July 1 Naturalization Ceremony at City Hall!

50 people from 30 countries will be naturalized in a ceremony at Middletown City Hall on Wednesday, July 1 at 1pm.  The Oath of Allegiance will be administered by the Honorable Stefan R. Underhill, U.S. District Court Judge for Connecticut. 

The public is invited to attend the ceremony and celebrate the new legal citizens of the United States! Welcome from the Insider staff & God Bless America! 

Letter to the Editor: Many Issues with BOE Contract Renewals

Below is a letter to the Editor from Boardmember Linda Syznkowicz, if you wish to send a letter to the editor please email it to middletowninsider@gmail.com:
 As a Member of the Middletown BOE, it is my sworn duty to be responsible for the financial well-being of Middletown Public Schools. In the past 2 weeks (June 9 and 23rd) at the meetings there were several important votes.

Linda Szynkowicz, (R)
 Board of Education Member

The first one was concerning the contract with Sodexco, which I and the two other Republicans voted against for two obvious reasons: Costing taxpayers over $225K per year (I’ve been saying that for over a year and it was confirmed by an outside auditor and the City of Middletown Finance department) and hostile work environment for Local 466 Union Members. This did not matter to the 4 Democrats, it passed 4-3 with Chairman Gene Nocera casting the tie vote as Chair.

We then had to vote on the management of Sodexco at the June 23rd meeting. In a nut shell, the time frame of the removal of the present Facilities manager that is directly related to the hostile work environment was what I had issue with. It was a given by the board members (Whew) that the person had to be removed. I did not believe that keeping the person around until the start of school in the Fall was advisable. I thought that the removal needed to be done by July 15th, the latest. The extension was given and passed 4-1 with my dissenting vote based on the time frame and NOT the removal of the present Facilities Director; it needed to be done.

Lastly, was the vote to renew the Superintendent’s 3 year contract for another year, without the contract in the Board packet. I had issue with the automatic extension of a three year contract as what is ALWAYS done. Before the executive session was called, I wanted to know if under Robert’s rules whether this discussion of the Superintendent’s Review and then contract discussion was indeed an Executive Session matter. Chairman Gene Nocera determined that it was entirely up to the Superintendent to decide. The Superintendent, Dr. Charles, choose Executive Session for discussion, so the details cannot be made public.

End result, I abstained from the vote on the Superintendent’s Review. (I was so frustrated by the time we went back into public session at 11:15pm or so.) I then voted “NO” to the automatic contract renewal to 2018. The vote was 4-1 with my dissenting vote.
 

Just thought I would keep the public informed.

Sincerely, Linda Szynkowicz, (R) Board of Education Member

2011: Dan Drew Claims False Awards

Originally sent as a letter to the editor's at Patch, prior to Dan Drew's running for mayor. Back in 2011, his awards on his bio were in question.

http://patch.com/connecticut/middletown-ct/letter-examination-of-drew-s-bio-reveals-confliciting729e7ca041

To the Editor:

My name is Juan Montalvo and I am a member of several City of Middletown commissions as well as a member of the Middletown Republican Town Committee. First and foremost, I am a litigation advisor. As a litigation advisor, I took an oath to uphold the law and justly serve my community. It is that dedication that leads me to write this letter.

While I am sure critics will claim that this is an attempt to smear the opponent and sling mud, I believe Middletown citizens deserve to know the true nature of Democratic candidate for mayor Dan Drew.

The facts speak for themselves and the inconsistencies in Mr. Drew’s resume should be brought to light. Although not forthright, it is not uncommon for one to show their best face when writing his or her resume and highlight his accomplishments, however; it is despicable for a person to dramatize those accomplishments to almost the point of fiction to make one seem more qualified for a particular position than is remotely plausible based on facts presented.

This over-dramatization of achievement to the point of false portrayal of facts is even more despicable when that person is seeking to hold such a highly esteemed public office as that of mayor of a city. Dan Drew presents awards on his resume both published on independent sites and his own website, as individual awards given only to him based on his sole merit without giving credit as those received by an entire organization.

