The Need for Youth Programing, Some of Us Get It

The Courant, whose coverage of Manchester has been, er, lackluster at best, published a worthy article in Saturday’s paper.

According to the Courant, Chris Silver, Asst. Director of Recreation, has been efforting an expanded programing schedule at the former East Side Rec. Center when Bennet comes back on line later this year.  Estimates indicate that it will cost approximately $230,000 to provide for a full-year of intense programing, both drop-in and scheduled.  The densely packed proposal includes opportunities for all ages, with a particular focus on Manchester’s youth.

Several months ago the Democratic Directors proposed a resolution that would require funding the entire proposal, however, that initiative was dismissed by the Republicans, who indicated a desire to postpone substantive discussions until budget season, when they will presumably discuss the necessity of the program and then fail to fund it, citing “budget constraints”.

Town Manager Scott Shanley has indicated that his budget proposal, which will be released in the coming weeks, allocates about $83,000 to fund the “core piece” of the plan.  Highlights of the plan include:

• The “core piece” of drop-in adult and youth basketball, a fitness center, a homework and social room, adult fitness classes and a junior basketball league, similar to what used to be provided;

• The “6th Grade Rocks After School” program, which would include two projects already operated in different town facilities. One is Living Well After School, a pilot program run at the local YMCA, where Robertson School elementary students learn about health and are physically active.  The other is the Center for Service Learning that started at Bennet and was moved to Illing Middle School when Bennet closed.

• A high school and middle school leadership camp during school vacations.

Silver has indicated a willingness to work with the Town Department of Recreation to identify private grants and alternative funding sources to help offset the cost differential.  Silver’s dedication and innovation are examples of what makes Manchester such a wonderful, and desirable, town to live in.  Town employees genuinely care about the future and direction of Manchester and are willing to go well beyond their job descriptions to bring about authentic and necessary change.

Silver concluded the article by saying, “”For every program that you cut within a community, you might as well fund another police officer because you’ve taken an opportunity away for kids and it leads to unwanted behavior and action.  It really is time to stop talking about [helping youth] when you have a comprehensive plan in front of you.”

Even the GOP is ashamed of Cheri Pelletier

There was an incredibly articulate and thought-provoking Letter to the Editor by Jared Kupiec today in the Journal Inquirer. He brings into stark contrast the vicious, serious nature of Cheri Pelletier’s attacks of Minority Leader Kevin Zingler during the past month.

Her behavior is slanderous, libelous, and quite frankly unbecoming of a human being. Vicious attacks like hers are exactly the reason this Board has become so dysfunctional. Many citizens have demanded a return to civility from our Board members. It is clear that without the leadership of the Democrats at the helm, the Republicans are quickly sinking the ship of dignity their office demands. Make no mistake, this is not a new turn in behavior for the Republicans or for Cheri Pelletier: they are merely continuing the political attacks, smear campaigns, and character assassination they have perpetuated for years. This divisive, disrespectful, and irreprehensible behavior is nothing new to these Three. Their lies and attacks are only now more noticeable because they are in the majority.

It needs to stop.

As the majority, they have failed to maintain a minimum of decorum and honorability as Board of Director members. They have failed to show any respect to their Democratic colleagues; they have lied again and again to the voters of Manchester; and they have been odious towards Democratic speakers during public comment across the board.

It is time to return to the decency and respect that Democratic leadership brought to Manchester. These Republicans are failing Manchester, and we should be just ashamed of them as is former Republican Town Committee Chairman Wally Irish.

Mayor Spadaccini should unquestionably ask for Cheri Pelletier’s resignation. Former Republican Town Committee Chairman Wally Irish already did.

She stayed. He left.

Rather than breathe the same air as this slanderous, unethical person, he resigned as Chairman of the Manchester GOP. Now Wally and I have our differences, but as much as we have those differences, his actions should be lauded. His act was a stoic attempt to bring back dignity to politics and the GOP. He said, “No more.” Either she goes, or I go.

