New Haven Independent

Posted by: Bruce | March 27, 2007 12:55 PM

What did you have for breakfast this morning and how will it help you serve our city?

Posted by: Buster | March 27, 2007 1:21 PM

Since you have run for every elected office in every election every year since before 2003 and that the green party's own web site states "Ferrucci has become a perennial candidate in recent elections, skipping running for alderman in favor of offices he stands virtually no chance of winning. He won a spot at the U.S. Senate debate last fall only to goof when he criticized the U.S. occupation of Iraq by saying that the French didn't remain here after the American Revolution. He mixes up India and Pakistan, as well as the history of the U.N. He says downtown's not what it used to be because "people are too scared to come downtown," even as the number of restaurants and shops explodes."
Do you think its fair to say that your pretty much a joke and wasting everyone's time?

Posted by: RobN | March 27, 2007 1:48 PM

1) I believe that government can be a positive force in our lives and that its more than a business (RIP Calvin Coolidge), nevertheless, there are major management, budgeting and bookeeping decisions for the mayor. Whats the biggest business you've ever managed and how will either help or hurt your running this city?

2) Will you propose to reform the property tax structure of New Haven and if so, how?

3) Please describe how you believe Yale is either a positive or negative economic force the city.

4) Should New Haven provide social services for unfortunate people who haven't gotten support from their hometowns in Connecticut? If so, to what degree, and who should pay for it?

5) Do you support New Haven's long term investment in our education infrastructure? Would you change anything about Mayor DeStephano's school building program?

6) Are you are aware of any economically viable ways that New Haven can "think globally, act locally" with regards to the interrelated issues of global warming and energy shortages? If so, what are they and can we afford them?

7) Was electricity deregulation in CT a good thing or a bad thing? Using the bully pulpit of the mayor how would you seek to improve the system for New Haven?

8) Do you think that the current system of water management is structured in a better way than the electrical system? How would you improve the system?

9) Relative to the New Haven of the 70s-80s and 90s, do you believe that New Haven now has unstoppable economic momentum?

10) Should the New Haven government grow or shrink and in what places?

Posted by: Yawn | March 27, 2007 2:09 PM

What was the most important thing that you have ever contributed to a political debate? (Cuz, lord knows, I can't remember anything of significance.)

Posted by: cedarhillresident | March 27, 2007 3:06 PM

wow RobN what great questions!

mine are not as well, not as .........but here are a few.

How do you feel about Universal Health Care?

Immigrant programs in the city mainly the ones Johnny has started ..do you support and will you continue with them?

New Haven has alot smaller corners that do not get the attention that some communitys in the city get are you going to make sure that all areas of new haven get the help they need. (public works, police, youth programs,senior programs)

Here's my favorite question.....
How do you feel about the choose for the shartenberg site?? Was it a good choose? and Why

Posted by: Ralph Ferrucci | March 28, 2007 2:57 AM

To Bruce,
I did not eat this morning. left for work at 5:45 AM so I guess it will not help much.

To Buster: My first Campaign was in 2003 as the Guilty Party Candidate for Mayor of New Haven- this was to prove that there were a disenfranchised minority in New Haven that were not happy with politics as usual. I received 15% of the vote off of $800. In 2005, there were 4 candidates for Mayor, 3 indepedents and the Democrat.

As for 2004 and 2006 were party building years. The Green Party cannot run winning municiple races if no one knows who the Green Party are.

In 2005, I did not run for office, I was the campaign manager to the Green Party candidate for Mayor, Eric Brown.

The Serial Candidate was not coined from the Green Party rather than from a headline from the advocate.

The US won the Revolution with the help of the French. This is to criticize those who say we need to stay in Iraq to help set up their government. We did not want help or need help to set up our government. The Colonists would have been at war with the French if they stayed in America after we defeated England.

The UN was formed because of the failure of the League of Nations that help end conflicts and keep countries like Nazi Germany from killing innocent Jews, but the League of Nations failed due to the US non participation in it. The UN was set up to do what the League of Nations could not do and protect citizens from unjust wars. This is not their only job but one of the most important.

As fo India and Pakistan, I would need more information to explain my stances on this. I cannot honestly answer with the lack of information given.

In 2005, a senoir couple from Hamden came to New Haven to eat and see a play and someone threw something at their car. When the husband got out to see what it was, he was beaten and so was his wife. These kids have been terrorizing neighborhoods in New Haven. The curfew and gun exchange program are failures. Community policing that the Mayor talks about to fight this problem is the same program he cut in recent years. Does this keep people out of downtown. Of course it does.

Actually thebiggest waste of time is complaining and doing nothing. I stand up becasue someone has to. We cannot afford another 2 years of John.