In one particular case, Drew credits himself with an award that the organization he was employed by received, but he had nothing to do with. Investigating Mr. Drew’s credentials the information below was found:

From: Ginger Stanley [mailto:GingerS@vpa.net] 
Sent: Tuesday, October 25, 2011 9:30 AM
 
Subject: RE: Virginia Press Association Awards

I can confirm that Daniel Drew was among a team of reporters that won a first-place award in 2004 for a multi-story series on the armed siege of a middle school. This was a team effort at the newspaper (Potomac News). Second-place award in 2003, football stars dies in shooting, sports news coverage was also a team project at the Potomac News. Our search did not turn up anything with his name on it for 2005, although Potomac News won a first place for 'staff' for sports pages but I have no way of confirming that Daniel was a part of this staff award. We do not have any records on the Media General awards, Donna Reed at 804-649-6000 may be able to help you. Hope this helps.

Ginger Stanley, Executive Director

Virginia Press Association

11529 Nuckols Road

Glen Allen, VA 23059

804-521-7575 Phone

804-521-7586 Fax

gingers@vpa.net E-Mail

www.vpa.net www.HeadlineVA.com www.VAPublicNotice.com

And more:

From: Donna Reed, Media General Communications Holdings, LLC,

Sent: October 28, 2011 2:10 PM

Subject: RE: Media General Awards

"These were in-house recognitions that were handed out on a monthly basis at one of the small northern Virginia community newspapers owned by Media General. Mr. Drew was given honorable mention in October 2003 for a local sports story."

Donna Reed

Media General, Inc

Richmond, VA 23219

-----Original Message-----
 

Sent: Friday, October 21, 2011 2:45 PM
 To: Ginger Stanley
 Cc: Kim Woodward; Caroline Cardwell
 Subject: Virginia Press Association Awards 

Good afternoon,

I am hoping that you could assist me in some research. A gentleman by the name of Daniel (Dan) T. Drew is running for mayor of our city of Middletown, Connecticut; he is a relative newcomer to our fair city, residing in town less than five years, and there is a lot of curiosity about him.

In his bio, he stated that he is the recipient of three separate journalistic awards from your organization, and I was hoping that you could confirm information. Since an exhaustive search via the internet has failed to reveal any articles published under his name, I hope you could please shed some light on our search. These are the award years and honors he claims:

Awards and Honors:

* Virginia Press Association, 2005, 1st Place award

* Virginia Press Association, 2004, 2nd Place award

* Virginia Press Association, 2003, 1st Place award

Won several writing awards for reporting on the Washington sniper murders, serial killer John Allen Muhammad's life in jail, the armed siege of a middle school by a teenaged boy, and dozens of murders. Wrote an award winning investigative series about corruption in a county sheriff's office that lead to that official's election loss and indictment.

Additionally, these other honors are listed as well; however an internet search has not even resulted in any information about the awarding entity. Is this anything that you are familiar with?

* Media General Mega Award Honorable Mention, 2003

* Media General Mega Award Honorable Mention, 2003

* Ellen Knowles Harcourt Foundation, 1998 Harcourt Scholar

Would you please help....? Thank you.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dan Drew appeared on the Bill O’Reiley TV show in 2002 claiming to stand for the First Amendment. However, where was Dan Drew when BOE Chair Ted Radzka pulled the plug literally on the microphone when Ed McKeon was speaking at a public session several months ago? Where was Dan Drew when Councilmen Santangelo, Serra and Councilwoman Kasper walked out on a member of the public who was addressing the Public Safety Committee during a public session only weeks ago?

How is it that such an esteemed, award-winning investigative journalist, and self-proclaimed free speech advocate, Drew failed Middletown in not doing what he himself has professed as his crowning achievements — finding and exposing the the truth in government and standing up for free speech? How is it that Mr. Drew expects Middletown citizens to believe he was such a fantastical investigative reporter when he in fact was primarily a SPORTS writer and provided occasional coverage of the police blotter at the time that some of these awards were given?

Middletown should not want a bystander for a mayor.

It is of my opinion, as they say in the courtroom, that the preponderance of the evidence shows that Dan Drew is not a champion of the truth if he cannot be truthful on his own resume. Dan Drew cannot be a team player in the political arena and bring “transparency and communication” back between the BOE and the city and and the city and the citizens if he cannot be honest about being on a team that received journalistic awards rather than trying stretch the facts to boost his ego and pad his resume.

Failure to recognize reality and be honest with one’s self — let alone the public — is not a quality Middletown should want in a mayor.

