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By Kerri Provost, December 30, 2009 8:43 pm

It’s way easier to delegate than to take on every last responsibility, so rather than work on gaining muscle mass or weaning myself off chocolate, I’m creating a list of things I would like to see Hartford work on in the upcoming year. Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Make the Riverfront Accessible

After having my heart set on a lovely afternoon bicycle ride along the Connecticut River, my plans were thwarted. Continue reading 'Hartford 2010: Resolutions for the New Year'»

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By Kerri Provost, May 10, 2009 9:30 am

A few months ago when the revision process began, there was a public hearing. Subsequently, at every meeting of the Charter Revision Commission, the public have had the opportunity to vent voice their concerns for a few minutes. During the regular meetings, less than a handful of people bothered to show up to express their opinions. Predictably, some have already begun to complain about the outcome. This kind of kvetching into the abyss is purposeless and would be more effective if directed to those who have at least a semblance of control over the matter. Draft revisions are being made available beginning on Monday and can be picked up in the Town Clerk’s Office and in City Council Offices, as well as online. Since there are actually some major suggested changes, I do think it’s worth taking the time to read through and show up at the public hearing if Hartford’s politics even remotely matter to you. This Wednesday (May 13th) a public hearing will be held at 6pm in the Hartford Public Library.

Here is a preview of some of the revised sections:

Composition of the Court of Common Council. (it is changing!)

The Council shall consist of thirteen members, consisting of one member elected from each of five Districts and eight elected at large. The Council shall designate such council districts by number. The maximum number of at-large members of the Council who may be members of the same political party shall reflect the requirements of the General Statutes with respect to minority party representation.

The following section explains how the districts will be determined, providing an idea about why there is this desire to switch from At-Large to Hybrid.

Sec. 6 Establishment of Districts for Court of Common Council.
(a) No later than thirty (30) days following the completion of reapportionment of the General Assembly, as required by the Constitution of the State of Connecticut, as further set forth in the General Statutes, the Council shall appoint a districting commission consisting of seven (7) to fifteen (15) members, no more than fifty (50%) percent of whom shall be members of the same political party (“Appointment Date”). The districting commission shall report to the Council no later than seventy (70) days following the Appointment Date, setting forth the recommended boundaries of the five (5) Council districts.

(b) Council districts shall be:

(1) of substantially equal population and otherwise consistent with all federal and state constitutional and statutory requirements;

(2) to the extent possible, consistent with preceding, maintain the integrity of recognized neighborhood planning areas;

(3) geographically contiguous and compact; and

(4) to the extent possible consistent with the preceding, consistent with existing legislative districts.

(c) The districting commission shall be supported in its work by appropriate City staff which shall have available to it the necessary support to facilitate the work of the commission and well as such other professional assistance (subject to appropriation) as it shall choose.

(d) The districting commission shall hold a public hearing at least one week before it submits its report to the Council, and shall make a tentative map of its proposed districts available to the public electronically, in hard copy available at the City Clerk’s office, and by causing it to be published in one or more newspapers of daily circulation in the City at least three (3) days before the public hearing. The districting commission may modify the tentative districts before submitting its report to the Council.

(e) The Council shall vote on the establishment of Council districts within three (3) weeks of its receipt of the districting commission’s report. The Council may amend the district boundaries recommended by the districting commission before approving districts, but the districts approved by the Council must comply with the standards of subsection (c) of this section. A resolution approving districts must be affirmatively supported by a majority of the members of Council, and shall not be subject to veto by the Mayor.
Continue reading 'Revised, Ready, and Waiting'»

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By Kerri Provost, April 22, 2009 9:43 pm

Last Saturday, Trinity students and community volunteers removed trash from the Flatbush Avenue/Brookfield Street area. To give you an idea of how neglected this area was, there were 8-tracks and pull-tab soda cans found, along with a purse containing an ID that expired in 2001.

