Rell Snubs DeStefano On Home Turf

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by By Paul Bass, Leonard Honeyman, and Melissa Bailey | Jan 26, 2010 4:52 pm

(25) Comments | Commenting has been closed | E-mail the Author

Posted to: Higher Ed, State, Downtown

Leonard Honeyman Photo When dignitaries from around the state assembled in New Haven to break ground on a $198 million new community college campus, one notable was notably absent from the podium—the mayor. The Rell administration chose not to invite him to speak.

So Mayor John DeStefano made other plans. Instead of joining in the celebration of a major downtown development marking the culmination of years of effort by his administration to fill in an empty expanse of prime real estate, DeStefano headed to Hartford Tuesday morning—to attend a committee meeting on smart growth.

That left it to Gov. M. Jodi Rell, some of her top officials, and Dorsey Kendrick to mark the official groundbreaking on the new downtown campus of Gateway Community College on the long-vacant blocks bounded by North Frontage Road, Church Street, Crown Street, and Temple. (Pictured above at the podium: Gov. Rell and Kendrick, Gateway’s president.)

This is not a parody news story from the Onion. This really happened.

The governor of a state (albeit one leaving office) left a mayor off the program of a major news event in his own city.

Even the last Republican governor, John Rowland, never did that to John DeStefano, even though the two were famous foes. (DeStefano, a Democrat, ran against Rell for governor in 2006.)

Pat Nolan, a spokesman for the state Department of Public Works, confirmed DeStefano was not among the three officials slated to speak at Tuesday’s event.

“We did have a very limited time,” he said, so the state limited the event to three speakers: the governor, the chancellor of the community college system, and Commissioner of Public Works Raeanne Curtis—“it’s pretty much her project.”

The DPW started limiting the programs to three speakers about a year ago, Nolan said.

“It works out better, because they all tend to say the same thing anyway,” he said. Otherwise, the events “tend to drag on.”

Word spread quickly through City Hall Wednesday about the snub. DeStefano’s administration informed Gateway officials late Monday night that he wouldn’t attend. He had an important meeting “out of town.”

What was the important meeting?

“I’m a member of the [state House] speaker’s committee on mandates and smart growth,” DeStefano explained Wednesday afternoon. “I had a meeting.” He traveled to Hartford to attend the 10:30 a.m. meeting, then returned right to New Haven.

DeStefano said he didn’t have anything else to say about the matter.

DPW’s Nolan said he was “surprised to hear” that DeStefano wasn’t showing up at Tuesday’s event. Officials who are not on the list of speakers are still acknowledged by the governor, and sit up on the stage with her, Nolan said.

About 200 state, education and city officials were on hand for the official groundbreaking. (Work actually began a few weeks ago.) Many of them got a turn dumping sandy soil out of a long trough.

Speakers, including Gov.Rell, Connecticut Community College Chancellor Marc Herzog and Gateway President Kendrick, talked about the changes having a community college campus downtown would bring to the city, its businesses as well as the students.

As the building of the 360,000-square-foot campus shifts into high gear, the top community college officials are already thinking about the next step – what to do with the Long Wharf and North Haven campuses that the students now attend.

“Finally,” was the sentiment most heard in conversation with and among city and Gateway officials.

Kendrick and Rell said the students and the city would both benefit in many ways. Rell talked about the money investment, one that took nine bond issues to gather, and the investment in students.

“Students will have a state-of-the-art learning environment,” Rell said. Their skills and education will bolster our workforce – one that is already one of the most productive in the nation. The entire Gateway community will add to the vibrancy of downtown New Haven,” she said.

Kendrick took it one step further.

The students will add to the economy of the downtown and “also will learn how a downtown works with their exposure to a downtown. They may be able to get internships,” she said. The students, in addition to those attending Yale a few blocks away, will be able to benefit from each others’ presence, each adding in their own way, she said.

She said she hopes the students would be able to take advantage of what she called the amenities of Yale.

