New Haven Independent: Breakfast at Rick's

Breakfast at Rick’s

by Paul Bass | December 5, 2007 9:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (9)

The mayor has summoned New Haven’s state legislators and leading developers to the Yale president’s house to try to present a more united front at the state Capitol.

Monday’s Hillhouse Avenue breakfast will revive a practice Mayor John DeStefano and Yale President Rick Levin instituted during the reign of the last Republican governor who had reason to view City Hall as unfriendly territory.

The breakfast is also aimed at bringing together City Hall and New Haven’s Capitol legislators — something that didn’t happen this past year.

“I imagine that’s what this is: ‘We want to do better than we did last year,’” said State Rep. Bill Dyson, the delegation’s longest-serving member (shown at left in the above photo, beside Michael Morand of Yale and the Chamber of Commerce). “We didn’t meet at all [this year]. Things that he [the mayor] may have wanted didn’t happen. We weren’t on the same page, and they knew that.”

The guest list Monday includes Levin; Bruce Alexander, Yale’s vice-president in charge of city and state affairs, who sent out the invites; the city’s seven state senators and representatives; Shartenberg developer Bruce Becker; 300 George St. owner Carter Winstanley; and Chamber President Anthony Resicgno.

“I wanted to make a more concentrated and intense effort in lobbying this year at a lot of levels” at the Capitol, Mayor DeStefano said, in explaining why he initiated the breakfast meeting. “There’s a different dynamic in Hartford. We have to adjust to that. It’s a competitive environment.”

Democrats dominate the legislature. DeStefano and all the city’s state legislators are Democrats. Yet the mayor noted that on issues like dividing up school spending, the party might view some “marginal Democratic districts” as “needing to be protected.”

In addition, he said, “the way the budget is being done now in the state, it’s being negotiated by a small group of people.” Other Democratic legislators sometimes receive the details of a budget bill the day they’re voting on it. Other crucial decisions are made in “implementer” bills that don’t have public hearings. When the state eliminated a reading readiness program this session, for instance, the city was caught by surprise, since the plan never appeared in a document available to the public, DeStefano said.

Then of course there’s the other major Capitol power center — the office of Gov. M. Jodi Rell. A Republican.

“You may recall,” noted New Haven State Sen. Martin Looney (pictured), “that John [DeStefano] ran against Gov. Rell” last year.

“Obviously I think there was some degree of suspicion on the governor’s part of requests that came from the city” this session as a result of that campaign, Looney said. “But I think that has passed.”

Looney also said he doesn’t believe “the city suffered anything qualitative” because New Haven legislators hold prominent positions in Hartford of their own. Looney is the State Senate majority leader. State Sen. Toni Harp co-chairs the Appropriations Committee; State Rep. Cam Staples co-chairs Finance, Revenue and Bonding.

Rowland Era Redux

DeStefano and Levin and Alexander last hosted breakfasts with state legislators and business leaders in the later years of the administration of Rell’s predecessor, Republican John Rowland. Rowland served from 1995 until his resignation amid a corruption scandal in 2004.

Rowland, too, saw DeStefano as a rival. DeStefano had been considering running for governor against Rowland. He was an outspoken critic. Their personalities also clashed. Rowland took delight in needling DeStefano in public, and in holding up major city development projects like plans for a new Long Wharf Theatre.

At one point Rowland told the city it was presenting too many requests for money to Hartford without setting priorities. So the mayor and Yale organized the breakfast gatherings to present a united front to the Rowland administration behind a prioritized list of projects. It worked, as the Rowland administration eventually backed major projects ranging from the construction of new condos at the corner of Church and Chapel to the Gateway Community College/ Long Wharf project.

Rowland himself attended those breakfasts. Gov. Rell has not been invited to Monday’s gathering. DeStefano said the city remains at the consensus-gathering stage. “This wouldn’t be the meeting to have her at.”

In addition to downtown development projects, a central focus for the city’s 2008 legislative agenda will be public safety, DeStefano said. That includes not just the rebuilding of community policing and a shattered police department. It includes also wrestling with “prison re-entry” — the hundreds of felons released from jail into New Haven each year. Led by Community Services Director Kica Matos and Chief Administrative Officer Rob Smuts, City Hall is working on a plan to better incorporate ex-felons into the community.

Rep. Dyson, who has championed that issue for years in Hartford, agreed with that priority. “The city has an obligation to play a role in issues of re-entry. A responsibility more than an obligation,” he said. He emphasized that both state and city money would need to be spent in meeting that obligation.