If you missed the chance to help beautify Hartford, you have three more upcoming opportunities on April 25th, May 2nd, and May 9th. For more details contact the Knox Parks Foundation.

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By Kerri Provost, April 17, 2009 7:41 am

At this stage, the Hartford Charter Revision Commission is mostly doing what some would call nitpicking. I found myself wishing that my students had been in Council Chambers last night because the need for precise language was actually demonstrated outside of the classroom. When does exact wording and comma placement matter? When one is dealing with politicians! Loopholes are created when the wording is not as clear as it could be, or when a missing comma means the difference between a mandate and a mere suggestion. In this case, it was the difference between The Mayor having the option to serve on the Board of Education, and being obligated to serve on the Board of Education. We know how politicians like to play dumb and equivocate. Move the comma, take care of the problem.

The commission clarified the role of Corporation Counsel. If you were wondering, the half dozen lawyers on the commission explained that the advice given from Counsel to the Mayor or City Council is not legally binding. It’s advice. That’s all. Just as some members of the commission were confused about Counsel’s role, so too was it suggested of some of the current politicians.

Another item of confusion was about the Mayor’s authority to lay off employees during fiscal crisis. Continue reading 'Charter Revision Winding Down'»

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By Kerri Provost, March 26, 2009 11:29 pm

In a burst of uncharacteristic fervor, Chairman Richard Wareing told the Hartford Charter Revision Commission that the City Council has power, just no willpower. This was in response to what he described as a succession of council-members coming forward with the complaint that current Corporation Counsel is unresponsive to their needs. Continue reading '“Only Power They Lack is Willpower”'»

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By Kerri Provost, March 20, 2009 6:30 am

What I am learning from attending these meetings is that legalese is every bit as convoluted as reputed to be; hence, lawyers should be as far away from writing/modifying the language of law as is humanly possible. Given that EmGee has broken issues down into plain English, I know that some lawyers are capable of clear writing and thinking.

The Charter Revision Commission took a recess to decipher the draft amendments of Chapter III of the charter; it appeared that Attorney Mednick, who was not present, had omitted some information discussed at the previous meeting. Later, Commissioner Anderson asked for Discussion Item 4 to be better explained, as the language was misleading.

Most of the meeting seemed focused on discussion of four items. Continue reading 'Hartford Charter Revision Commission: March 19, 2009'»

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By Kerri Provost, March 5, 2009 9:11 pm

The main items on tonight’s agenda:

the Commission, meeting as a Committee of the Whole, will discuss the powers of the Court of Common Council and, if time allows, the structure of the Board of Education

Unlike previous meetings, this one felt productive. Several motions were carried over to be voted on at the next meeting, pending the attorney’s creation of a document that spells out the composition of the City Council (Court of Common Council).

Councilman Deutsch and Ronald Armstrong contributed remarks during the Public Comment period at the beginning of the meeting. Armstrong expressed disappointment regarding a vote at the previous meeting. The vote in question was for Hartford to be divided into five districts, so that there would be eight at large and five district representatives. Armstrong reminded the Hartford Charter Revision Commission that “every vote you make here as a commissioner is a moral issue” and that commissioners need to be committed to justice, not to “wealth,” “individuality,” or “control.”

The commission proposed to adopt the language found in an excerpt from the 2002 Final Report of the Charter Revision Commission, with some amendments. Continue reading 'Charter Revision Rapidly Revising'»

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By Kerri Provost, February 5, 2009 10:49 pm

An agitated Councilman Kennedy, with his back to the Charter Revision Commission mouthed that he was “not going to cut down the at large.” Continue reading '“Not Going to Cut Down the At Large”'»

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By Kerri Provost, December 19, 2008 1:24 am

Before the charter revision commission public hearing was called to order, I overheard a few people on the commission discussing last week’s meeting amongst themselves. One said that “last week was a dog and pony show for the electeds” and that the commission had not heard from the public yet. At 6pm there were only five people besides myself in the audience, ten of the commission present, and no microphone hooked up for public comment. Two more members of the commission arrived an hour into the meeting, which was only a few minutes before it ended.

Ed Vargas (on the commission) commented that he would want to introduce the idea of publicly financed municipal elections. During the meeting, others voiced their concerns about how much would-be politicians are spending on their campaigns.

Four members of the public spoke during the hour-long meeting. Three of the four proposed ideas that were clearly in favor of strengthening checks and balances in city government, and one had some overtones of that, though the focus was elsewhere.

Because I devoted so much virtual ink to the politicians who spoke last week, I think it’s just to extend the same courtesy to residents who are not sitting on City Council. I am withholding their names, though I am sure that in official records, they will be transcribed. Continue reading 'Public Hearing (for real this time)'»

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By Kerri Provost, December 11, 2008 12:12 am

On Wednesday evening, the public was invited to contribute our two cents on the discussion regarding the Hartford Charter Revision. Commissioners include Richard Wareing (Chair), Monique Rowtham-Kennedy (Vice-Chair), Sara Bronin (Secretary), Marcia Bok Anderson, Alex Aponte, Heather Brandon, Yvonne Duncan, Matt Fleury, Mathew Jasinski, Marquita McElya, Julian Pelaez, Jeff Stewart, and Edwin Vargas. The meeting was held in the downtown Hartford Public Library, which despite its recent bad press, has been accommodating to community events; in this case, they are maintaining a web page devoted to providing information about the Revision Commission and its proceedings. It, however, can’t bear to fix the acoustics in the large room where panels are frequently held. As a result, it becomes a challenge to hear speakers (who use microphones) if the heating system is on (check) or if audience members use this kind of function as a social gathering (check). Beyond the poor sound and failure to introduce members of the Charter Revision Commission, this meeting was disappointing because it was not doing what it said it would. Over the course of the two hour meeting, eight people addressed the commission. Of those, four were from City Council, one was the mayor, one was a state senator, one on the Connecticut State Board of Education, and one was an actual member of the public (though he has served on City Council in the past). On one hand, it makes sense to have officials go first, to present their researched ideas. But their expertise should not be permitted to fill the space of two hours in such a disorganized manner. The meeting came to a screeching halt at 8pm when the library closed, which cut off the ability for the public to actually contribute. The meeting will resume on December 18th at 6pm in City Council chambers.

With that said, the positions presented were interesting. Councilmen Ritter, Kennedy, Deutsch, and Cotto presented their viewpoints, along with Mayor Perez, Connecticut State Senator Fonfara, chair of the Connecticut State Board of Education and former City Councilman (1981-1987) Allan B. Taylor, and Mike McGarry, a newspaper columnist and former City Councilman. There was some disagreement over why the City Charter was even up for discussion. According to information provided by Councilman Ritter in the 2008 Charter Reform Public Hearing Summary Report, the City Council “can offer guidance on what items should be considered, but ultimately the commission can decide what areas of the charter it wishes to review.” It appeared that several members of the Council were offering guidance and/or directives for the Commission tonight.

During the summer of 2008, four hearings were held in different locations of the city–Farmington Avenue, Park Street, Main Street, and Coventry Street–so that the public could get an understanding of the charter revision process. Ritter claimed that during these meetings, the possibility of switching to a district electoral system was the most spoken about issue. Right now, Hartford has at large representation, which means that it is possible for three City Councilmembers to live in one district, while other districts may have only one member residing there; this is the case in Hartford, where there are even districts without their own representation. Councilman Cotto said, “If you start on Broad Street (at Maple Avenue) and draw a line due north connecting to Garden Street (until Love Lane), you have a North-South line splitting the city almost exactly in half…no elected official lives east of that line. The poorest sections in the city are the NorthEast and Southeast.” Senator Fonfara concurred, “It’s not by accident that there is no representation of the East side of the city.” Continue reading '“Take as long as you need to complete this task” —Mayor Eddie Perez'»