Reading Between the Lines

Mayor Picard has made the recent complaint (as reported in the Register today) that the City Council is sitting on his nominations to various Boards and Commissions. What the Mayor and his groupies haven't mentioned is the story behind this issue.

You see, many of the individuals nominated are either slavish devotees to Himself or are financially beholden to the Tearful One (or his "mini-me" sidekick):

• Tom McCarthy is the campaign treasurer of JP'09, the Mayor's re-election political action committee; his resume appears to be limited to his membership on the Building Oversight Committee (AKA "the Carney Mafia"), where he carefully thinks all issues through before he votes as he's been told.
  

• Mary-Tina Peckingham is a former treasurer for the Mayor's political committees; she was a former West Shore Fire Commissioner who was booted out once that Department's financial mess became clear.

• Stella Cretella is another long-time booster of Picard; her main (possibly only) qualification appears to be her intractible hatred of anything or anyone who questions her Dear Leader.
  

Given that an election is now weeks away (and the end of the Picard administration might quickly follow), this lobbying effort takes on the appearance of wanting to get as many Picardites shoehorned in before the clock strikes midnight.

Service, West Haven Style

UPDATE: I have been ordered to appear in court on Tuesday, October 6. With any luck, this will be the last of this little problem...but this is the last I'll say about this issue!

Between all the fun & frivolities of the past primary (including the recount), and in gleeful anticipation of the upcoming election, I decided to do something totally fun: I drove up to Massachusetts, to help my older sister during her illness.

Well, ya can get the boy out of West Haven, but ya can never wash the West Haven off the boy...

When I logged on this morning, I got an email from a friend saying I might have been "served" with a summons yesterday evening, supposedly requiring my demure presence in court today. I don't know if service was performed at my house, but I doubt it: I have neighbors who'd notify me if this had happened. (Incidentally, one would think - if this is true - the courts would require more than 12 hours or so warning time). Hmmmm?

According to the email, this is all about the recount held last Tuesday. I don't know what their problem is, since the recount (or "recanvass", as it's called legally) was performed to the letter of the law.

I'm not sure what this is really about (or for that matter, if this is real)...more details on this as they cross my eyes (and believe me, my eyes are quickly becoming crossed!)

More Ballot info

As promised (or threatened), here are the lists of Council candidates.

I've gotten some questions about why some candidates' names appear more than once on the ballot. The answer is really simple: a candidate can be endorsed by more than one party. So, as can be seen here, John Picard - the Democratic Party candidate - is also endorsed by the Reform Party...so he appears in two spots.

If someone fills in the ovals for Picard in both the Democratic and Reform party rows, the tabulator will record only one vote for Picard. The election officials will then add Picard's Democratic votes and his Reform votes to determine how many total votes he got.

That's only of interest to election geeks like me...but everyone should be aware that these situations have been anticipated.

The November Ballot

(Click on image to enlarge)

The ballot for the November election has been decided... more or less.

The candidates will be where the image above shows them...unless they drop out. And already, they're droppin'...

The Republican candidate for Tax Collector, Paul Frosolone, has dropped out; and the Chair of the Republican Town Committee, Paul Frosolone, has installed Lisa Ortiz as a replacement. And a Republican City Council candidate has withdrawn; with no replacement as yet.

Rumor has it that several other changes are a-coming. However, none of the changes I've heard of involves the Democratic line. And yet the politico's wonder why the Democrats keep winning.

It's all about the continuity...and the sense of organization (and no other party has shown any glimmer of organization.) Voters want stability...and changing your horses in the middle of the race isn't a marker of stability.

Honestly, you guys...do you really expect the voters to take you seriously, when you don't take yourselves seriously? Has it ever occurred to you that changes in the line-up, in the middle of a game, give the voters : (A) the sense that you've no vision...and (B) no reason to vote for your candidates?

West Haven voters aren't as dumb as you think. Not a comforting thought, huh? Too bad.

WYDRA 103, RICCIO 92

The recount is finally over, with little change.

Steve Wydra picked up two additional votes, while Stacy Riccio's totals remained unchanged. So, Steve Wydra is the Democratic Candidate for 4th District Councilman.

Listenin' to the Whisperers

Boy, oh boy! Are the rumors floating around town!

In the aftermath of the dope-slappin' given to the team bearing his name, the latest whisper campaign has John ("I wuz out, now I'm in") Picard dropping out of the race again.

