Primary On In Hamden’s 6th

What has adversely impacted Hamden as a financial entity is years and years of financial mismanagement during which nobody stood up to effectively challenge those in power who were responsible for the mismanagement. Cory O'Brien has been a leader on the council in doing that standing up - demanding that we uphold our commitment to fully fund the pension, that we stop engaging in fantasy-based budgeting that leaves us scrambling at the end of every year, etc., etc. Why we would want to jettison O'Brien (who by the way, seems to possess pretty significant financial chops) and return to the go-along-to-get-along approach that got us into this mess is beyond me.

Mr. McNamara is exactly right. The old guard and their approach has failed us, and to challenge a fresher, more rigorous and responsible approach on the basis of "civility" is deeply cynical.

I am doubtful that Kathleen Shomaker would in fact be a "reasonable, collaborative voice" if she were to return to the council. We need legislators, like Cory O'Brien, who are not afraid to challenge the mayor's doomed fiscal strategy, which has been a disaster for this town. Vote Lauren Garrett for Mayor!

The Democrats have controlled Hamden for 28 of the last 30 years. Not one of them has shown the inclination or ability to effectively control Hamden's finances. Vote Republican of the Democrats will put the last nail into Hamden's coffin.

IF she was doing her JOB and not playing the old boys game we wouldn't have half the sues we have..They didnt come along over night but the current admin has its head in the sand and itsnt willing to cut anything other than responsibilities. He just wants to hire more and more to do less and less. Shomaker didnt want to get involved until her cronies told her they were tired of the young guy trying to buck the system and the needed her to go in and tow the line but that's ok because we will go out for the primary and make sure he doesn't get shut down by the old color guard

While I respect Kathleen's desire for civil discourse she misses the point: Cory O'Brian has simply challenged the status quo. He's dug into the numbers, the budgeting assumptions, and the lack of honesty around the towns finances. It is past time someone exposed our budgeting and legislative process for what it is.

Hamden needs new leadership on every level or its doomed to go bankrupt in the next few years. It's been teetering on that edge. People can't sell their homes that want to get out, and if they do, they are taking huge financial losses. The mill rate is surging - get out everyone and vote for transparency and change.