To Robin:
First, my business which I took over from my father 8 months ago is franchisee for Pepperidge Farm. The 15 years I worked for him I doubled the business. In the last 8 months, the business is up 10% and looking for another 10% in the next 3 months.

1)I am about growth. How do we grow a business, or in this case a city without going over budget. We need to streamline our government and take out consultants and contractors who have ties to city hall.

2)Property Tax. I have yet to fully look at the structure and cannot give you an answer and be truthful at the same time. I would rather be truthful with you. What I can say is that raising taxes should be a last resort not the first option.

In 2003 the Mayor asked for concessions from Union members and gave raises to department heads. The Mayor also got a raise. Concessions should be across the board starting at the top.

I know this has nothing to do with taxes but the way taxes are done in New Haven. Everything seems to start the opposite than where they should.

We need to reveiw all the books to see where the money is going, if it is being used correctly and investigate anywhere the money does not add up and this would include a complete investigation for all the workers and the department head.

3)Yale is both positive and negative.
Positive- the students do spend money downtown and can afford upscale apartments that are also located downtown.

Negative- Landlords raise rents because they can always find someone to fill the apartment as long as yale students are around (usually grad students and mostly in East Rock area) this will push up rent in many areas of the city. Also the lack of money that Yale gives to the city forces Nedw Haven to keep raising taxes.

4)New Haven, Waterbury, Meriden, Bridgeport, Stamford and many major towns and cities provide shelters and programs for the poor. We can no longer be the only provider. North Haven, East Haven and other towns should either help pay a portion or provide services also.

5) Yes I would. Downtown is the worst place to put a school. Do we really want to put a thousand children near busy streets. We should have found another location for the Arts and Humanities school. Also downtown cannot and never will be able to take all the growth that the mayor is expecting from that school and Gateway without fixing the taffica nd parking problems that plague New Haven now.

New Haven has needed new schools for a long time and we need to build them, but we seriously need to look at all the building locations and bids to make sure everything is in orderand the locations are safe.

I do not support an appointed Board of Education. Dr. Mayo only needs to make one person happy and that is the Mayor. If he was elected than he would have to please the residents also which will make his decisions better for the city and it's children.

6) Wallingford and Yale have their own power plants. Why does New Haven not do this and move towards solar power and biodiesel generators. Solar power would cost us a good amount of money because we would need to buy the panels and the collectors but biodiesel is very economical. We can convert regular diesel engines to run on biodiesel for almost nothing.

We can also do this for New Haven municiple vehicles and school buses which would also lower emmissiona in the city. In 2001 24.3% of all children in New Haven lived with asthma.

7)Deregulation was never agood idea. It was to make the industry more competative but actually worked opposite from it's intention. The best we could do would be open our own power plant through eminent domain take the closed down Quinnipiac plant on Grand Ave. and convert it to biodiesel. We can have our own plant running clean energy at a lower price than what you pay now.

8)Water Management? Do you mean sewage or drinking water. I have not looked into the Water authority but the sewage incinerator which New Haven is the major user, and gets the most pollution from in seeing how it ison our harbor and yet we do not control the board. We are hurt the most by this incinerator yet we cannot do a thingto protect the residents if we need to by having a controlled vote.

9) There is a difference between New Haven and Downtown. The Economic plan that we have is for communities surrounding downtown and Yale but there is so much potential in Dixwell, Fair Haven and the Hill that is forgotten. We need to figure out how to build economically in those communities and stop bringing all the traffic into one area that cannot take the increased traffic.

10) The Government would need to be investigated from top to bottom. Find where we are failing and fire those people or elliminate that department and hire outside contractors or end programs all together. This would include the ending of forgiven loans on companies that have gone bancrupt. There is no reason we had to forgive loans to Fusco Corp. and many others when we could have suspended them indeffently. They walked away without paying millions of dollars back in old loans that you as a tax payer paid for.

To Yawn:
During the debate with Lieberman, Lamont, Schelsinger and Knibbs I was the only one who spoke truely against war. Knibbs, Lamont and and Schlesinger only did not support the Iraq War but did support the bombings between Israel and Hezbollah which was a violation of the 5th Geneva conventions articles on targetted assinations on civilians.

Also I was the only candidate that spoke for a true Single Payer Universal Health Care System and I was the only one who talked about a living wage that would be tied to inflation. This would keep our legislators from having to vote for increase to minimum wage every time inflation goes up and increase wages to where people can afford to pay their mortgage and put food on the table without both parents having to work 2 full time jobs each.