The last rumor (fed by his own supporters) ran something like this: had Picard's supporters won the September 15th primary, he'd have enough of a majority to install Stevie DeCrescenzo as Council Chair...then (after inauguration), John-Boy resigns, & voila! Mayor Stevie D.

Now we have the next chapter: John really didn't want to run; his moment of passion in front of the Town Committee was real. Now that the best he can get is 4 Council seats, he's ready to leave it all behind...now.

The last time really put the Dem leadership in a bind; I don't see that things have improved greatly since. Can you say, "Mayor Rossi"? No? Well, how about "Mayor Mullins"? Hmmm.

I really hope this one isn't true. I'd hate to discover that John Picard is really as much of a self-centered jackass as I've been saying.

Thinking Things Over...OOPS!

With all the excitement leading up to last week's primary (not to mention the duties of running the election - and the upcoming recount), I didn't get a chance to follow up on a minor issue.

You see, when Team Picard ran a full page ad in the Register on September 9th, I did a little investigation. A full page ad, run on a weekday, costs $12,818.80, which the Register requires paid in advance. Now, insofar as Team Picard had no indication of ever having this money, it was only natural to wonder who their "angel" was.

I was also told by Register personnel that they wouldn't consider running a political ad after Sunday.

Then, lo and behold! The day before the primary, another full page ad - almost identical to the first appears in the Register:

Now, the only difference between this ad and that on Sept. 9th is the disclaimer on the bottom: while the first ad was "Approved by Team Picard", with no indication of who paid for it, this latest was not only "Approved", it was also "Paid For" by Team Picard.

So, maybe this second ad - which ran at a time I was told no political ad would run - was a "freebie" due to an error by the Register, right?

Wrong.

My sources have told me that the Register made no error on the first ad; and in any case would never swallow the 13 large of ad revenue without a really, REALLY good reason.

So now we have the question of TWO ads, totalling $25,637.60. Wonder how Al Stiewing (Team Picard's Treasurer) will square this on the next SEEC report!

Musta had a HELLUVA fundraiser, guys, right? Uh, guys????

UPDATE: Rumor has it that Team Picard claims it got a "sale" price for the first ad of $999.99...but on 9/14 the "sale" was off, so they had to pay $1,000.00. Heck of a sale, huh? Also, given that the local rag charges around $1,200 for a full page ad, can anyone really believe a bankrupt company like the Register would get approval for (let alone seriously consider) such fire-sale pricing?

Number ONE!!!!

West Haven Bob hit a RECORD amount of web hits on Wednesday...

It seems that people ALL OVER THE WORLD (5 continents, 83 countries) wanted to hear what lil' ole me had to say about lil' ole West Haven.

To those who doubt my honesty, or my independence, let the following graph (copied from Site Meter) give my response:

Memories of the Primary....(verse 1: BUSTED!)

On Monday, September 14th, I was suddenly called to City Hall to help with the final set-up of the polls. The previous Registrar made the moderators do this work; but Michelle Hufcut (in my opinion, rightly) thought it more important to stress the election process over grunt work.

However (and it can't be stressed enough that this was this Registrar's first election), setting up took more time than she thought.

So I came in; and we set up three additional polls by 7:00. At that time, Michelle prudently told me that she had to go home for her medication (we're none of us too young anymore!); I foolishly told her I'd wait for her to return, as we had only 3 more polls to do.

I sat at her desk, opened my laptop, started Media Player (Peter, Paul & Mary), and started to play Spider Solitaire to while away the time. I got a call from a friend asking if I had their cellphone; I said no, but I'd look for it in my laptop case.

About 5 minutes later, I got a knock on the door; assuming it was my friend, I opened it....it was none other than Beth Denton:

She took a picture of me on her cell phone before I closed the door (BTW, Beth, they won't let you in with that when you go to court....interference with election officials is a serious offense).

About 15 minutes later, the knock comes again. This time, it was a West Haven Police Officer (with the - ahem - "great one" in tow.)

I identified myself and my capacity as Head Moderator for the primary; but we had to wait for Michelle to come back to verify this. Better yet, we then had to wait for a second officer to arrive, to give all this information again (because - despite the fact that she called this into 9-1-1, the "Great One" couldn't wait until an officer was dispatched - assaults & robberies aren't as important as this, in her, um, mind: she pulled a cop from a meeting in another room in City Hall! Mustn't defy the "Great One"!).

All in all, it took about an hour to clear this mess up...and we didn't finish setting up until about midnight. And we had to be up at 4:00 am the next day for the primary.

