State GOP committee member Virginia Landgrebe, of New Milford, said she would love to see Boughton make another gubernatorial run.
[...]
"Just look at what he's [Mark Boughton] done for Danbury," she commented. "The city was going downhill when he first took office, and he turned the city around....
Hmmm...let me think about this.
Under which mayor's watch did the following happen:
Streetscape of downtown Main Street
Beautification of Elmwood Park
Creation of the Patriot garage
The elimination of the "slab of concrete" and the drafting of the Ice Arena
Creation of the City Center Green
Western Ct Academy of International Studies
Approval for the second parking garage on Main Street
(I could go on and on but I think you get the point)
If you said Mark Boughton then YOU'RE WRONG. Although Danbury's version of Napoleon Bonaparte likes to take credit for many of the things I mentioned, those items were done in the 1990s under Gene Eriquez...NOT Mark Boughton.
Our current dishonest mayor can take credit for bonding the city into oblivion, building an over-the-top police station that's STILL littered with problems (as well as the fact that it's build in a flood zone), creating the condo boom that responsible for an increase in strains on local services (i.e., overcrowding of schools), helping label Danbury as one of the most racist anti-immigrant city's in the state (you're welcomed East Haven), and running City Hall like a dictatorship...and all of this happened under the watch of an local media that's nothing more than a shell of what it use to be.
"It's not just a question of whether Mark Boughton has done enough for people to want to fire him...it's whether he's done enough bad things that people want to hire someone else." -Common Council 6th Ward member Paul Rotello remarks on Mayor Boughton's win, News-Times Nov 7 2007.
Here's the scene from DTC headquarters on election night.
Today's love blog of Election Day 2011 will start at 12:00 1:00 PM. Although the main focus will be on Danbury, I will also cover the local races in Bethel....
When voting today, when entering your ballot through the mavhine, please make note of the number on the counter as well as of the time you voted. Once the live blog begins, let us know where you voted, the time you cast your vote, and the counter on the machine. Since I've been tracking voter turnout at each of the wards for several elections, with your help, I can provide a rough estimate for this year's turnout.
Remember, if you don't vote, then you can't bitch about the state of affairs in Greater Danbury.
UPDATE 11.09.11: The results on the News-Times website are so far off that's it's almost laughable. I'll have the results from all the races later...
UPDATE: I will start a UStream live video feed from Danbury DTC headquarters starting at 7:45 PM.
LIVE BLOG/TWITTER STREAM (use the #Danbury2011 or #Bethel2011 hashtag when posting to Twitter and it will appear in the stream below):
In honor of the News-Times laughable headline that called Danbury's most divisive mayor in recent memory as an individual who "bring people together", I decided to post a video I did a while back that highlights Democratic mayoral candidate Lynn Taborsak's geniune commitment to assisting people of need.
I'll let the video tell the story.
I think we know who really puts people before politics...
Boughton misleads the public about Danbury's "Triple A" bond rating
Time: 4:09 PM
THE MIS-LEADER STRIKES AGAIN!
Our Dictator in Chief has made it a habit to state that the city of Danbury has a "Triple A bond rating! In fact, this rant about Danbury's bond rating has replaced targeting the illegal immigrant community as his mantra…and lie his rants on immigration, when it comes to the city's rating, Boughton misleading the public YET AGAIN.
In his opening remarks at this year's mayoral debate, Boughton said the following:
Danbury bonds & credit is AAA rated (better than the state and the U.S).
What Boughton is not telling the public is that he's cherry-picking from a less-than-well known rating agency in order to push his own agenda.
Let me explain…
In terms of bond credit rating, there are three firms that make up the "Big Three credit rating agencies), Standard and Poor's, Moody's, and Fitch Group. The S&P and Moody's and US based while Fitch is controlled by FIMALAC (a.k.a. Financière Marc de Lacharrière), a French credit rating and risk management corporation.