She said the campus “will create more access to higher learning. It will connect the college closer to our business community and to our community partners. The most important thing this new campus will do is to visibly show that we have value all the stakeholders in our community and that we support that value by providing pathways to learning for a lifetime from K to university achievement,” she said in remarks prepared for delivery.

“I hope 20 years from now, individuals who come to New Haven will look at Gateway as a gateway to better quality of life,” she said in remarks during a subsequent reception at the Shubert.

Public works chief Curtis, who grew up in New Haven (and once served as a Republican alderwoman), said her department is “excited to about placing this new campus in the middle of one of the finest cultural centers in the country.”

Herzog praised Kendrick as having learning the “three P’s – persistence, patience and prayer. You have idea how hard it is to be her boss,” he joked.

Rell twice mentioned the state legislators who she said were a vital part of the campaign to build this campus and asked them and the local aldermen to stand.

Kendrick said she wasn’t put off by the mayor’s absence. “The mayor and I have a great relationship,” she said.

While the guests at the Shubert reception were feasting on canapés and other finger food, Herzog and Kendrick said in an interview that they are looking at the next step for Gateway—the future of the buildings the state owns on Sargent Drive in Long Wharf and in North Haven.

Herzog said the downtown campus cannot accommodate the automotive program housed in North Haven, but “we are looking at” bringing it to the Long Wharf campus. Kendrick said no conclusions have been reached and no timetable exists for this.

But Herzog said that move might not have to wait until the downtown campus is finished in time for the fall semester in 2012.

The downtown campus will comprise 90 classrooms, 10 meeting spaces, 22 computer labs in four levels, as well as a 600-space parking garage.

Comments

posted by: Not Surprised on January 26, 2010 5:22pm

Rell is no fool. .... I would have left him off the program too!

posted by: anon on January 26, 2010 5:25pm

The State already snubbed the city on its request for including retail space in the building. Is the Rell Administration going to help make the streets around the new campus walkable and attractive, or will they continue to make sure that it looks like a bleak superhighway?

The College won’t revive anything as long as it is set within an inaccessible death trap.

I don’t blame the Mayor for going to a smart growth event over this. He seems to have his priorities right.

Hopefully the State will fund better walking, biking and transit routes from the train station to the new building.

posted by: Leave Paul Bass Alone!! on January 26, 2010 6:11pm

Man, Lisa Moody is one bitter [...] The Rell administration’s official excuse for not inviting DeStefano—that letting him say a few words would make the ceremony too long—is as flimsy as the ribbons Rell spends half her days cutting. One can only conclude that Gov. Moody didn’t invite DeStefano to the groundbreaking out of political spite. Bury the hatchet already! And let the mayor pose for the cameras with a big gold shovel!

posted by: City Hall Watch on January 26, 2010 7:33pm

Allowing DeStefano to speak would have added nothing to the program and was completely unnecessary. That he wouldn’t participate if not given a speaking role is typical and predictable and childish. This is a state project, funded by the state. Let the state leaders take the credit. God knows DeStefano and even the legislative leaders give the governor no credit for anything. As for the meeting in Hartford on smart growth and mandates, it most likely was as productive as the last meeting the mayor participated in on the subject: ZERO.

posted by: Bill Heinrichs on January 26, 2010 8:01pm

Mayor DeStefano and his staff had the vision for a revitalized Downtown with the renovated Chapel Square Mall and Gateway Community and Technical College at the hub. Without Mayor DeStefano’s efforts, this revitalization of Downtown New Haven would never take place, and Gateway might remain in its present location. It offends me that Governor Rell would fail to invite Mayor DeStefano to speak at the groundbreaking on this project on which he led the way.

posted by: Ben Davol on January 26, 2010 9:07pm

Governor Rell should be ashamed of herself. Im not a John DeStefano fan. But, unlike the governor, I always have respect for the office. The governor’s actions show she has little respect for the office of the Mayor of New Haven and even less for the office she represents.

posted by: City Hall Watch on January 26, 2010 9:22pm

Bill:

