’s own Democratic Common Council members tout; “a transparent and honest government”! Currently in Middletown, we don’t seem to have that!
First let me say that I applaud the efforts of citizens to exercise their rights to review our public representatives’ campaign practices and to hold them accountable to the people who have elected them. That being said, I’m having a hard time following the concerns about Mayor Drew’s fundraising activities. The fact that Mayor Drew reaches out beyond Middletown is good for the town. It means that businesses outside of the town want to invest in the town and help us grow. The fact that he has developed State political connections has and hopefully will continue to lead to more support for Middletown businesses and schools. I don’t want a Mayor who only sits in his office all day, but one who builds a network for the city beyond our limited resources. I’ve lived in this town for over twenty years and even though I wasn’t born here, it is my home. I’ve never seen the City more vibrant. My children are growing up here and so are Dan Drew’s children. My children have both gone all the way through the Middletown public school system as does Dan Drew’s children. With the public school budget being one of the most important items to manage as a local politician, I certainly feel much better about a Mayor, who is personally invested in that system. He’s also been a huge advocate for youth in Middletown with his Youth Council. Finally, if in fact Dan Drew has aspirations beyond Middletown, I’m okay with that as well. He won’t go far unless he can show real success in Middletown, so it sounds like a win-win to have a Mayor with long term goals.
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