Here's a breakdown of the credit rating system for the big three rating firms (S&P, Fitch, and Moody's).
The most referenced and well known of the three agencies is the S&P, which made headlines earlier this year when it's lowered the U.S. government's rating from AAA to AA+…here's what Boughton had to say about the S&P rating at the time.
Friday night’s surprise downgrade by the credit rating agency Standard and Poor’s from “AAA” to “AA+” has hit our country in a deeply profound way – and has caused panic in the Obama Administration. This past weekend the Administration was busy trying to dispel the importance of this action – mainly because they were concerned of its impact on the economy.
But the action of the Administration misses the mark. The downgrade will be about the stock market and the economy in the short term, but in the long term the action by S&P has damaged the psyche of our country and our business community.
American exceptionalism has been questioned, and now, an independent agency, has said that we are no longer the gold standard in the world economy.
Because the of the AA+ rating, the US government is "no longer the gold standard?" What Boughton fails to inform the public is that S&P (as well as Moody's) also gave Danbury the SAME RATING.
You can view the S&P report on Danbury by clicking here and Moody's full report by clicking here.…and here's Fitch's report that Boughton referenced (click here). As you can see, only one out of three agencies (the one controlled by a company outside of the United States) gave Danbury a triple A rating while the other two out of the three agencies gave the city the lower AA+/Aa1 rating.
From the three reports, what stands out the most regarding Boughton's fiscal management is the critique from Moody's
CHALLENGES
-Ability to replenish fund balance appropriation to maintain financial stability
[…]
HISTORICALLY SOUND FINANCIAL POSITION EXPECTED TO CONTINUE
Moody's believes that the City of Danbury will maintain its favorable financial position, given management's prudent fiscal practices and the city's commitment of maintaining unreserved General Fund balance at a minimum 5% and targeted 10% of General Fund revenues. However, inability to fully replenish fund balance appropriations has led to three consecutive years fund balance draws, In fiscal 2010, the city was able to narrow a $2.6 million operating deficit to a $906,000 draw on reserves through savings their 2010 refunding. Total ending fund balance totaled $25.4 million or 14.1% of General Fund revenues, down from its fiscal 2007 peak of $28.3 million or 15.1% of revenues.
In other words, while Moody's forecast a "favorable financial position" for the city, the agency has a problem with Boughton's use of dipping into the fund balance in order to balance the city's budget…a common practice Boughton.
What's more alarming about Moody's report is their requirement for the city to achieve a higher rating:
WHAT COULD MAKE THE RATING GO UP
-Significant improvement in the city's financial position such as the reduced reliance on reserves for tax relief purposes
The term "significant improvement in the city's financial position" doesn't sound like the rosy picture Boughton sold to the public…in fact, if anything, the report from Moody's is luke warm at best.
While there is a debate on whether a AAA or a AA bonding is significant, what's important for the residents of Danbury to understand is that ONCE AGAIN, their mayor is misleading the public for political purposes.
In response to the previous comment. Thank god for this blog. If not for this blog then most of the public would have no idea of the constant lies and manipulation heaped on us by the current mayor and his rubber stamp city government. He has no problem in blatantly standing up and lying to the public. Case and point he stood up in a recent debate and proclaimed we have a triple A bond rating. As a matter of fact it was the cornerstone of his accomplishments according to him. When he knows as do i and many others its just a lie. Our bond rating with two of the major rating agencies is not good at best. According to S & P the most respected of all the ratings agencies our rating is the same as Waterbury! Dont believe me look itup. it is all available here on the web. Standardandpoors dot com,Moodys dot com and fitchrating dot com. He knows this and still stands up and proclaims triple A! I wanted to jump out of my seat and scream THATS JUST A LIE!!! Now you may want to believe that this guy is for you and all the others in Danbury. The fact is he would slit your and my throat if it would get him to the next level. Al knows this and tells the truth. You dont like it read the news Times they are more then willing to keep Boughtons lies going for you the public. If you want the truth keep reading Als blogs. It is your choice.