Correction. If my memory serves me well, the mayor gave lip service to the mall. It was done with private dollars and investment and the mayor had little if anything to do with it. The same owner bought another property on College Street as well as the old Smoothie factory. Further, downtown redevelopment was started by a foe of the mayor: Joel Schiavone who put a large amount of his own money into College Street and Chapel which was later bought by Yale. So, the Chapel Street Mall including its complete re-development was done with private initiative as was most of the properties on College and Chapel. If the mayor gets any credit, it’s only by osmosis.

posted by: robn on January 26, 2010 10:36pm

Not and endorsement of the a mayor, but I feel like this breach of protocal is a snub of the citizens of New Haven. Gov Rell is like summer vacation, no class.

posted by: Charlie O'Keefe on January 27, 2010 12:46am

Remembering John DeStefano’s recent performance with UI executives on the steps of City Hall I’m not surprised Governor Rell didn’t want him at the Gateway ground breaking. Manners, Manners, Manners

posted by: Our Town on January 27, 2010 10:31am

If they all say the same thing, just have one speaker at the events. (Jodi was probably bristling at that statement!)

Johnny was probably better served by this exclusion so he can later distance himself from this future white elephant.

posted by: econdev on January 27, 2010 11:53am

City Hall Watch - Actually the City had quite a lot to do with the former Chapel Square Mall - in 1995 the Rouse Corporation one of the early mall pioneers out of Baltimore turned the keys over to the City with a large unpaid tax bill and said thanks - we tried but ain’t gonna work - at the same time Macy’s was going into bankruptcy and the “Park Plaza Hotel”(now the Omni)went into bankruptcy. The City, in a very creative deal worked with the Chamber of Commerce to set up a management company under the Greater New Haven Chamber Foundation who actually ran the Chapel Square Mall until a developer could be found - the idea was even a less than ideal retail operation was better than a boarded up complex right on the New Haven Green. Under the watchful eye of Matt Nemerson former Chamber President the mall actually did ok despite years of neglect under the former owners. The deal was when a developer was found the Chamber Foundation would turn the property over to the new developer - that and the transformation of the former Mall into street front retail, residential in part of the tower and rehab of the office tower was put in a development agreement and the City received cash from the sale and a lawsuit was settled involving another developer who had laid claim to the former Mall property. All about the same time the City obtained a $10mil state grant to assist with the rebuilding of what is now the OMNI($25mil in private investment) and obtained another $5million grant from the State to redo the streetscapes along Temple Street and Chapel Streets including the Temple Plaza and sold historic 152 Temple which eventually was transformed into 130 units of market rate rental. And it was the City that worked to save all the Schiavone properties from having a firesale to all the bottom feeders by the FDIC and instead got Yale to buy most of them allowing the properties to be professionally managed under one entity similar to how Joel had envisioned. Oh and most all of this was done under DeStefano’s leadership.

posted by: Claudia Herrera on January 27, 2010 12:36pm

The only excuse I may have for the Governor Rell is that she may be worried a little too much to shared credits of ” her own project” and she just doesn�t care or mind to put down our mayor John De Stefano by not showing any respect to his office and us New Haven residents. No class or even cordiality of invitation. Are we invited?

posted by: The Count on January 27, 2010 1:08pm

“No hard feelings” from the last gubernatorial election, right, Jodi?

posted by: Tomas Reyes Jr. on January 27, 2010 1:24pm

Shame,shame,shame!No matter what you may think about Mayor DeStefano on other matters, his tireless work on this particular project is
legendary.It should be clear to anyone with a
cursory knowledge of downtown development that
but for this administration`s pushing and tugging this project would have never seen the
light of day. The Governor cheapens her office
and position by engaging in this type of political behavior.The residents of New Haven
and surrounding towns deserve much better!

posted by: newhaventaxpayer on January 27, 2010 2:05pm

Shame on you Gov Rell no matter what it is his city.

posted by: Jimmy V. on January 27, 2010 2:21pm

DeStenfano will be thankful in future years not to have his name associated with this event.

