Opinion: Why Hamden’s Charter Revision Matters

Albert Einstein is reputed to have defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Since 1999, Hamden has elected four mayors, who have handed the mayoralty from one crony to the next and operated under the rules and regulations of three versions of the town charter: the very similar 1991, 2001 and 2011 versions. The results have been unchanging, year after year, as the mayoralty has changed hands: more debt, a higher mill rate, and a lower bond rating. Now Hamden is at the bottom of the list of the 169 towns in Connecticut in terms of fiscal health. 

Should we continue with this insanity? Do we have a choice?

In November, 2021, Hamden voters will have the opportunity to show that they are not insane. They can elect a mayor who is not part of the Amento-Henrici-Jackson-Leng dynasty and they can vote in favor of a very different town charter from the one we have today.

We don’t yet know who the mayoral candidates will be. The Democrats and Republicans will endorse their chosen candidates at meetings of their respective town committees in July, 2021. But those of us who have been paying attention do know that now is the time to share our views on Charter revision with Hamden’s Charter Revision Commission (CRC).

You can find a copy of the current town charter on the website of the Town of Hamden, or by clicking here. It was approved in November, 2011 and describes, in great detail, the way that we are governed. State statutes require that the Charter should be examined and revised every ten years and the CRC has been appointed to do exactly that. 

When the CRC has completed its work, drafts of the revised charter will be available for comment and suggested modifications. But we all know that it’s better to get something right the first time, and harder to make changes when a draft has been completed. 

So, now, if you care about Hamden and if you want to help the CRC get it right the first time, you need to communicate your views on the next town charter to the CRC. 

What are the issues that I think are important? What changes do I think we need to see in the way Hamden is governed? 

My focus has been on three aspects of our government, as follows.

First, I would like to see a change from a mayoral form of government to a town manager form of government, with a town manager hired by the Legislative Council on the basis of qualifications and retained or fired on the basis of performance. There are many towns in Connecticut with this form of government; you can read about them online. (Click here for a previous article about the proposal in Hamden.) Management of the town’s fiscal crisis over the course of the next decade is, in my opinion, best put into the hands of a qualified town manager and taken out of the hands of yet another member of the dynasty that has run this town (into the ground!) over the past 20 years. The mayor’s ceremonial duties could be performed by an honorary mayor, chosen every two years from among the distinguished citizens of the town.

Second, I would like to see the Charter include a strong statement about unethical behavior of members of the Legislative Council. There should be clear wording that forbids nepotism, cronyism and conflicts of interest so that specific complaints, supported by the language of the charter, can be made to the Ethics Commission when necessary.

If nepotism, cronyism and conflicts of interest were to be clearly forbidden by the charter, people who are motivated to run for the council to pursue their personal or familial agendas might be replaced by people who are interested in being true public servants, with the interests of Hamden’s residents and taxpayers first and foremost in their minds.

Third, there has been some talk of the need to expand the presence of representatives of the minority party (currently the Republican Party) on the Legislative Council. The current system, in which nine electoral districts have one representative each and six representatives are elected townwide or ​“at large,” has consistently resulted in only two or three representatives from the minority party, out of a total of fifteen. There has been a proposal to replace the nine districts with five districts, each with three representatives, and to abolish the ​“at large” seats. There would still be fifteen representatives but, under the proposed new system, two of the three representatives from each district would belong to the majority party, with the third guaranteed to be a member of the minority party. Thus, the minority party would always have five seats at the table.

I am strongly in favor of a town manager and I am also strongly in favor of recognition of nepotism, cronyism, and conflicts of interest as violations of the town’s charter. I am not convinced of the validity of efforts to increase representation of the minority party (the Republican Party, in Hamden’s case) on the Legislative Council. 

While, at the national level, I am a fervent and dedicated Democrat, I see no place for skirmishes related to national party politics at the local level. Moreover, the council needs what is known in the British House of Commons as the ​“Loyal Opposition,” if only so that members of the majority party are forced to defend their views against opposing views of the minority party.

There is already a requirement that two of the six at-large members of the Legislative Council should belong to the minority (Republican) party. Is that sufficient representation for the Loyal Opposition in a town where almost all the district seats on the council are held by the majority party, the Democrats? That’s certainly something to think about.

If you feel strongly about any of these three issues, or about other issues related to charter revision, I urge you to send your thoughts, via email, to the CRC at CRC2021@hamden.com.

Let’s end the insanity. Let’s not keep doing the same thing over and over again, hoping for a different result. Charter revision is an opportunity, given to us only once every ten years, to make the changes that Hamden needs if it is to be well governed and well managed for the next ten years. Your voice counts; make sure it is heard!

Ann M. Altman is a Hamden resident and a former member of the Legislative Council.