Bo-Bo-Beth better get her lawyers in a row...hope they're as big in the law as she is in the City!

The Autopsy

(Click on picture to enlarge)

The official results have been sent to Hartford...the summary is above.

As can be seen by the postcard on the right, the "Picard Team" endorsed losing candidates, except for two unopposed Board of Ed candidates.

The only City Council race won by the Picard Team - in fact, the only contested race they won - was in the First District.

NOTE: there will be a recount of the votes in the Fourth District, but as Steve Wydra is leading by nine votes, it is (based on my experience) unlikely to change very much if at all. As a disclaimer, as Head Moderator for this primary, I will be part of the recount, so I won't comment any further...until we're done.

Back to the other races -- As the summary above indicates, the three top Picard Team members got blown out -- Deb Evangeliste lost nearly 2-1. Now, both sides will try to put their "spin" on these results: Picard Team supporters (or at least, Picard supporters) will likely say that this outcome was due to the fact that Picard wasn't on the primary ballot, i.e., that this has no bearing on John Picard himself as a candidate.

Those opposing the Mayor already are pointing to the heavy connection to the Mayor (look how prominently his name appears in the newspaper ads - more on that to come!), plus the fact that this team was using his headquarters, as indications to the contrary...and that John Picard has mighty good reason to be afraid of voter anger.

Both arguments have a lot of merit...which is why I'd say that the Tearful One better have that American Express job ready for him come this December. Having your team match the 2007 Miami Dolphins will not tend to give the "coach" a warm, fuzzy feeling about his future....

ADDENDUM: If anyone wants a copy of the official results, please email me using westhavenbob@live.com. I will attach PDF copies in reply. Let me know which you want: the summary (shown at the top), and/or the district results.

Dems to Picard: DROP DEAD!

Well, West Haven Bob is finally back on line, after a fun-filled 48 hours of neutrality...of which more stories will come.

(PS - the title of this post is from two earlier posts - here and here.)

Anyways, the results of the primary are in...and the Democratic voters have given the Picard team a resounding thumping: with but a few exceptions, all Picard-endorsed candidates - including incumbents - had their exit tickets punched by the voters.

Once official results are delivered to the proper officials, I'll post them on-line for anyone interested.

Am I the only one who thinks a message was passed by the voters to the tearful top of the ticket?

We'll be Right Back...

Because of the Democratic Primary tomorrow, West Haven Bob won't be posting again until after 8:00 pm Tuesday, 9/15.

What went wrong...Chapter I, Part 2...

Continuing on.....

Well, back in 1991, when Richie Borer was elected (with help from Wayne Talamelli), he made the specific attempt to bring disaffected Republicans into his group. These "disaffected Republicans" mainly included those who were most responsible for (and who most regretted) the election of Larry Minichino. Some became Democrats; others became Unaffiliated voters.

Rich Borer won three more elections; and by 1997, the remnants of the Republicans just gave up.

Did the Republicans clean out their Town Committee (like the Democrats would have done)? Did the Republicans look to new and more vibrant faces to challenge this Democratic Mayor?

No.

The Republican Town Committee (staffed by Minichino supporters, and unchallenged at every turn) remains in place to this day: a fossilized sample of what once was (and could have been)...remaining oblivious to the fact that their party went from 12,000 voters in 1980 to less than 3,000 today.

(Next Installment - Democrats)

Letters, Letters....

Did you get this card in the mail in the last few days?

Well, maybe not exactly this card...but you probably got a similar one.

I'd like to think my version speaks closer to the truth.

Whaddya tink?, Hmmmmm?

2,922 days...

..ago, the impossible became reality. For me, I remember that day (just as so many others). It was primary day: Rich Borer was running against a slate headed by John Picard, and a slate headed by Jim Morrissey. I did some final computer work, then went to go to campaign headquarters. In the car, I heard that a plane had hit one of the towers...my first thoughts were about the plane hitting the Empire State Building near the end of World War II (no, I'm not that old! I learned about it.)

So, my first thoughts were that this was a horrible accident...like most everybody, terrorism was the last thing on my mind...until the second plane hit. That's when it was obvious. I was in the car, going to hand out cards at Washington School; and I remember the sobering thought: We are now at WAR. I remember my parents talking about Pearl Harbor day; I imagined their shock and horror, even as I was experiencing mine.

It would be good to remember how we came together in the days following, as well. The spirit of America - never absent, though sometimes silent, shined through when it was most sorely needed.