He is right. Her continued presence on the Board of Directors is a continued slap in the face of reason, human dignity, and common sense.

Cheri Pelletier’s lack of ethics has been astonishing during the course of her tenure on the Board of Directors. Her lack of accountability is appalling; her attacks, disgusting. It is high time she step down. We all deserve better, and both Democrats and Republicans should indeed call for her resignation.

Jared Kupiec is unquestionably correct.

Damn You For Serving the People!

I never thought I’d see the day when politicians would complain that too much was being done to solve troubling problems.  Sadly, that day has come…

Last week the JI reported that the Republican majority was bellowing about the consistent submission of [necessary] resolutions by the Democratic Directors.  In fact, it appears that the Republicans felt as if they were being “overburdened” by the initiatives – wait, “overburdened,” are you telling me that the Republicans are feeling overworked?  That does not sound at all consistent with their desire to be “accountable” to the citizens of Manchester.  In fact, it sounds like they’d prefer to be lazy and just completely ignore all of the (real) problems that require attention.

Wally Irish, the former Republican Town Chair, who has since picked up his ball and gone home, was quoted as saying, “This is just more public fodder so the Democratic minority can show their frustration.” It’s an “abuse of their ability to place matters on the agenda.”

Ted Cummings, the ubiquitos Democratic Town Chairman, who has announced his intention to retire after 54-years at the helm, responded:

“Wally’s take on this is a little too quick.  Offering resolutions to the Board of Directors, or to any deliberative body, is a clear way to express a party’s position.”

“All of the resolutions are designed to meet town needs and they’re specific, designed to enliven give and take discussion, which is what the Board of Directors is about.”

Wally’s response?  “Democrats have every opportunity to put issues on the agenda, this is a totally unprecedented act.” 

Ummmmm, okay.  Heaven forbid the Democrats actually attempt to address the most pressing issues of the community!  I understand that bringing about real and tangible change are new concepts for the Republicans, but to bemoan the attempts of others (even after Lou’s inspiring commentary that he wants an open exchange of ideas; regardless of origin) demonstrates how they truly intend to govern (or rather not govern) over the next 18 months.

Disgraceful

Elected officials are, for good reason, held to a higher standard.  They are representatives of the community and are the conduit between [good] policy and public opinion.  Though altruistic (and optimistic) in nature, they are expected to do what is in the best interest of the community, even if it requires diverting from the path of conventional wisdom.  However, there are times when elected officials step far beyond what is considered good and appropriate behavior.  In Manchester, these times are becoming far more frequent – and far more troubling.

Earlier this week the JI reported on Director Cheri Pelletier’s baseless (and, frankly, stupid) accusation that Minority Leader Zingler had breached proper ethical boundaries by failing to distance his professional life (as Marketing Director for MARC) from his responsibilities as an elected official.  According to the article, Pelletier “attacked” (without provocation, mind you) Zingler at the end of last week’s Director’s meeting (a lewd and childish act indeed), claiming that Zingler is “engaging the town of Manchester in laundering money from the state for his employer.”

What lies, what shameful tactics, what outrageous and disgraceful behavior! 

Pelletier’s manufactured outrage stems from a bill presently working its way through the state legislature that would allocate $5 million to MARC for the building on a new facility on Sheldon Road.  The bill, originally proposed by Rep. Ryan Barry, was drafted by the legislature’s nonpartisan staff only a few hours before the raised bill deadline and thus contained improper language that would have allocated the money to the Town of Manchester as opposed to MARC directly.  Having personally observed the legislative process in Hartford, I can attest that this happens quite regularly and that any and all technical oversights are generally addressed in substitute language.  Accordingly, a complimentary bill has been raised in the Senate (presently in the Public Health committee) that corrects the allocation procedure.

