People ask me, “Why are you
so against Mayor Dan Drew?” I am not
against Mayor Drew, I am for the truth, honesty, and integrity in the position
he holds as the Mayor of Middletown, my hometown. Elected officials say it’s an avocation to be
a politician. For some it is. In my opinion, for Dan Drew it is not a
calling; he wants to make politics his forever profession and career. His goal is to be a lifelong politician, and
Middletown is his first stepping stone.
And I don’t use the word “stepping” lightly. So, when I hear and read what Mayor Daniel T.
Drew tells the public, and I know full well it’s a bunch of malarkey, I
research it. The people of Middletown
are not respected by this man; they’re being used by him to further his
political future. He showed his disdain
for our community when he divided the citizenry with his compromise on the Parks Project turf/synthetic issue.
Mayor Dan Drew’s newest
campaign financial report has just been released. He has more than double the amount of
campaign contributions in his coffers than Republican Mayoral candidate Sandra
Russo-Driska, with her grass roots campaign.
Currently, Drew has a total
of $105,058 worth of contributions for his re-election campaign. The
donor list is extensive and interesting.
Of the $105,058, a total of $77,240 was from contributors outside of
Middletown and Connecticut. That’s a
whopping 74% of his funding coming from outside Middletown and Connecticut sources.
I have attached a spreadsheet
(Sheet 1 of
Dan
Drew Campaign Contributors .xls) This spreadsheet only contains out of town/out
of state contributors as they were his largest monetary donors. Many of them are past and current City
contractors.
There is nothing illegal
about receiving donations like this, but one must think who his allegiance is
going to be with? Is it Middletown residents,
or the lawyers, lobbyists, politicians’ and businesses that gave him all that
money? They bought his services, he
“owes them”! Dan is “For Sale” to the
highest bidders, and he therefore puts Middletown up “For Sale” too! Dan Drew is out to promote himself to further
his political career and use our city as his stepping stone. He clones himself after Governor Dannel
Malloy, who he admires and emulates. Nice
friendship they have! Middletown
recently lost $200,000 plus in State aide and Middlesex Memorial Hospital is going
to lose $2 million in State funding for health care services to our community which
will definitely have a negative impact for our people. He’s done nothing so far to get those funds
back to our town.
My Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA) request of the Mayor’s calendar now comes into play in respect to Mayor
Drew’s donor list. The Mayor held the
below meetings between Monday through Friday, and 8am to 5pm. Anything on weekends or after 5pm was not
calculated. Even though a Mayor’s job is
a 24/7, I understand there is a need for a “personal” life and time for a
politician to fundraise in a proper manner.
These are not those instances.
Point of information: During Dan Drew’s mayoral elections he has
employed (paid for) a “hired gun” called “The Vinci Group”. His campaigns have been spear headed by Geoff
Luxenburg of this group. Drew regularly
meets with Luxenburg on city time, and does what Mr. Luxenburg recommends him
to do. He is Dan’s “handler”. The Mayor’s appointment calendar shows a
total of 84.5 hours, or 10.5 eight hour days, which the two have met; mostly
during work hours.
·
March 23, 2015, Monday,
Mayor Drew has a meeting with Geoff Luxenburg between the hours of 10am and 1:30pm
and garners 10 donations on this date for his campaign.
·
March 26, 2015,
Thursday, from 11am to 3pm, Mayor attends a meeting at a local restaurant per
directive of Geoff Luxenburg, and adds another 10 donations on this date.
·
June 15, 2015,
Monday, Mayor Drew meets from 10am to 2pm with Geoff Luxenburg, and earns a
$1,000 donation from a Massachusetts realtor on this date.
·
June 18, 2015,
Thursday, Mayor Drew, had a meeting with his paid political consultant Geoff
Luxenburg of “The Vinci Group”, in Hartford from 10am to 2pm. The meeting was with the law firm of” Updike,
Kelley & Spellacy” and included lunch.
Coincidentally on that same day, this law firm’s employees made nine (9)
separate significant donations to Mayor Drew’s campaign.
·
Monday, June 29,
2015, meeting with Mayor and Geoff Luxenburg, from 2pm to 4 pm and receives two
(2) more large contributions on same day.
·
June 30, 2015, Tuesday,
Mayor Drew and Geoff Luxenburg meet from 2pm to 4pm, and receive a $1,000
contribution from one (1) donor on this date.
There are other donations
Drew received the following day after meetings which included Geoff Luxenburg
of “The Vinci Group”, but I have not listed them in this article. The FOIA of the Mayor’s calendar was from
September 1, 2014 through August 10, 2015.
Heaven knows how many more meetings and donations he’s received while
“on the job” since. I’m sure we’ll never
know the answer to that once this information gets out.
Mayor Dan Drew has current expenditures
to “The Vinci Group” and Geoff Luxenburg in the amount of for $37,413.51. This amount is paid for by Mayor Drew’s
campaign donors. Geoff Luxenburg and
“The Vinci Group” is the prominent reason for Drew’s huge financial contributions. Mayor Daniel T. Drew takes his marching
orders from Geoff Luxenburg and “The Vinci Group”. By the way, most of Mayor Drew’s expenditures
have gone to out of town and out of state businesses. (Sheet 2 of
Dan
Drew Campaign Contributors .xls)
My understanding of election
laws in Connecticut is that political campaigning cannot be performed during
the regular work day with City resources.
Also, in Middletown, our Charter states: “The Mayor shall be the chief executive
officer of the City and shall devote full time to the duties of the office.
Full time shall mean primary occupation.” I for one
believe that campaigning when you should be conducting Middletown business is a
violation of this code, as well as election laws of Connecticut.
Middletown needs a full-time
Mayor, who is not concerned with self promotion to heighten his political
career. Mayor Drew’s own Democratic Common Council members tout; “a transparent and honest government”! Currently in Middletown, we don’t have that!
Time for a change! Give Dan Drew what he wants – the freedom to be
a “big shot” for Governor Dannel Malloy!
Set Dan free on Election Day so he can pursue his career dream elsewhere,
and bring Middletown back to its people!
Stay strong. Stay involved. Stay together. Seek the truth.
DISCLAIMER: The opinions and views expressed in this
newsletter reflect the opinion and view of the author, and should not be
construed as fact or advice. The author
is a life long Middletown resident and taxpayer, and is sharing his opinions as
such. The opinions and commentary do not
reflect the views of any political party, organization, or citizen group. This newsletter reflects opinions and
commentary which the author wishes to share with his friends.
Great article as always, John! Thank you for educating the public on what the numbers actually are in comparison to Sandra Russo- Driska. Even my campaign has been fully funded by myself, although I do have a GoFundMe page asking for a very small contribution for a specific purpose, but the numbers that Dan Drew is throwing around are insane. It's more than the Mayor's Salary for God's sake! That itself screams that Drew wants to be a political powerhouse for the rest of his life, at anyone's expense. Unfortunately, right now, it's at our expense. Get out and Vote on Nov. 3! I am a Write In Candidate, and Sandra Russo- Driska is on Row B. We can't afford 4 years of Drew the Big Bad Screw
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