The community college idea is a failure waiting to happen. It will not revitalize the downtown area. It doesn’t bring much-needed money to downtown. The students have very little money and aren’t big spenders. That land could have been used for much better business. It will not bring the money from the suburbs into the heart of New Haven.

Plus, Yale will have nothing to do with this school, just like they currently have nothing to do with SCSU and UNH. Keep dreaming that the students will benefit from Yale. They currently go to school 1 mile from Yale. What advantages have they reaped in being that close already? Pushing them closer in proximity isn’t going to change any relationship.

Sure, it’s too late for complaining. But when has the DeStefano admin really listened to reason in the past? It’s the reason folks like myself and others no longer live in New Haven. Thankfully I’m fortunate enough to live in the cushy suburbs around New Haven, but still am able to benefit (aka: suck dry) the resourses of New Haven (arts, hospitals, etc..). It’s a plan that’s been working very well to this day.

posted by: abg22 on January 27, 2010 5:18pm

So who picked up the tab for the canapes and finger food?

New Haven should create a public statue of Jodi Rell holding one of those oversized scissors she uses for her ribbon cuttings. Of course we wouldn’t dream of not inviting her to the unveiling. Then New Haven schoolchildren can have a field trip where they tear down the statue like the Saddam statue in Baghdad’s Firdos Square.

posted by: Bill from Downtown on January 27, 2010 5:23pm

I am not a fan of the mayor, in fact there are many things about him that I can’t stomache, and I know I am not alone. However, M. Jodi Rell and/or M. Lisa Moody should have invited him to participate in this important event. Bad form, M’s. You can’t leave office soon enough.

posted by: zaire820 on January 27, 2010 10:55pm

That was just plain ugly..I am not a Destefano fan but this was not cute at all

posted by: I love chee-zits on January 28, 2010 10:50am

M. Jodi Rell should not wear white turtlenecks and a scarf. I have heard about this M. Lisa Moody and her pit-bullish behavior. Who is she and where did she come from?

posted by: Willie D. Greene on January 28, 2010 1:56pm

The Rell Administration actions clearly projected its lack of professionalism and respect for the Office of The Mayor. There is absolutely no excuse that can be offered by Governor Rell for intentionally not inviting the Mayor to the ceremony.

Given the financial conditions the State of Connecticut is facing one think that such energy would be used to address the overwhelming fiscal deficit, job losses, closing of both big and small business we are faced with.

This was nothing more than a demonstrated display of ignorance and petty politics by Governor Rell and staff.

The Governor should be ashamed of herself and the actions of her staff.

posted by: jason Vincent on January 28, 2010 3:36pm

Good for Jodi!

No one wants to listen to ... anyway. It’s time he was shown the door. He should never be allowed to share the stage with an honest to goodness public servant like Jodi Rell.

This project went through in spite of DeStefano not because of him.

http://blogofirreverence.blogspot.com/2010/01/revolution-yes-we-can.html

posted by: TopKnotch on January 28, 2010 4:46pm

DeStefano would have contributed nothing to this event…why does he need the glory and attention for something he had very little to do with. He’s not a baby, he will recover. Besides there are still various events to come like, oh I don’t know, THE OPENING OF THIS INSTITUTION. He will undoubtedly be there. Talk about making mountains out of mole hills…

posted by: TopKnotch on January 28, 2010 4:54pm

Also I have seen little to know renderings, sketches, floor plans, and architectural images about this high publicized project. Anyone know where I could catch a glimpse?

posted by: Steve Marcus on January 28, 2010 9:43pm

I was not a Destefano fan and that was even before he made the a very sneaky move to study, close, and demolish our Coliseum.

Regardless, this move by Gov Rell is so unbelievably low that it makes you oppose Rell and gravitate around our hometown mayor.

The above writers are correct about petty politics and it was also a very poor political decision. Mayor Destefano should have been speaking front and center for all the work he has done on this massive project…plus…. HE IS THE MAYOR- HELLO!!!

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