Perhaps even more puzzling is the silence of Mayor Spadaccini, who Pelletier alleges was a witness to Zingler’s improper behavior.  Is it not a bit shocking that Spadaccini has nothing to say?  Is seems to me that Spadaccini’s stillness is a striking demonstration that nothing Zingler did was improper or questionable.

This is clearly an example of Pelletier trying to divert attention away from the real issues – issues that the Democratic Directors have been actively attempting to address – while the Republican majority has frequently practiced the art of misdirection, and continually failing to accomplish anything of significance for the Town of Manchester – despite grandiose and sweeping promises during the last election season.

Maybe Director Pelletier should refrain from carelessly tossing about unfounded accusations and actually work on making life easier for seniors and hard working families in Manchester.  Manchester needs leaders; not despicable, power-hungry office seekers who intend to increase their (perceived) status on the backs of honest people who are fighting hard for the people of Manchester.

By her ridiculous (and arguably illegal) actions, Cheri Pelletier has proven that she is spineless, accountable to no one (ironic considering that she has been beating the “accountability” drum the loudest), and does not deserve to be a Town Director. 

The Truth about Blight

Since the summer, many of us have had a difficult time figuring out what exactly Republicans were talking about with all this blight, blight, blight business.

It seemed then like rhetoric to most people, and no one could even figure out where the graffiti that Matt Peak kept spewing about was. Three months after winning the majority, the Republicans have still not mentioned anything about the graffiti removal program that Peak kept promising during the election.

And there is a reason:

THERE IS ALMOST NO GRAFFITI IN MANCHESTER!

The Republican campaign message has been shown to be pure rhetoric. They clearly invented a problem and then, by repeating it often enough, convinced voters that they could fix this figment of their imagination. They even sent out a mailer with 6 photos of some graffiti on different objects, supposedly around Manchester. The problem was that no one could figure out where those photos were taken. Five of the six were utterly and completely unrecognizable locations.

Turns out that Town staff have had just as much difficulty finding blighted properties in Manchester too! After an exhaustive, three-month search, 18 properties were finally found. Eighteen.

18 out of 20,000! That’s got to be a joke, right? Nope. Kim Phillips reported on the numbers last week in the JI.

This was a shameful representation of Manchester by Republicans, and citizens should not stand for them painting the city in such negative light. This is a town that needs to attract new residents, not set them running to other towns. This false depiction of Manchester by politicians in order to get elected should be condemned publicly. By continually repeating falsehoods, they do a disservice to Manchester. It serves absolutely no one except their own political careers. In order to get elected, this Republican majority has actively worked to give Manchester a negative image in the media and in voters’ minds. That is shameful.

It’s time for our politicians to stand up for Manchester, promote a positive image of the city, and let the people of Connecticut know exactly how wonderful a town this is.

The Republicans clearly misled voters about a problem of blight in Manchester, and this can only have negative consequences for Manchester. And now they are wasting tax-dollars with a landlord registration act “to combat blight” that will be applicable to far fewer than 18 properties!

The truth is that only 0.0009% of Manchester is “blighted.” 99.9991% of this great town contains no blight at all. That has got to be a better percentage than West Hartford!

I don’t know about you, but I say it’s time we start talking about Manchester positively. The Republicans need to stop lying to voters just to get in office. It has very negative consequences for homeowners. It’s time to be proud of our town and send a positive message to prospective residents.

The truth, when you cut through their rhetorical shenanigans, is simple:

THERE IS NEARLY ZERO BLIGHT IN MANCHESTER!

Mad Dog: “Get Himes in There!!”

Chris Shays is an idiot.  I agree with Mad Dog Russo:  he is a disgrace.

Larson is the Man!

It’s not often that the Journal Inquirer writes quasi-poetry in their Editorials, but obviously Obama has gotten them fired up.

On February 1, they ran a great editorial:

U.S. Rep. John Larson has stepped up.

He has taken a stand.

He has chosen Obama.