To Cedarhillresident
1) I am a supporter of a true Single Payer Universal Healthcare system. There are 300,000 residents here in Connecticut that do not have healthcare. To put a face on one of those 300,000 people, I have not had healthcare for nearly 10 years. I would support any bill that would give all residents of Connecticut and have in previous years lobbied legislators on Universal Healthcare.

2) Immigration as a city function can be dangerous. We cannot open up a public record that can be accessed by the INS. I do support their right to be here as my father had a right to come to America. I would like to see the city actually put together a program that would help them become legal residents. As legal residents they will have more pride in their communities by becoming home owners, tax payers and legal citizens who can get a job from anywhere and also able to go to college and get a better life here in New Haven. They would also look to increasing participation in the community and the government.

3) I believe that New Haven should not only be downtown. When elected I will put together many economic plans, one for the Hill, One for Fair Haven, One for Dixwell and all other communities here in New Haven.

I support increasing community policing. With community policing the neighbors get to know the officers and trust them. It also takes less time to respond to a call if there is always an officer around. It also decreases crime. If there is always a cop around then people may think twice before committing a crime.

4) The shartenberg site- I do not know exactly how a high rise would help New Haven. It will be very pedestrian unfriendly and also bring more cars into downtown than what it could handle now. Every economnic policy the mayor has will bring more traffic and parking problems yet we have not tacked those problems.

Also New Haven will go from being a city whose downtown is small businesses like what we see on Chapel Street now, except for the few coprorate stores we have there. That was the beauty of New Haven. Small businesses owned and operated. Are we willing to give up on small businesses for 32 strory high rises that will bring in either high office rents or upscale apartments.

As a small business owner, I support smaller businesses. There is a certain respect you get from tose owners that you do not get from big businesses.

Posted by: elmcityguy | March 28, 2007 9:45 AM

Hi Ralph,

Do you have any sort of organisation to your candidacy yet? I spoke with you in January about your run, but haven't been able to find anything else about you online other than info about your Senate run.

What are your thoughts on switching school meals from the processed junk they serve now to a healthier program, provided by local companies. Studies have shown that the cost is the same, but with the benefit of healthier children learning to make the right choices in diet pays off not only immediatly with the kids, but years later, as they pass that lesson on to their children.

If elected, you would be dealing with the fallout from the current police scandal. How will you help the community regain trust in the police force?

Do you feel like being an outsider to the traditional New Haven Democratic machine would be an advantage or disadvantage in accomplishing your goals? How will you convince the party's favorites to work with you rather than against you, so they aren't setting you up for failure in hopes that they can step in in two years?

You support many plans that will take money to implement, yet are oppsed to raising taxes. How do you propose to pay for better community policing or building a power plant without additional money?

What are your feelings on the current idea to defer property taxes for seniors?

How do you plan on keeping some kids from running wild, yet make the majority feel like part of the community rather than suspects? I'm sure you remember during the 90s when the Tune Inn / Daily kids were seen as running wild, now in their late mid 20s to 30s, some are amoung the leaders in business and arts in the city, many more are tax paying residents who help the city survive, yet most were branded as trouble makers simply because they were hanging out downtown. Convince me that keeping trouble makers in line won't get kids harassed for being kids.

Finally, I never saw a protest that you weren't a part of. How will you deal with being the man rather than fighting the man?

Posted by: Buster | March 28, 2007 10:21 AM

Ralph,
Are you nuts

"Israel and Hezbollah which was a violation of the 5th Geneva conventions articles on targetted assinations on civilians."

Israel never targets civilians.

Posted by: cedarhillresident | March 28, 2007 12:15 PM

elmcityguy
I think your comment about the "traditional New Haven Democratic machine" may not play into the elections this year. I am a Dem. never voted out of my party but I am playing with the idea this time around because to be honest Goverment needs to change.

Ralph I like what you have put so far. I also know you know about New Haven probably more than alot of the people that will running. You are involved and try to make positive changes in the system. I can't wait to read more of your answers.

Posted by: Ralph Ferrucci | March 28, 2007 12:36 PM

First let me also express when I have decided against running for alderman-
1) I think my alder Mike Smart is doing a very good job and
2) I am also looking to buy a house in town and cannot tie myself to just one ward.

To Elmcityguy
I will be setting up a website soon. I will try for voteferrucci.org or ferrucci4mayor.org I should have it up by next week.

I am a believer in healthier meals for school children even if it cost us more money. I would look into changing the food at the school systems to a healthier meal rather than processed stuff like we used to get.

As an outsider I feel I am in a better position then those inside the machine. I am not required to follow Democratic Politics. We need to forget party lines and start doing what is best for the city, as an Independent I am free to talk about issue tyhat no onther candidates are talking aboutwithout backlash from the party. Getting the support from Democrats in the machine will be very hard, my best bet for know is to work on those from outside of the system.