America has come a long way since those dark days; we've grown, and made mistakes. Unlike too many other governments, we learn from both our successes and our errors - we display our mistakes publicly: we debate those mistakes openly and earnestly, so that we are less likely to repeat them.

That's a major reason why America won't fall.

May God keep those who lost their lives that terrible day; may He comfort those left behind; and may He bless this country always with His grace.

Once again, around the park...

Imagine my surprise! The same ad which caused such a ruckus by being run in the New Haven Register on Tuesday appeared in this week's Völkischer Beobachter (oops, I meant West Haven Voice...an honest mistake, given little Billy's many opinions).

Well, I have little problems with this ad...Team Picard has enough money to fly this pig. But...

Once again, there's that little issue of who paid for the ad...just a minor issue of obeying the law. But who cares, right? We know "Team Picard 2009" approved the ad, right?

WRONG.

Knowing who paid for the ad lets voters know who's behind these ads, and who's bankrolling the candidates. That allows the opposing candidates the opportunity to expose hidden interests, and thus the voters can go to the polls with all information...to make whichever decision they wish.

A New SEEC Complaint

Today, I filed a complaint with the State Election Enforcement Commission regarding "The Ad".

Of course, we won't get even the beginning of a hearing until February or March...But it's important to keep these bozos reasonably honest (or as close as is possible!)

"Follow the Money"......

Musing about THAT Ad....

Once again, we're left with more questions than answers.

Let's work this through, step by step: The political committee ("Team Picard 2009") couldn't pay for the ad...that much is clear (If you need any proof, go to the City Clerk's office in City Hall and ask to see the financial disclosure forms for "Team Picard 2009".) And whoever really paid for it didn't want their name tagged onto the ad.

So...who did pay for this ad?

Whoever did, knew (a) they could get away with it (because our emasculated Elections Enforcement Unit can't deal with it until February or March at the earliest); and (b) it wouldn't matter anyway, because SEEC will never overturn an election, or order a new election --- unlike they did in West Haven in 1981 (No...momma Rell won't like dat!)

So..whoever pulled this one off, knew they'd be in the clear. They'd face a fine of up to $10,000...but what would they care? They'd get that much (and more) in the coming two years, if Picard's candidates won.

Can anyone think of someone who fits this profile?

The Latin for this is: CUI BONO, (translated: "Who benefits"). Who, I wonder, is the coglione that did the Mayor's dirty work for him?

Hmmmmm??????

Following the Money

Did ya see the full page ad on page B4 of the Register today?

Well..here are the facts:

• A full page ad in the Register costs $12,818.80. Team Picard 2009 has never had this much money in their coffers at any time. So...someone else paid for this ad. But who paid for this 13 thousand bucko ad is the big question...

• At the bottom of the page is the disclaimer: "Approved by Team Picard 2009 - Al Stiewing, Treasurer". Nowhere does it say who actually paid for it:
  

So now we have a bunch of questions:

• Who paid for the ad? Team Picard could not - the Register requires payment in advance, and they didn't have the money. Whoever paid for this broke state law (see here and here)

• Who's actually paying all this money out to support this gang....and what's their reason for spending these thousands of dollars? Even money says, it ain't for our best interests!

Is it...can it be...that our Mayor's Chairman of the Building Oversight Committee (which now oversees everything - kinda like a local Dick Cheney) paid for this...and if he did so, why?

Hmmmmm....???!!!!

Keeping the Scorecard

Surprise, surprise....Beth Denton (above) has changed her affiliation From A Better Future to Democrat. I know! I'm as shocked as you are!

For those of you not following this boring soap opera, Beth changed from Democrat to ABF in January, in a quixotic attempt to take the council At-Large seat that John Coppola vacated. She didn't get it...but then wanted the ABF endorsement for City Clerk. She didn't get that, either.

So now she's back in the "D" column...too bad she didn't do that in time to vote in next week's primary (there's a 90 day hold on party privileges when you change party-to-party affiliation).

So, she doesn't get that, either.

What Went Wrong?

Back in the Stone Age -- about 20 years ago -- West Haven had two REAL political parties. We used to call them the "Democrats" and the "Republicans".

What happened?

Well, the Republicans, about 1987 or so, began to run out of viable candidates for office. This was due to the arrogance of Larry Minichino, who ran and won the Mayor's Office solely on his appearance of a maverick: and he'd clean City Hall out.

Unfortunately, Larry proved to be no better than the rest (and ended up in jail in Florida after he lost).