Dan Drew’s Resume: http://www.linkedin.com/in/danieldrew

Sincerely,

Juan Montalvo, Litigation Advisor 

and Middletown Republican Town Committee member

Rep. Matt Lesser " I'm transracial"

Press Release from the Office of (D)State Representative Matthew Lesser

Hartford- As many the folks out there may know, I recently joined the black and Hispanic caucus up at the state’s capital. 

As ctlatino.news.com said: “When Lesser asked to join the Black & Latino caucus, there was some quiet head scratching in some corners of the State Capitol.  As it turns out, Lesser’s mother came from Argentina.” 

Well, I have to admit there were some folks out there scratched more than their heads when I announced my intention to apply and join the Black & Latino Caucus despite two terms of not being apart of it; I mean take a good look at me. My Edward E. Newman smile, and sandy hair- it all makes sense, I am definitely a Hispanic. This being politics, I realized that I would have to prove my heritage and I am asking the Middletown Insider to publish a photo of my puffy and smiley Argentinian face in a band I founded in the 1970s: Menudo.  It’s true folks, check Wikipedia, or ask the same people that claimed my buddy Daniel T. Drew took down a corrupt sheriff.   

            I clearly remember when my opponent in last year’s election bragged about her dancing roots in various articles. I felt at that time I should have come out of the closet about my dancing past as a Spanish heartthrob, hell, I taught Ricky Martin how shake his boooo-tay.  Please check the internet for proof of my Hispanic heritage, Between the years 1988-2011 I worked on several of the following albums with the boyz: Sons of Rock; Sombras Y Figura; Los Ultimos Heroes; Vote for me, I’m Spanish, Tiempo De Amar and Driving to Obama with Danny. If that doesn’t work, then check out the photo below.

Rachel Dolezal, former leader of the NAACP Spokane can be born white and identify as black making her a brave progressive transracial hero. I too am a transracial hero. I know the plight of the hispanic man and what its like to overcome adversity.

Sincerely,

Matthew Lesser

“When in doubt Re-district after Midnight”

Letter to the Editor Salafia: 'Amazed at Sodexo Contract Renewal'

Dear Insider,

I am amazed that BOE approved the renewal of the Sodexo contract even though it has been shown that they have not in reality saved the district money according to an independent audit.  The amount that would be saved by not using Sodexo could have funded about 5 teaching positions. 

The relationship between the 466 union employees and the BOE administration had been on the mend since the Frechette/Senges/Haynes days and is now again on the decline. Remember these are the employees actually working in the schools, they see first hand what is gong on.

According to the Middletown Press article, some of the BOE members expressed opinions that they were in favor of the job the Sodexo was doing with capital projects.  The Press article states that if some of these capital projects have been "overdue by a decade".   Why?? The capital projects are under the purview of the Common Council and not the BOE.  If the Democratic majority on the BOE is not getting the support from the Democratic majority on the Common Council for capital projects then there is a serious problem. Remember that these majorities have existed for years. 

In my opinion, this contract renewal was the wrong way to go; with so much pointing to the flaws / problem in the contract, it would have been better to have voted it down.

http://www.middletownpress.com/social-affairs/20150610/middletown-boe-renews-sodexo-contract-despite-concerns

Sincerely,

Linda Salafia

Things about Daniel T. Drew that are quite Alarming!

Things about Mayor Daniel T. Drew that are quite Alarming!

1)   Drew vs. Corrupt Sheriff-

In 2011 during Drew’s 2^nd run for Mayor he began to speak publically about writing articles about a corrupt sheriff during his time as a reporter.  “Well, even though he was Democrat, I had to do the right thing and take him down, “ he told a group of Wesleyan students one night as reported by The Argus.   When asked numerous times the name of this corrupt sheriff the question was ignored.  Drew also failed to provide copies of the articles.  

2)   Suing Dunkin Donuts- Our city’s mayor is so entitled that he is actually considering suing Dunkin Donuts for using the Mayor’s initials on their bags, cups and such.  “If the donut chain agrees to change their motto to ‘Middletown Runs on Drew’, then we will drop our lawsuit, “ said attorney and current Middletown corperate consul Daniel Ryan.