When elected I wopuld look into investigating all offices that are under city control and use an outside firm instead of people tied to the police dept. or the city.

Through eminent domain we can take a land for city use at the assessed value which was below value many years ago. Conversion of the plant will not cost a lot of money mattering on condition of equipment and what type of equipment that is there. As for community policing, when we decreased community policing, we did noit decrease officers we just changed their locations from inside the community to almost all on major roads like Dixwell, Ferry St. and Whalley. They need to get out of the cars and back into the community.

I support tax breaks for seniors as well as for police officers and fire men and women who live in town.

Most kids are not trouble makers just a select few who make trouble for the rest of them. As for the Tune Inn, I was one of those kids. Community policing where you see the officer and get to know the officer is around will help to keep the trouble makers from causing trouble. Many will think twice knowing that an officer is walking the streets.

I actually haven't been to a protest in a few years. We need to work from outside and inside of the system.

Posted by: elmcityguy | March 28, 2007 2:12 PM

Thanks for the answers Ralph.

I have one follow up question on something you mentioned, how do you feel eminent domain would be best used to help the city grow?

Posted by: Ralph Ferrucci | March 28, 2007 4:55 PM

To Buster:
Actually if you look at Amnesty Internationals website at http://news.amnesty.org/mavp/mediaclip.nsf/0/038844D91BE9AAF8802571D300473987
Did you know that Israel bombed bridges and the only roads out of Hezbollah which were in Lebanon.

The targetted hundreds of thousands of Lebonese who were fleeing thier homes to safer grounds.

Hezbollah bombed factories and killed hundreds of civilians working in those factories.

They both violated the Geneva Convention just like
America and Iraq both violated the Geneva coventions on articles on torture.

Or would you like to beleive that Abu Garaib never existed. If that is the case look at http://www.thememoryhole.org/war/iraqis_tortured

I would not attack Israel and Hezbollah without the facts knowing that if I could not back it up Paul Bass and the ADL would attack me on it.

Also keep in mind that this happened during my Senatorial campaign and I needed to know all about the issue. I researched both sides and decided it was best to attack both becasue they both violated the Geneva Convention.

To elmcityguy:
Eminent Domain must be used for city and federal purposes only. We cannot and must not be like New London and take homes for economic purposes like building a pfizer building. That would allow YNH hospital and Yale University the ability to work with city hall for the expansion of non taxable land.

Building of schools, roads and a city owned power plant (which is empty right now) would be beneficial to the city.
Ralph.

Posted by: GetReal | March 28, 2007 10:59 PM

Ralph,

Your Amnesty International link is a perfect example of the not-so-subtle ways in which people try to disguise being anti-Israel with a rhetoric of being "anti-war". Consider the following:

The headline on the Amnesty webpage reads: "Israel/Lebanon: Evidence indicates deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure". The video begins with the sentence: "A month of war in Lebanon has brought destruction on a catastrophic scale with both Israel and Hezbollah violating the laws of war." And the video ends: "International law demands that armed forces distinguish between civilian and military targets. During a month of conflict between Israel and Hizbullah there has been little regard for this distinction. Now Amnesty International wants a UN-led inquiry into violations of international humanitarian law by both sides. Individuals responsible for crimes should be held accountable and full reparations made to the victims."

These references attempt to make the video sound "objective" and "fair" to both sides. But one need only look a drop further to see the real intentions of this video. For instance, after beginning with a seemingly even condemnation of both sides, the second sentence is: "This is the result of more than 7,000 air attacks and 2,500 naval bombardments." But were those really the only causes of the destruction? How about the 2500 rockets that Hizbollah launched at Israel? Why were those not mentioned?

Furthermore, although the video was purportedly about the illegal destruction caused by both sides of this conflict, all of the footage and all of the voiceover was of the destruction in Lebanon. Not a single frame showed the massive destruction in Israel. Not a single minute talked about the suffering of Israelis (Jews and Arabs!). And although the video made sure to mention that 1 in 4 Lebanese were forced to flee their homes during the war, it made no mention whatsoever of the 1 million Israelis who were forced to flee their homes or live in bomb shelters for the duration of the war! Why this oversight, Ralph?

And, yes, Israel did target infrastructure like highways and bridges. This was for the sake of trying to stop Hizbollah from smuggling in more weapons from Syria!

The Green Party's distaste for Israel is well-known. But please do not try to apologize for it with seemingly "objective" appraisals of the situation that only add to the insult.

