New Haven Independent

Posted by: pinkbicycle | November 29, 2006 4:28 PM

WOW! Now the Mayor is really pulling out all the stops! Ms. Matos is the perfect choice. She is caring, connected and wicked smart! What a bon for New Haven. To get a woman of her caliber, I am sure was no easy feat. Way to go John!

Posted by: THREEFIFTHS | November 29, 2006 5:18 PM

Another Puppet For John Destffano Collection!!

Posted by: Jess Bialecki | November 29, 2006 10:34 PM

I want to express my firm belief that this hire is a tremendous gain for City Hall and for the entire City of New Haven. To have a woman of Kica Matos' caliber leading the city's Community Services Administration sends a promising message about priorities for the city, priorities that New Haven under DeStefano has consistently demonstrated. Personally, I'm pysched to hear this!

Posted by: Cedar Hill Resident | November 30, 2006 9:32 AM

Big bravo!!

THREEFIFTHS not even close!

I just hope she remembers the small corners of the city as well as the large problem areas. She has done some great work and I think that she is going to make improvments. Congrat's

Posted by: Shonu | November 30, 2006 4:05 PM

I don't think there is a better person for the job. What a great day for the City of New Haven!!!

Posted by: THREEFIFTHS | November 30, 2006 10:07 PM

To Cedar Hill Resident, This Appointment Is Nothing More Than Political Pay Back For What Her
Husband Henry Fernandez Did For John Destefano
During His Fail Run For Governor, So John Hookup
His Wife With This Job As Pay Back To Henry.So No
Matter How Much Great Work She Has Done Remember
This Old Saying When You Take The Kings Meat, You
Must Do The Kings Bidding, Her Husband Is Geting
A lot of The Kings Meat And So Will She And You And I Know Who The King Is, SO Let The Bidding
Begain!!!

Posted by: concerned in ct | December 1, 2006 1:25 AM

Three fifths is right. She is the ultimate insider, her husband is Henry Fernandez, her Board of Directors at Junta were all insiders and city administrators, she was able to pull in funding becuase of this. She will continue to play the insider's game, and to try to paint her as an outsider fighting the good fight is a joke.

Posted by: pinkbicycle | December 1, 2006 10:27 AM

So what! YOur point is what? That she won't be able to do the job? Are you saying she isn't qualified? What's your message. All I hear is people who aren't qualified, ranting on a woman who is professionally accomplished. She has national prominance, you have no idea what her credntials are or her background. You are funny Three Fifths, your type of reteroric didn't play in NYC and it doesn't play here. You all sound like a bunch of school girls on a playground talking about nothing. God where is the real intelligent discussions? All this petty crap is tiring. You people are boring. I am boring because I am responding to you. Yick!

Posted by: IRATE in Fair Haven | December 1, 2006 10:35 AM

I found the last two comments to be really sexist and I am taking a wild guess that Three Fifths and Concerned are both men with grudges. Before mouthing off, I suggest that you take a look at Ms. Matos credentials and what she has done in Fair Haven and at Junta. Her record speaks for itself.

Posted by: Edward Mattison | December 1, 2006 11:40 AM

Those of us who work in the neighborhoods can't imagine a better person for the job than Kica Matos. We need somebody who both knows what people struggle with and has the sophistication and contacts to make something happen. I know she can do it.

Posted by: Kicafan | December 1, 2006 1:09 PM

Seriously, y'all, enough with the baseless hating. No-one who actually remembers what Junta was like pre-Kica Matos can doubt her management skills. She took that house from a position of total irrelevance (sorry but it's true) to the most important agency in that community. Now she'll have a chance to work on a bigger level, and hopefully she can get a lot accomplished. There's bound to be a lot of race-baiting around this hire, and Matos had best spend some time within her first 100 days proving to the black community that she'll be just as responsive as to the latino community.

Posted by: pinkbicycle | December 1, 2006 6:07 PM

Execuse me Kicafan, but have you seen Ms. Matos. She carries her blackness well, she carries her latino-ness well. She will be responsive to all those that call this City their home..even if she were purple, or orange or green or blue. She will be fine and I have no doubt that she will bring to City Gov't the same energy she needed to make Junta and her other larger endeavors successful.

Posted by: Lou West | December 2, 2006 2:16 AM

After a few years here, anyone should be able to see that New Haven is a city of patronage.A welfare city, there is no industry. The largest employer is Yale, and their product is students, which is fine but the students by and large don't take up residence in New Haven.It is what it is!! Ms. Matos served the latino community well, and it is obvious that Ms. Bell didn't serve anyone well, so it is off to the City Hall parking lot, which isn't bad if you are only capable of picking up a paycheck every Friday with all kind of perks. And who is going to protest the move, not HANH residents. They don't eat the Kings meat, unless you consider HUD the king in this instance. I will bet you a dollar to a doughnut that Ms. Bell does not have a text book on the United States Code of Federal Regulations. "It is what it is", a modern day plantation, based on the rules of slavery.

Posted by: TSN | December 3, 2006 7:33 AM

In the article about the shake up in city hall earlier in the week, I put the question out there...where will Henry Fernandez end up? I guess my question got answered.

Politics in the city and particularly as practiced by the mayor, is brutal. Connections between Junta's funding source and DeStafeno/Fernandez can not be over looked. This is just one more example. As long as Matos does the King's bidding, she will serve. Once she tries to be independant of him, she will quickly be yanked back into line, or disappear, because this animal of politics, eventually eats its offspring.

I am still waiting for the New Haven Independent and the other paper (ha) to get to the real story of why Henry Fernandez left so abruptly, even before the DeStefano bid to be governor had solidified.

Posted by: Rafael Ramos | December 4, 2006 12:58 AM

After reading some of the comments about Kica's appointment i could no longer resist but to comment myself. I am going to miss working with Ms.Bell She did her job and did it well, but I believe that some of the comments made about Kica's appointment are unfair to Kica and refuses to consider her track record in this city alone.

I have known Kica since she moved to New Haven and in fact i was the one who approached her and asked if she would be interested in a interview for the Junta position. I also told her that the job she would be interviewing for had no funds to pay her or the other 4 Staff and didn't know where the funds were coming from. The state was cutting the funds by 20% again. She took the job anyway: no effective programs; no funds, few clients, no heat, Chipping and peeling paint throughout. The rear of the building had fire damaged from a fire that occurred about ten years prior. If that appointment was a favor who needs friends?

Its important to remember that Junta went from a defunct Social Service agency to a Community Resource Agency serving well over 4,000 people a year, partnering with other community organizations such as Centro San Jose, Yale Child Study Center, Jerome Frank Law School, Grand Avenue Village Association, advocating for Children and families, providing Computer Training , English Class, GED, Job Placement, Hosting Symposium about racial profiling ( Kica personally inviting Mr.Danny Glover as Guest Speaker, encouraging and supporting the creation of The Bregamos Community Theater.

Her new challenge, a City with its better then fair share of low income families, increasing homelessness, increasing Youth Violence,Substance Abuse just to name a few of the problems. Again if this is anyone's idea of a political payback think again. We Should all be ready to Encourage her and support her rather then to project your fears and ignorance towards her.

Posted by: janna | December 5, 2006 7:39 PM

Bravo, Rafael! Anyone who knows Kica knows that she will bring her activist sensibility, genuine straightforward personality, and true commitment to New Haven's truly underserved and overlooked residents to City Hall.

I implore all of those who complain of pantronage and payback to give Kica a chance.

And, by the way, "many hands make light work." If more of us stopped complaining and actually made change in our own city, like Kica does every day, we wouldn't have so many challenges.