We are disturbed, though, by older, recently disclosed allegations from Jason Page, who in 2002 worked as a communications director for the city of Danbury under Mayor Mark Boughton and Boughton's then chief of staff, Michael McLachlan.
Page claims both men scolded him for not telling them he was gay before Page was hired by the city.
This week, McLachlan, now a state senator, called that allegation "absurd."
That's NOT what McLachlan said...here's what he actually said.
He added that when McLachlan discovered Page was speaking with gay-straight alliance groups at area high schools, he told the communications director, "I might go home every night and beat my wife, but I don't come into work and talk about it."
"I remember it as clear as day," Page said. "I should have gone to Mark (Boughton) at that point and told him what he said, but I knew they were tight.
"I was called a fag in the locker room at Yale Field when I was covering the New Haven Ravens and that didn't bother me as much as what McLachlan said. I will remember that 'til the day I die."
McLachlan, when asked about the comments Monday, called them "absolutely absurd. I have friends who are gay."
The state lawmaker, who resigned from his post in the mayor's office after winning election to the state Legislature in 2008, said the incident was a long time ago and he didn't recall the meeting Page alleges took place.
In 2002, he shelved his stage name and used his given name, Jason Gontarek, as the director of communications for Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton.
Current state Sen. Mike McLachlan, R-Danbury, was Boughton's chief of staff.
"So I uprooted from East Haven, moved to Danbury, bought a condo and two months into the job, my partner at the time, Oscar, made a really nice special piece of artwork for me and he wrote a message on the back," Page said. "It was something to the effect of, 'Love, Oscar.'
"One day the mayor's wife came in and looked at the back of the frame that was on my wall. It was a Friday. The following Monday they bring me in, the chief of staff, Mike McLachlan, and the mayor bring me in and proceed to essentially rip me a new one because I didn't tell them before I was hired that I was gay and they were like, 'We should never be finding out this way, what if we found out through the press? You should have told us before we hired you. …'
"From that day until the day I left McLachlan was cold to me."
[...]
McLachlan issued a "no comment" through his office for this story.
McLachlan said that the wife-bearing comment was absurd and issued a NO COMMENT regarding Page's allegations regarding comment made at the alleged 2002 meeting...in fact, McLachlan said that he "couldn't recall" whether or not the meeting took place. No where in the News-Times piece or the article from the Hartford Courant did McLachlan state that the alleged comments made during the meeting between himself, Boughton, and Page were "absurd"...instead McLachlan (and Boughton) claimed long term memory loss.
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04.25.22 (RADIO): WSHU Latino group call on Connecticut lawmakers to open a Danbury charter school
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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.
The amended complaint states that plaintiffs sought to remedy the continued discriminatory and unauthorized enforcement of federal immigration laws against the Latino residents of the City of Danbury by Danbury's mayor and its police department.
Plaintiffs allege that the arrests violated their Fourth Amendment rights and the Connecticut Constitution because defendants conducted the arrests without valid warrants, in the absence of exigent circumstances, and without probable cause to believe that plaintiffs were engaged in unlawful activity. In addition, plaintiffs allege that defendants improperly stopped, detained, investigated, searched and arrested plaintiffs. Plaintiffs also allege that defendants violated their Fourteenth Amendment rights when they intentionally targeted plaintiffs, and arrested and detained them on the basis of their race, ethnicity and perceived national origin. Plaintiffs raise First Amendment, Due Process and tort claims.
Plaintiffs request declaratory relief, damages and attorneys fees.
Annie Maxwell, 5:55 PM
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.