Worse yet, Larry fashioned the Republican Town Committee in his own image: he forced onto the WHRTC the sycophants who would do his will and continuously support him...even over the Republican Party's best interests. In short, Larry put his interests before his Party...and his City.

This got so bad that Minichino lost to an old-guard Democatic party guy, Sal Guerra...who proved to be so ineffective and so unpopular that he in turn lost to Clem Evangeliste.

Clem was picked by the WHRTC (dominated by Minichino's anointed followers)...and proved to be as bad (or worse) than Guerra.

(Part of the problem lies in the fact that this City had been mismanaged since the 1960's: we the voters had allowed those we knew, and those we were "comfortable with" to run the City without asking what the heck they would do. And the politicians ran with that...we ran after them.)

So then came Richie Borer: a young, energetic candidate. Rich promised to sweep the "bad old days away" and start our City anew. And we believed him, and elected him.

(To be continued.....)

Rumors, Rumors

Apparently, I managed to fuel yet another rumor: that I said the Mayor would be arrested on Wednesday.

I didn't say anything of the sort: here are my exact words (made in reply to a comment on "Sometimes, things happen in 3's"). An anonymous poster said:

"If they are investigating Picard lets hope they nab him before the property tax valuations are done and finalized!"

To which I replied:

"If they really aren't investigating him, they just might start after a story that should hit on Wednesday...."

So, there you have it: I do have some information, but I have to wait for the go-ahead. This news is not about legal problems for the Mayor (at least, not right now)...but investigators just might open an investigation, based on the info passed to them.

"We must possess our souls in patience" - Sherlock Holmes

Questions

Over the long weekend (in between barbeques and laptops), I took some time to reflect on my recent (electronic) exile from the City...and I ended up with more questions than answers.

Now, I know and can prove that John Picard and Baron Barron flat-out lied to the Register when they claimed that this blog wasn't singled out; but that will have to wait until I explore legal avenues. But clearly, my post about Picard, "Fast Eddie" Marcus and selling property tax liens triggered something that resulted in the explicit order from the Mayor to block West Haven Bob. What was it, I wondered...

What it this picture:

While anyone could be excused for feeling insulted at seeing themselves portrayed as a "man-pig", I knew this wasn't the main issue; I've made far worse portraits of our "proven financial manager":

Now, if he didn't get insulted when shown to be fiddling while West Haven burns, or as a cynical politician who would fake tears to get public sympathy (really!), or as a grotesque monster, I doubt this picture really honked him. (And, by the way, the illustrations I use are usually satirical - for amusement only. Just in case you didn't know....)


No, it was something in the post that really set him off...






So...there's something about the sale of property tax liens to American Tax Funding that John Picard REALLY doesn't want City employees to see. Maybe there's someone in the building who can put two and two together, which might cause mucho problemos grande (or worse, problemos legal) for our boy.

Hmmmmm......

Sometimes, Things Happen in 3's...

Some things never change.

Two days ago, Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez was arrested for allegedly accepting a bribe from a City Contractor. Today, Mayor April Almon Capone of East Haven was arrested for alleged interference with a police officer.

Given the overly cozy relationship between Himself and Baybrook Remodelers (not to mention "Fast Eddie" Marcus), and the seemingly frosty relationship between Himself and our Chief of Police...and the rampant nepotism now occurring in City employment, I certainly hope the third picture isn't something like this:

Curiously, I have heard rumors of some sort of investigation...but you know this town: there are always these rumors. Nothing ever seems to come from it.

Let's just hope this rumor is the same.....

CLARIFICATION: Rumors, rumors...everyone has rumors. The latest is that I stated that the Mayor would be arrested on Wednesday. This is untrue (though I'd be the last person told of such an event). I expect a big development this week, though...just not of the legal kind. (Sept 8, 2009)

What is Our Children Learning?

When I went to West Haven High School (back in the days when we scratched our test answers on the cave walls), there were two mandatory classes: Civics, and Current Affairs. As I recall, Mr. Di Nallo taught me both subjects. (I've often wondered if he ever got over that experience! Maybe he's still in therapy....)

Civics, for those of you too young, taught us our responsibilities as American citizens: our rights -- and our responsibilities -- under the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the State of Connecticut. Current Affairs taught us to read the news, and to form an opinion on the news of the day.

Both of these subjects, I'm told, are no longer taught in public high school. If this is true, then THIS IS BOTH AN INSULT TO OUR COUNTRY AND A CRIME AGAINST OUR YOUNG! Part of the reason for our government to educate our children is to make them educated, informed citizens.