DD  Putin on a show

3)   D.C. Sniper—Google Dan Drew and the Washington D.C. Sniper.  Our mayor claims he was involved in the case and did a whole bunch of things.   I think he is confusing himself with another Dan Drew, the one who is a professor emeritus from Indiana University.     This is almost brilliant, find a guy that shares your name and use his credits so when someone does a quick GOOGLE search, boom it's there.      http://journalism.iupui.edu/faculty-staff/dan-drew/     

Professor Dan Drew. 

4)   Award Time- In the past Dunkin Donuts or Dan Drew (not the Indiana University guy) has claimed he won a very prestigious award for journalism while in college.  He did?  According to the fact checker, the paper that Drew worked for won the award, but DD. himself did not win it. Click HERE to read the article & letter from the Newspaper that won the award!

2 Snakes

5)   Saving Lives- A few years ago when the newly appointed Councilman Drew was heading to a Common Council Meeting at McDonough School there was a slight traffic hold up on Rome Ave due to an ambulance pickup.  Approximately 20 minutes later, the newly minted Councilman Drew arrived frantically into the meeting and said, “Sorry I’m late I had to help with the accident next door.”  Later on both EMS officials stated, “He said that? He was told to stay in his car and not get in the way.”

6)   Mayor v. Councilman- During the 2013 mayoral race, the Republicans did not run anyone against Drew for the executive seat.  With the exception of Realistic Balance candidate John Kilian, who due to 43rd party status did not have much of a chance,the mayor was set to win his second term.  Suddenly a flyer appeared around town that attacked Seb Giuiano who is NOT running for mayor but for council.  This may be the only time in modern Middletown politics that the executive branch commissioned a flyer against a former mayor not running for mayor.  Officially the Working Families party put out the brochure, but DD sends them a little extra PAC money here and there to keep them happy- not to mention they endorse 99% Democrat candidates year and year.

7)   Columbia Master’s Degree- Who paid for this Mayor Drew?  The Middletown Press should be asking these questions, but who are we kidding.  Did you use PAC money to fund your Columbia degree?  Are you attempting to get tuition reimbursement for it?  Tell us Mr. Honesty and anti-corrupt sheriff, who paid for the degree?

8)   Communion- Many parishioners at St. Sebastian’s church are not happy with the mayor, a non- practicing Catholic because of the fact that he received communion even after being warned of this sacrilege. Trust us on this one! 

State Senator Dante Bartolomeo rudely snapped this selfie for her facebook
DURING the serivices at the St. Sebastian Feast, notice parisioners standing in the pews behind. Somehow Mayor Drew managed to miss squeezing himself in this one.

9)   No Taino for you!- The rumor around city hall was that in typical TS style, reps from the Mayor’s office warned city workers do avoid  Sandra Driska’s fundraiser last Friday night. 

10)                  Lisa Santangelo- According to city hall sources, “Of course he brought back Lisa to work in the registrar of voters’ office, she will take the fall if there is any issues post –election. She paid the fine last time, so Drew knows he can use her again and again.”

11)                   Dan Drew appointed- Dan was special from the beginning, he was appointed to the common council by the legendary Paul Lynde impersonator Vinnie Lofreddo, who stepped down to give the boy king his shot.   That’s the real Democrat motto: Help us first and act like we help the people who we basically enslave economically.

12)                   Dan Drew v. Serra Family-   TS feels DD owes him because he made the boy king mayor, while the boy king feels he deserves to be mayor for life because he knows Malloy.  TS feels that DD did not go out of his way to get JS the town’s athletic director job and  showcased little power to get the other son separated from his drunk driving charges. 

13)                   DD has no accountability The press never questions him and his politics.  The guy can fly to China on our dime and nothing in the paper; he gets a Master’s Degree on our dime- nothing in the paper.  Brings us back into litigation with the police chief he fired and nothing in the paper. He pisses off downtown business owners about parking and those owners complain to the Republican elected officials but are too scared to go the Drew.  Note to business owners: stop complaining-you wanted the boy king as leader.

14)                  PAC Money- He did not give his left over 2013-campaign money to charity. 85% of the money went to various Democratic organizations such as: Toni Harp, Malloy, Working Families, SPECTRE, etc.)  Be a man and give it all to a local charity! Where is Oddfellows with their hands out? Perhaps you can give it to the CHC Legal Defense fund or KidCity?  