Comments

Posted by: Cat200 | December 5, 2007 10:51 AM

Not a bad idea. Far too often these legislators are busy championing their own pet projects, without being concious of the canibalizing effect that their approach has on any comprehensive efforts to bring aid to the City.

Posted by: Gary Doyens | December 5, 2007 12:12 PM

Why does the state bear responsibility for rebuildng a tattered New Haven police department? It was damaged from within the agency, through management decisions and political influence.
What does or can the state do about prision re-entry? Is this group setting a priority or recommending a specific action they want the state to take in this regard?

Posted by: andy ross | December 5, 2007 12:17 PM

There is no better time for non partisan relationship building then during a non local or State election cycle. I think this is a good step toward building a united front. After all, our State legislators represent the residents of New Haven, and our local issues, and requirements deserve their attention. I would like to see our legislators get more involved with New Haven residents, through attending some of the Town management meetings, or hold local town hall meetings. As a suggestion, perhaps Mayor DeStefano will entertain bringing them along to Mayor's night out meetings.

Posted by: Wjay | December 5, 2007 1:07 PM

A meeting sponsored by Yale for New Havens State delegation, Shartenberg developer Bruce Becker; 300 George St. owner Carter Winstanley; and Chamber President Anthony Resicgno. Sounds more like a business round table meeting for the "Blue Bloods".
Noticeable Absent: New Haven Board of aldermen, community leaders, resident advocates Board of education and other concerned parties who fight the penal system struggles all year.

The issues presented here mostly concern Yale's downtown interest, none concerning the decay of the city's infrastructure.
There is some passing reference to public safety and ex-felon re-entry, but what does Yale and Becker and the chamber have to do with that, except perhaps to protect the safety of Yale's interest from these same felons while letting the rest of the city handle the problem.

A much largest threat appears to be the state's new law concerning magnet school funding formulas, these cuts will begin in 2008-09, and will have a devastating effect on the city's general and special fund education budget.

So Dyson, keep it real!

Posted by: Athena | December 5, 2007 3:27 PM

WJAY is on the "money"!

Our Mayor and elected officials could learn something from George Washington. To aviod the appreance of favoritism, Washington did not accept the hospitality of the gentry, but rather. he insisted on staying in inns and taverns during his first presidential tours of the new colonies, from 1789 to 179. The accommodations may have been crudy, but virtue is its own reward.

A meeting on the city's legislative agenda should have been held at City Hall - that's what it is built for.

Posted by: Cat | December 5, 2007 4:43 PM

What's wrong with a business roundtable? It has to start somewhere and it won't help to have all those that you've mentioned in the room all at once. It goes back to not diluting the city's position in our approach to the state.

Sounds like a case of inferiority complex to me.
Athena your recommendation is all about form and absolutely no substance. If the President can get everyone to look beyond their ego for a day and convene at his home to brainstorm about the city's needs particularly around business development - seems like a great strategy .

Posted by: Esbe | December 5, 2007 9:06 PM

WJAY and Athena,

Maybe you haven't noticed, but the city and our state delegation have frequently not been on the same page recently. City Hall would not exactly be "neutral territory". See Rep. Dillon's polite correction of city-hall claims in today's NHI. I think Levin is stepping in as a mediator / coordinator.

Another example: Harp and Dillon got the state to seize taxable property near Route 34 because they wanted a group of CMHC employees to get free parking downtown. The city and the owner of 300 George St. had hoped to develop a new taxable bio-tech center on that property. There is a reprint of the NH Reg. article here

Hmmm, now let's think: how many of the folks involved in that exact dispute are going to be at Rick's house?

Posted by: charlie | December 6, 2007 11:57 AM

That is SHOCKING, ESBE! Are Harp and Dillon really this shortsighted? Has this issue been resolved? The NHI should cover this immediately - free parking for state employees being chosen over economic development that would bring thousands of jobs and millions in taxes to the City? What do citizens feel about that? Come on NHI, do an expose!

Posted by: Esbe | December 7, 2007 12:06 AM

Charlie -- I think Paul did link to two Reg articles when the story first came out. I had a hard time on google finding the stories now, though. Ironically, I think that the site hosting the copy at my link above means it as a compliment to Rep. Harp and her support of state mental health employees. I am sure those employees do a good job, but it really was an outrageous move, a real disaster for the city over-all, all organized by our own "representatives." I would love to know what has happened since.

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