I don't care if it's because of No Child Left Behind, or because the football field needs a new cover.

If our kids don't know (a) how this country works, (b) how they can get this country to work the way they want, and (c) how to recognize slanted bull when it's provided as news (and yes, I'm including this site)....we're doomed as a country.

From Outside the Walls -

Well....Day One in government limbo.

I've gotten a lot of support from other bloggers, including CT Bob (no relation). Plus, I've contacted Google and the ACLU about this.

However, this says more about the mindset of our City government than it does about my snarky little blog. Apparently, even the littlest whiff of the truth (or at the very least, the hint of an opposing viewpoint) cannot be tolerated within the walls of the Politico's Empire.

You see, it was my summary of the cozy relationship between himself and Ed Marcus (and the damages these two are doing to our property values) that seems to have caused the axe to fall.

God forbid that the citizens (or at least the people working in City Hall) get to see the facts...possibly to question the drivel that the administration puts out every day onto City computers!

No, John Picard is a very sensitive guy...mustn't hurt his feelings!

If the voters want to have their news filtered before they get it ("We'll Decide - Then We'll Report...You Can Just Lay Back and Relax"), well, then, John Picard is their boy!

UPDATE: I've good reason to believe that it was Bob (the Robber) Barron who decided I was a threat to the City computers. But, I'm still out, and I'll wait to see what happens when Himself starts becoming the "strong leader" that he makes himself out to be. If Barron did this - and if it isn't corrected - then we can assume either: (a) John Picard isn't really running the City (but who the heck is....Dick Cheney?); or (b) Picard ordered this selected blockage.

From the Ministry of Propaganda...

The word came out today...West Haven Bob is blocked from all City-owned computers! I guess I pressed one too many buttons....

Of course, the West Haven Voice is not similarly blocked...probably because little Billy prefers pulling to pushing (when it comes to buttons, AND punches, that is!) NEW UPDATE: Apparently, my blog is the only blog blocked...guess there'll be some fireworks over this!

This is actually a violation of the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, as (repeatedly) upheld by the Supreme Court. The right of any citizen to read any opinion is inviolate...and censoring some opinions while permitting other opinions...well, let's just say Stalin would approve.

Apparently, hearing a point of view (besides that spewed out by our benevolent overlords and parroted in the Voice) is a waste of time...but my opinion is:

UPDATE: I've been contacted by the media on this....more to come!

The Selling of a City (Pt 1)

When he took office in 2005, John Picard took the unprecedented step of selling delinquent tax liens to American Tax Funding Partners...of which Ed Marcus is the majority partner.

Last week, the New York Times reported about the problems of selling property tax liens. This was followed up by a Sunday Editorial. These two articles - by one of the world's most respected newspapers (sadly, the West Haven Voice didn't seem to make it on that list; musta been an oversight) - tell why it's a bad idea for governments to sell property tax liens. For those who didn't follow the links, basically the fact is that, while the City gets money up front now, all these foreclosures (on top of the tidal wave of mortgage defaults) all tend to lower the values of all other properties in the City; and in the end, our taxes go up, while our property values go down.

Mr. Marcus, incidentally, was involved with a similar scheme in New Haven during the late 1990's which proved to be a disaster to the City's efforts to reclaim blighted neighborhoods. A link to this saga will appear soon.

Ed Marcus, also incidentally, is a major contributor to the campaign committees of John Picard...as is his wife and daughter (and the Marcus Law Firm).

As Mr. Picard said recently: "You do the math."

Picard to Olenick: You're OUTTA Here!

The Register is reporting that Alan Olenick, the City's Director of Technology and Information, will be fired soon. Why, you ask? Because he told the truth.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, Alan was suspended for calling Bob (the Robber) Barron a "liar" in a private meeting with the Bobster. Of course, by suspending him, then talking about it to the press, the administration made certain that everyone learned that (Olenick said that) Barron is a liar.

It is clear that this death dance has been choreographed in advance, down to the last step. The head of Alan's employee union is our esteemed mayor's father-in-law; and the company appointed to run the system instead of Alan is owned by the nephew of the Human Resources Director. Not too much nepotism there (at least by West Haven standards!)

So Alan Olenick will be fired; and he will sue the City; and he will win that lawsuit (just as the former Assessor and her assistant, and the former Finance Director all won theirs). And Alan will get a huge settlement. That settlement, friends, will come out of our tax dollars.

In short, the Picard administration is basically telling us taxpayers - well, I'll just give it to you in a graphic: