Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Hartford: Matthews Expected to Announce Today

From the Courant:
I. Charles Mathews, a blast from Hartford's political past, is expected today to announce his candidacy to run against Mayor Eddie A. Perez in the 2007 election.

Mathews, a former deputy mayor in Hartford, joined a growing list of candidates seeking to oust Perez, who on Tuesday made official his bid for re-election by registering as a candidate with the city clerk.
[...]
Mathews said his candidacy will concentrate on a revision of the city's strong-mayor charter, fine-tuning the document to provide enhanced checks and balances against the mayor.

Mathews wants to focus city dollars on a handful of issues - jobs for city residents, improved education for its children, economic development downtown and in local neighborhoods and revitalizing some of the city's most downtrodden areas. (Goren)

Others currently in the race are former State Rep. Frank Barrows and current State Rep. Art Feltman, both Democrats.

The consensus this year is that Perez has made a lot of enemies in Hartford, and he is seen, among other things, as power-hungry and out-of-touch with the residents of the city. He still remains a powerful force in Hartford, however, so it remains to be seen whether any of the current crop of challengers can take him down.

Above all of this is the quiet but persistent rumor that Denise Nappier might join the fray, although she hasn't said anything either way.

Source
Goren, Daniel. "Another Mayoral Candidate." Hartford Courant 10 January, 2007.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Who but the msm says Perez is out of touch? I live in Hartford and it seems to me that he is still popular and well liked. Ive lived here for 5 yrs and I have see the city change for the better. The "out of touch" and "power hungry" comments seem to be coming from those who want to be Mayor. I bet Perez coasts to victory this year.

Anonymous said...

The motivation of every single candidate so far is disdain for Perez himself. Hardly an inspiration to vote for them. I'd much rather have a Mayor who is bold in his vision and actions. Yes, that means you make some mistakes along the way, but that's a prize you pay for leadership! Those who are complaining about him are people who've already tried to strong-arm him in some way or another and got beat. There are plenty others who feel secure in his leadership and know they can come to him for anything.