Larson says Obama’s audacity of hope gives him hope. He says Obama “is not only audacious, but authentic.”

Obama can undo, “almost instantly,” much of the damage George Bush has done to America’s reputation in the world.

It took guts on Larson’s part.

Not to think any of this, but to say it.

Four years ago, John Larson was a profile in courage. And, it turned out, a profile in wisdom too.

The question tomorrow is, “Do you trust him again to lead the way?” Read the entire editorial here.

Why?

There are (too many) occassions when our political blinders prevent us from correctly observing and respecting the awesome power that politics - and politicians in particular – can have.  This is a perfect reminder of the possibilities and responsibilites that come with running for office and inspiring others for a better tomorrow.

Mind you, this was not produced by the Obama campaign, but rather by Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas.

Republicans Oppose Youth Programing

Last week Mike Farina posted a detailed and thoughtful story about the Republicans precieved willingness to sacrifice youth programing for … well, I really don’t know why they wouldn’t be supportive of doing anything and everything to ensure that youth programing is not reduced or eliminated.  Providing youth with positive and constructive outlets is a proven strategy to reduce gang activity and youth crime.  Last week’s events might have seemed like posturing; a flexing of new political muscles intended to demonstrate their magnificent power in the majority.  It was presumed that they would bend and ultimately agree to station a temporary trailer adjacent to the teen center to provide the town with the space they require to continue the level of programming they presently offer.  After all, who’d vote against kids?

I, and many like me, were wrong.  At last nights Zoning Board of Appeals meeting the proposal was defeated along party lines, the first partisan vote in 18 years!  I understand the need for partisan posturing on the Board of Directors, but on the Zoning Board of Appeals?  This trailer is essential to youth programming and helping to keep idle youth off the streets. 

The Republican “Covenant” was filled with promises about accountability and quality-of-life issues, how can they justify their stonewalling of this proposal, which was not initiated by the Democrats (though it is supported by them), and cutting productive programing for Manchester’s youth? 

Is that being accountable?  Is that dedicating yourself to being a champion of quality-of-life issues? 

The Democrats have always – and will continue to – stand in support of Manchester’s children, and will never play politics when the right decision is obvious.

Democratic Directors Announce February Resolutions

The entry is cross-posted at www.manchesterdemocrats.blogspot.com

The Democratic Directors recently released their February resolutions, which will be heard and considered by the entire Board of Directors later next month. There are four (4) resolutions in total; addressing the Bennet Leisure Center, hiring a library consultant, filming and broadcasting the Directors’ budget workshops and the institution of all-day kindergarten at all 10 elementary schools.

The Bennet Leisure Center resolution calls for the full implementation of the town’s recent proposal for after-school and weekend programing once the facility comes back on line later this fall. It is a comprehensive plan that will provide a variety of activities to provide creative outlets for Manchester’s youth.

During the last election, the Democratic candidates for the Board of Directors made Mary Cheney Library a chief issue in that the demand for – and success of – the programs offered has forced town staff to consider other space alternatives simply due to the existing size limitations of the structure. The Democratic Directors’ resolutions calls for the town to release an RFP (request for proposal) or RFQ (request for quotation) to hire a consultant to study future space needs and whether the existing facility is capable of supporting same.

As past budget workshops have not been documented to any great extent, the Democratic Directors believe that transparency is critical and have thus submitted a resolution that calls for the videotaping of all workshop sessions and subsequent broadcasting on Channel 16, Silk City Television.

The most ambitious resolution in the recent set of submissions is the request to institute all-day kindergarten in all 10 elementary schools prior to the state of the ’09-’10 school year. Countless studies have demonstrated that young students who attend all-day kindergarten have more advanced social skills, fully-developed independent study skills and are better prepared for academic success later in their academic careers. The resolution calls for the Board of Directors to provide “all necessary funding” to assist the Board of Education in ensuring that that this goal is accomplished.