Posted by: andy ross | March 28, 2007 11:26 PM

Good luck Ralph

Let me know what kind of help you need.

Posted by: buster | March 28, 2007 11:52 PM

Israel targeted hundreds of thousand of civilians. First of all not a fraction of that number were killed in this war. And any civilian casualties are the result of civilians harboring terrorists and a government that allows them to operate along side civilians and with total immunity. Somehow despite all that you refer to Hezbollah as having violated the Geneva Conventions it's a terrorist organization . They don't play by any rules they kidnap you and cut your head off. Israel is a state half the size of Maine surrounded by terrorist states. I guess blowing up a few bridges so terrorists cant run away is totally insane. If you were a real candidate im sure the ADL would come down on you. But hey this type of propaganda is typical of anti-Semites.

Posted by: andy ross | March 29, 2007 12:47 PM

Call me . I would be interested in helping your campaign.
203-641-4666

Posted by: Ralph Ferrucci | March 29, 2007 2:08 PM

To GetReal and buster :
Actually even though the rockets that Hezbollah fired into Israel were not condemmned by Amnesty International, In an interview on WNPR I gave during the conflict I did condemn both for hitting civilian targets like the factories in Israel that were not in anyway tied to the military.

I have not nor have I ever been ANTI-ISRAEL. I will not support Israel's bombing of civilians in Lebanon nor would I ever support Hezbollah's bombing of Civilians in Israel.

Targetting any civilian is against the 5th Geneva Convention under the articles of war: Targetted Assinations.

As for this link for AI., this was just a reference and can email out more links on the codemnation of the assination of civilians by Israel and by Hezbollah during the confict.

As for Hezbollah being a terrorist group, you are right but that does not give Israel the right to bomb civilians in Lebanon.

They both targetted innocent civilians, many of those children. Is it right for Israel to bomb children in Hezbollah because hozbollah does it.

Where is the logic in that?

That is like saying Americans should be able to violate the Geneva Conventions articles on torture because Iraq does. We cannot as a country bring another country to justice for Human Rights violations if we violate those same Human Rights in the process.

The problem is not that Hezbollah is a terrorist group and plays by their own rules but that if neither play by those rules they they are both guilty of the same violations of the Geneva Convention: articles of war.

Not supporting Israel's and Hezbollah bombing does not make me an Anti-Semite. In fact many Jewish organizations came out against the conflict and how Israel and Hezbollah handling of the conflict.

Supporting Israels and Palestinians right to coexist also does not make me Anti-Semetic.

In fact Palestinians are Semites. Not supporting the two to coexist would make you anti-semetic.

I do not want to see a death to Israel. Allowing Israel, Palestine to continue their conflict and allowing Israel and Hezbollah to esculate as far as it did allow thousands of innocent children to die.

How many children have to die before it is too many?

Do we allow them to play by their own rule and if so then why exactly is there a United Nations or a Geneva Convention?

Wouldn't that be so Hezbollah does not kill innocent civilians in Israel or Israel to kill innocent civilians in Lebanon? Wouldn't it also be so America cannot attack Iraq without just cause? Iraq to invade Kuwait?

Your arguement with me as that I am anti-semetic when I am anti-war (even though I came out for the invasion of Darfur to save hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians) Problem here is Darfur has nothging that the US want.

If we do not have guidelines for the rules of engagement then we cannot go after those countries who violate them. Like religious persecution. If we do not outlaw targetting of people because of their religion then there would be no backing to go on if we went to war against the next Hitler.

Remember the killing of Jews did not start in Israel. It was started in Egypty in 2650, In Israel after that then by the Romans, then by the Spaniards. We have guidelines so this could not happen in the Modern World to protect the Jews from being Killed because of their religeous beliefs so where exactly do we allow the protection of one religeous group without the other.

We have gudelines to follows whether the other country follows them or not. If they do not, then they should be held accountable. We can not and must not make any exceptions to the rules of engagement.
Ralph Ferrucci

Posted by: Ralph Ferrucci | March 30, 2007 1:33 PM

I would like to apologize to everyone for 2 reasons.

The first being that I have not been able to check up on the Independent as much as I should be, I have been very sick for the last week and finding it hard to write some long comments.

And second would be that the Green Party has received word about the comment section about my possible candiacy. I did not let the Greens know because i did not want supporters attacking questions that are being asked to me.

I ask all GREENS please only ask questions that you would like answered, do not attack anyone who's comments you do not agree with.
Ralph

Posted by: Ralph Ferrucci | March 31, 2007 12:52 PM

Wednesday April 4th at City Hall on Church Street at 1:30 I will announce whether or not I will seek the Green Party nomination for Mayor of New Haven.
Ralph