15)                   Inventor- According to Newsarama.com Dan Drew claims he invented the Marvel Comic super group The Avengers. “It just came to be at midnight one night while I was walking the dog in the rented house I live in before I flew to China on the town’s dime.”

16)                  Does not own property in the 06457 Zip Code- He doesn’t want to stay here folks!

17)                  LS vs. SHD- Gave Middletown Democratic Town Chairperson a few special tasks this time around. 1) Control the registrar 2) Push out Planning and Zoning Commissioner Steven Devoto and 3) Put the attack on the opposing numbers

18)                  Big fan of Nipsey Russell- Dan Drew is a huge fan of actor/singer/comedian Nipsey Russell star of the The Whiz and the classic game show $25,000 Pyramid.

19)                   F- Inland Wetlands- Still one Republican on a board that is 85% Democrat in town.  As this is written, Drew is using the town charter as a piece of toilet while he sits on his DeKoven Drive throne. “It’s good to be the king!”

20)                   Setting up a City Director-  Shhhh, we know all about!! Liar, liar pants on fire.  He doesn't work for the city anymore and has two first names like you.  Remember what the state's attorney?  You haven't done anything yet have you? 

21)                   Against the Senior Center- Did not want the seniors to get what they deserve and then a few years later when the legislations voted to complete project properly, guess who is Mr. Pearly and Happy- Go Lucky?  Answer: Dan Drew, the man who invented Dial Soap.  

Dan Drew: The Things I Think about at Night!

1) "Private Eyes, we're watching you, we see your every move."
2) "Please take me to Paris with you Dannell."
3) "No taxes, no taxes it's the Republicans."
4) "Listen Tom,  I called the Glastenbury Police a number of times, there is nothing I can do."
5) "What's the Frequency Kenneth?"
6) "We love you Quentin but not that much.  You are out as the Downtown Business Director."
7) "Lisa, you know what to do come November?"
8) "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful."
9) "F-You Inland Wetlands! One Republican on there and loving it!" (Illegal meetings baby!)
10) "I would marry me!

11) "Business is great in Connecticut!"

Message from Treasurer Quentin Phipps: Hahahaha!

"Remember last summer when I hauled a bunch of people to city hall to testify that my treasurer job has a lot of duties? $4,000 strong baby! Still haven't been to a meeting, but I bet you saw me at the Memorial Day Parade and St. Sebastians's Festival?"

Your've Invited! Summer Middletown Republican Town Committee Events!

Saturday June 13, 2015	MRTC BBQ For more information or to attend see http://www.middletownctgop.com/	1:00 pm - 4:00 pm	Meriden Boat Club         Airline Road, Portland
Monday  June 29, 2015	Middletown Republican Town Committee Monthly Meeting New members and any one interested in participating in the up coming election efforts please attend! Get involved!	7:00 pm - 8:30 pm	Council Chamber, City Hall         245 DeKoven Drive

Letter to the Editor: Mayor Drew's New Degree Questionable

To the Editor:

The June 1 article in the Middletown Press,"Middletown mayor earns degree from Columbia," creates questions that in the spirit of full disclosure, the mayor needs to respond to.

While we certainly laud the mayor, or any person, for working diligently to obtain a degree in higher education, the position of mayor does bring about unique challenges to attending an out-of-state university.

City Charter declares that a voluntary temporary vacancy in the office of the mayor may occur in the following manner: "Notification by the Mayor to the Deputy Mayor and the Council of a temporary vacancy." At no time over the past year did the mayor declare a vacancy in office to attend classes.

By Drew's own admission in the article, he states that: "he was not required to be in New York City, where the university is located on a weekly basis, and when he was needed in classes, wasn't all that far to travel." As mayor, the responsibility of the City of Middletown and the management of our community is his only priority.

 This responsibility exists for 24 hours a day, seven days a week. By his own admission, he did attend classes in New York City. The commute from Middletown to New York City is approximately two hours and over 100 miles. How many times did he leave the City of Middletown to attend to classes during the week?

Did he drive the city-issued vehicle? Did he take time off without pay to attend these classes? Why, as has been the practice with other mayors who traveled out of state, did he not declare a temporary vacancy in office?

We hope that the mayor responds to these questions in a forthright manner and provides full disclosure to the community about the particulars of the challenges that exist for a sitting mayor to attend an out-of-state university.

William Wilson

Vice Chairman

Middletown Republican Town Committee