Political cleanup didn't work in Hartford

After World War II, reformers convinced Hartford voters to clean up their old city by removing the strong mayors and their powerful Democratic machines and replacing them with nonpartisan city managers hired by a new and improved city council.

The council would be different from the board of aldermen, elected from the city’s racially and ethnically divided neighborhoods or wards. The new councilmen would be elected at large and answerable to the entire city, not just their neighborhoods. These councilmen would, in turn, hire a professional city manager, not a politician, to run things with their help.

It didn’t work. The council members weren’t all that different from the ward heelers and, with some exceptions, the city managers — and there were lots of them — weren’t all that effective. This was especially true in showdowns with the council. After riots tore the city apart in the ’60s, a new generation of reformers decided the city manager/council government had to go and what Hartford really needed was a strong mayor who could be held accountable for what went on.

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In 2002 voters were finally convinced and Eddie Perez became Hartford’s first strong mayor in more than half a century. And now, with Perez indicted on corruption charges, you could say Hartford has seen the return of accountability, though not quite what the strong mayor proponents had in mind.

Before proceeding, let us acknowledge that Hartford’s strong mayor is innocent until proven guilty of charges he took a bribe, falsified evidence and conspired to falsify evidence. Unless he is proven guilty, Perez is as innocent as a newborn babe or Rod Blagojevich. (Pick one.)

But the evidence cited by a one-man grand jury should disturb all but his honor’s most delusional acolytes.

The indictment says Carlos Costa, a contractor who did a $5 million street project in Hartford and did it slowly and badly, threw in a $40,000 remodeling job at the mayor’s home at no cost to the mayor.

Two years after the remodeling was completed, Perez assured investigators from the chief state’s attorney that he had paid for his kitchen and bathroom and had cancelled checks to prove it. Then, he went out and got himself a home equity loan and paid Costa $20,000.

But the contractor had a different story. He claims he never expected to be paid, figuring that the installation of a granite kitchen countertop and a lavish bathroom in the mayor’s house was just a cost of doing business with the city of Hartford.

The mayor has hired one of the state’s leading criminal lawyers, Hubie Santos, whose celebrity client list ranges from Kennedy cousin Michael Skakel to serial killer Michael Ross, the last person executed in the state.

Santos seems to be pursuing a novel defense. He told reporters he intended to introduce witnesses of unimpeachable integrity, like Evan Dobelle, a former president of Trinity College, who will testify that the mayor didn’t steal anything from the Learning Corridor, a major project he oversaw before becoming mayor. Santos will undoubtedly explain what this has to do with the price of bathtubs.

Lawyer Santos is also playing the race card with the first Puerto Rican mayor, accusing the prosecutors of trying “to destroy an administration, particularly one run by one of the few minority mayors in the state of Connecticut.†In other words, being a minority mayor should give you quality points in a corruption case.

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All of Connecticut’s big cities, New Haven, Bridgeport, Stamford, Waterbury and Hartford, now have strong mayors and the results have been mixed, to put it kindly. At the present time, the mayors of New Haven and Stamford appear scandal free, but former mayors of Bridgeport, Joseph Ganim, and Waterbury, Philip Giordano, are in jail.

In fairness, if that’s the word, it should be pointed out that the Waterbury statesman isn’t in jail for stealing from the city but for sexual improprieties involving little girls. However, there are at least two other former Waterbury mayors who did time for corrupt activities.

 Mayor Perez insists he will beat the rap and keep his job. If he does, he will end up with his power mostly intact, plus a very nice kitchen and bathroom that cost him a mere $20,000. Some might consider it a steal, you should pardon the pun.

The Perez homestead has a granite counter in the kitchen and a large, “polished brass in biscuit†bathroom where two smaller bathrooms once stood. The bathroom, according to The Hartford Courant, has a 4-foot-wide shower stall with a polished brass shower head and faucet, a 6-foot wide mirror, polished marble tile and dual, under-counter sinks with brass faucets, “blending European style and early American influences.â€

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All of Connecticut’s big cities,

New Haven, Bridgeport,

Stamford, Waterbury and

Hartford, now have strong

mayors and the results have

been mixed, to put it kindly.

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There is also a very special tub. Originally, the contractor bought a 5-foot whirlpool bathtub, but he later exchanged it for a longer model with six adjustable whirlpool jets.

What is it with tubs and Connecticut politicians? Wasn’t Gov. John Rowland done in by the gift of a hot tub? Perez’s tub sounds even fancier, as it features a digitally controlled steam generator that will “make the rest of the world simply fade away,†a nice feature in these trying times for Hartford’s accountable mayor. He should invite Rowland over for a dip.

Dick Ahles is a retired journalist from Simsbury. E-mail him at dahles@hotmail.com.