"This is a plan I would expect to see from the Gov. of Mississippi – in the 1950’s. Rell has done nothing to support the African-American community of Hartford. Now she wants to lock up thousands more urban teenagers. She has continually cut funding to give kids positive choices, not one dime for after school programs, mentoring or summer jobs."
Re-read the first sentence. John DeStefano is accusing Jodi Rell of having the mindset of a repressive, racist Southern governor from the 1950s. The subtext is pretty clear: Jodi Rell doesn't care about blacks, she just wants to lock them up.
Really? This from a February AP article (boldface mine):
Rell's proposed budget for next year would pay for more state prosecutors and investigators, and includes $4.25 million in grants for cities and towns to provide alternative activities for young people in cities. (Rubinsky)
Huh. From the little I've seen of Rell's plan, it does seem that she wants to focus more on enforcement right now than on prevention. John DeStefano disagrees. Fine. But insinuating that Rell is somehow a racist is beyond the pale, and reflects some of the worst impulses of Democratic politics.
Sources
"Rell offers Mississippi style plan." DeStefano for Connecticut. Press Release, 30 June, 2006.
Rubinsky, Cara. "Rell, rivals offer plans to fight crime." Associated Press 14 February, 2006.
12 comments:
Maybe he would be happy if she came up with a number for people to call to get guns off the street 'cause that would really do the trick by raising awareness. And the people in these communities really need politicians to make them aware that there is an issue here.
bluecoat,
Just about a month ago I asked Destefano (at his appearance at SCSU) about these issues and he had nothing to offer. He even went as far as to ask me if I had an idea about what to do about the rate of recidivism in the city and some of the other related issues. I may not be a police officer but I have a sense of what a good leader is and that is not it.
By the way I see what Destefano said not as a brave or necessary move but purely as a politically motivated move to engage certain demographics (hopefully to vote for him). In that way he acts as if we are some dogs meant to salivate whenever the racism bell is wrung. That's insulting and stupid.
bluecoat:
A dud is a mayor for whom this is a constant issue who sits on his hands until it reaches a critical point and becomes a political liabilty. And, yes i am going to vote for Malloy but that has a lot to do with having lived in New Haven and watching the dud. Call it what you want it's the truth.
I never said you were voting for anyone. Read again. I pointed out who I was voting for as a point of disclosure.
Chris MC,
Thanks for giving me the heads up on this.
I'm been so wrapped up at work that I really didn't have a chance to read JDS' press release.
I'm not avoiding this issue so don't take this the wrong way. Just give me time to read the statement myself when I get home and I'll make my comments known on my blog.
TrueBlueCT said... ".. Rell, and many of her voters, have not just forgotten CT's cities......"
What color is the sky on your planet?
TrueBlue,
You may be interested to know that we'll be sitting down with John DeStefano in about a week. You should see a lot of the same kind of coverage that we had for Malloy.
Chris MC said... "Certainly not Jodi Rell."
Jodi is not a mayor.
Jodi isn't wringing her hands and bad mouthing the state; the mayor of Hartford does that.
Hartford's easily the nicest capitol city in north America yet the mayor never points that out. What he does do is scare the daylights out of everyone in the suburbs so they won't come to Hartford unless they have to. Take out maybe 10 square blocks of the city and not much is going on at all - but does Mr. "I'm no George Athenson" ever say anything that would make you want to visit his city?
Hell no.
What would you expect from a man who 20 years ago by numerous reports was a major player in the coke business (everyone knows that; FBI agents simply could not get him on camera
during their now famous 3 year "Hartford Windshield" sting operation.)
Meanwhile New Haven should simply be bulldozed into the sound; it's hopeless and the police are the problem not the solution. The whole place is the result of a totally entrenched administration that's so corrupt that even that bastion of right wing conservative press, The New Haven Advocate has multiple stories regarding DeStefano and / or his appointees.
Stick a fork in him - he's done. What happens in August doesn't matter.
The other guy, from lower Fairfield County, seems to run his city okay by most accounts. That won't translate to victory this fall however as no one will overtake Rell's popularity.
I'm not sure a lower Fairfield County Democratic candidate could win statewide under anything other than exceptional circumstances.
Chris MC said... "She is by all accounts a nice person, but by no means an executive capable of actually running the state, and she demonstrates the latter on a daily basis.
In hindsight it's pretty clear to me and I suspect 1000's of others that Bill O`Neil wasn't the worst thing to ever happen to CT by any stretch of the imagination. He less time before he suddenly found himself serving as Gov.
All we need is someone with a little common sense and enough backbone to keep the gov't OFF of businesses back and out of our collective lives.
Jodi fills the bill; both of the Dems in the race seem to have other "plans" that include more gov't.
The New Haven pal to hoodlums everywhere seems to want to beat up business as his primary occupation.
Heaven forbid he ever wound up in the office as jobs would leave CT by the 1000's.
Larry said... "I warn you though, calling his comments “Racists”, and “pandering” will not endear Dannel Malloy to those people that know and feel the racism in Hartford.
Warn away.
Have you ever even met Cornell Lewis?
Do you have any idea what on earth you're talking about?
You've failed to notice which administrations spend money in cities that's for sure.
Any idea what's going on in Bridgeport? Are you aware of the substantial Syrian presence there or that they're buying up the ghetto and fixing it up like crazy?
BTW - why is it that it takes 6 months less to rehab a multi-family dwelling in Bridgeport than in New Haven? (does payola ring a bell?)
There's nothing wrong in Hartford a real mayor couldn't address.
What Hartford really needs is a wave of immigrants. Don't believe it? Take a ride to Bridgeport or Danbury (20 years ago Danbury was so "nice" that when it became part of my sales area I quit my job with a (then) Fortune 25 company.)
No Governor is going to change much in an city.
Chris MC said... "
Malloy's comprehensive approach would support the entrepreneurship you are talking about by making those communities safer and more secure; better places to live, raise a family, and do business."
Then he should move to Hartford and run for Mayor.
No one wants the state running their town or any other.
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