Just as last year, when the
Instead of Boughton addressing his
When word that this disgraceful Republican leadership were about to pull this stunt, people around the area became very upset...if not outright angry. Calls for people to directly confront the moronic elected officials who signed onto this garbage as well as confronting the mayor face to face were tossed around among some people. The level of anger towards the anti-immigrant common council members (especially towards one so-called majority leader who should do the right thing and resign) continued to rise in weeks leading up to the meeting, which probably lead to an large police presence outside City Hall (as well as the non-existent City Clerk Jean Natale and Ted Cutsumpas playing the role of informant for the mayor).
In the end, cooler heads prevailed many people channeled their emotions in a more productive manner. To my delight, the chambers were packed with residents who opposed the proposal and many people who don't attend Common Council meetings expressed their anger and disappointment towards Boughton in words.
As usual, the News-Times failed to get the real story of the meeting but fortunately, I was there to record the moment, which brings me to these pictures.
First, lets clear up some things that were reported by the local paper of record.
I arrived at City Hall at exactly 7:00 and there were about 25-30 people standing protesting against the proposal. NOW, there is a simple reason why there were that many people outside...it's because this meeting was going to be tense and the chamber for going to be at full (or close to full) capacity. Given that fact, a lot of people skipped the outside protest because they wanted to make sure that they got a seat in the chambers.
I placed my camera next to the FOX-61 crew and had a perfect angle of most people in the chambers and I can tell you that I haven't seen that many people attend a Common Council meeting in quite some time. In fact, you could tell the nervousness of the Republicans based on the fact that they were unusually huddled in the caucus room mapping out their game plan for the night (which I'll talk about later).
Since I had a pretty good view of everyone, know all the usual anti-immigrant suspects as well as those who were against Boughton's stunt, I shot these photos that will give you an idea of which people were there supporting the proposal (marked in red) and those who there to speak out against the plan (marked in blue). The two photos represent most of the Common Council chambers except the full view of the right row (usually occupied by people who work for the city and heads of departments). In the bottom photo, some people who came in opposition towards the proposal are blocked in the by Councilwoman Taborsak (two or three people).
UPDATE: Whoops, someone who was against the proposal emailed me and said that she and four others were sitting in the last row of the middle section of the chamber. Sorry, I wasn't at the best angle to get a picture of the entire place (My space was somewhat limited due to the FOX-61 camera).
As shown in the photos, it wasn't even close when it came to people who turned out speak out against Boughton. In fact, besides the usual anti-immigrant fanatics and bigots that make up Elise Marciano's whack-pack, no one came up to speak in support of the plan (for the exception of planning commission cowboy Joel "you have some explaining to do" Urice). Most people who were against the proposal made their presence known inside the chambers and spoke for the first time during the public speaking portion of the event.
Since this was an unusual meeting, I made it a case to interview several people who came out to express their frustration with Boughton and the Republican-controlled council. NOTE: Some of the interviews didn't come out due to the low-light conditions. My apologies to those who didn't make the cut.
In closing, when you think about how Mayor Boughton is inflaming the racial tensions in the city, make sure you read his past comments on his views on using local police to enforce immigration laws.
Hartford Courant, April 26 2006.
Most local police departments say they have no interest in arresting illegal immigrants who have not committed crimes. Even in Danbury, when Mayor Mark Boughton last year tried unsuccessfully to have state police enforce immigration law, he said he didn't want his police doing it because it could discourage immigrants from cooperating in criminal investigations.
New York Times 05.25.05
It will begin at Kennedy Park, where the crowds of Hispanic men who gather before dawn to find work as day laborers helped prompt Mayor Mark D. Boughton to ask that the state police be deputized to enforce federal immigration laws.
[...]
Now, while members of Danbury's Common Council continue to draft a ''repetitive outdoor activity'' ordinance to restrict volleyball by cracking down on parking and noise, among other things, the mayor says deputizing the state police may not be necessary, that the police may have enough remedies without becoming immigration agents.
Hartford Courant 05.07.05
Lost in the hubbub is the political reality that having state police enforce immigration law in Connecticut is unlikely to happen anytime soon, if ever. And even Boughton acknowledges that his plan would have little effect on the number of undocumented immigrants in town.
[...]
Blumenthal responded to Boughton's request by saying it would need the approval of Gov. M. Jodi Rell, Public Safety Commissioner Leonard Boyle and the state legislature.
Blumenthal said there is no chance of that happening this year and he has "serious reservations" about the proposal.
"Deputizing local or state police is not a long term or fundamental solution to the problem," he said.
Although Boughton wants state police to enforce immigration law, he is not interested in Danbury police having the same authority, for fear it would cripple their ability to investigate other crimes.
"The same is true, to an even greater extent, for the state police," Blumenthal said.
People over politics or PARTISAN POLITICS over people.
It’s about honesty.
On September 26, 2007, ten plaintiffs filed suit in response to an arrest of aday laborers at a public park in Danbury, Connecticut. Plaintiffs amended their complaint on November 26, 2007.