Helena is a candidate for the City Council in Ward 2 where she lives with her husband, David. Helena has two adult children who both attended Danbury Public Schools. Her oldest son graduated from Fordham University with a degree in Physics. Her youngest son graduated from the University of New Haven and is a franchise owner and a 2nd Lieutenant in the army. Helena served on the City Council from 1995 to 2001 and as City Clerk from 2001 until 2003. She was the Mayoral candidate for the Democratic party in 2007. Helena is a para-legal and owns a restaurant, The Atlantic, on Osborne Street. She is very concerned with the city’s direction and thinks we need people on the Council who can voice their opinion. She will meet regularly with her constituents and attend City Council meetings on their behalf.
Recently, I met up with Abrantes and talked to her about her campaign and her take on issues in the city...as well as her take on the performance of Mark Boughton four years after her run for mayor.
Nice to see that Danbury Republicans have no regard for the law
Time: 11:49 AM
Although they are told for several campaign cycles that the property in the photo above is PUBLIC PROPERTY (corner of Barnum Rd. and Pembroke Road 37) and that placing campaign signs on public property is strictly prohibited, Danbury Republicans such as City Councilwoman Colleen Stanley (come on Colleen, you're better than this), 2nd ward Councilmen Mike Halas and Charlie (I'm planning on moving out of the second ward the day after the election) Trombetta continue to disregard city law for their own selfish political purposes.
...oh, and in case the Republicans claim that they can place the signs there because Mike Halas has a lease agreement with the city, HERE'S A COPY OF THE AGREEMENT...which is NOT a LEASE agreement but rather a LICENSE agreement signed between Corporation Counsel, Mayor Boughton and Mike Halas that CLEARLY states that the CITY OF DANBURY owns the land and that Halas is ONLY TO beautify the property!
I like Halas' comment in his letter to the council when he requested the agreement (second page in the document)
This area would continuously be maintained by us and would meet any special regulations and guidelines the city of Danbury may have.
Well, it seems that the law doesn't apply to those who kiss the dictator of Danbury's the mayor's ring.
...more later.
UPDATE: Apparently people in the neighborhood are quite upset over Halas' ignoring city law. I wouldn't recommend that you go down and rip the signs apart or confront Halas at his farm as things could escalate into a physical confrontation.
Instead be cool and forward your anger towards The Office of Neighborhood Services (UNIT) at 203.796.8026. Talk to Coordinator Shawn Stillman and demand that he remove the signs TODAY! If needed, forward Stillman the link to this post which includes the copy of the license agreement approved by the mayor and Corporation Counsel.
Helena Abrantes on Danbury 11 case four years later: "Boughton was not telling the truth"
Sunday, November 06, 2011 Time: 2:48 PM
Helena Abrantes comments on allegations that Boughton misled the public about city's role in the ICE raid at Kennedy Park. 2007 Chamber of Commerce Mayoral Debate. Photo by CTBlogger
This past week, I had the opportunity to interview 2nd Ward Democratic City Council candidate Helena Abrantes and talk to her about her campaign. For those who don't recall, Abrantes was the 2007 mayoral candidate who faced off against Mark Boughton during a time when the mayor was under fire for comments he made regarding the city's role in the immigration raid at Kennedy Park (more commonly known as the Danbury 11 case).
Although Boughton stated repeatedly that Danbury played no role in the ICE undercover sting operation against day laborers, during her run for mayor court documents showed that Danbury Police did played a significant role in the raid.
Four years after her run for mayor, Abrantes gave her thoughts on the case including what we learned from Boughton's deposition in the matter, as well as the city's decision to settle the matter.
You will be able to view my interview with Abrantes in full soon...
04.25.22 (RADIO): WSHU Latino group call on Connecticut lawmakers to open a Danbury charter school
06.03.22 (OP-ED): KUSHNER: "Career Academy ‘a great deal for Danbury"
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.
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.
