The players in the four ring circus other wise known as the city hall midnight massacre. Top Left: Mayor Jim Dyer, top right: Common Council President Constance McManus, bottom left: Democratic Town Committee member Joan Soderstorm and bottom right: Democratic Town Committee Chairwoman Mary Ann Doran
This week marks the 21st year anniversary of what many have come to call either the city hall midnight massacre. If you want to have a better understanding of Danbury's current political landscape (or the close relationship between Democrats and Republicans in the city), this incredibly nutty episode is the perfect starting point.
In honor of this embarrassing moment in Danbury (and to give the old-timers a good laugh), I went through the archives of the News-Times and pieced back together the chain of events which resulted in the downfall of then mayor Jim Dyer. The following article is a good starting point.
From the News-Times Jun 2 1987. click here to download the article as it appeared in the newspaper (PDF):
I still scratch my head whenever I think about what Mary Ann Doran does for a living today...but it's too early in the revisiting of the Dyer saga to talk about that now.
On September 26, 2007, ten plaintiffs filed suit in response to an arrest of day laborers at a public park in Danbury, Connecticut. Plaintiffs amended their complaint on November 26, 2007.
