And Justice for All: All Play & No work..by John Milardo

Let me preface this article by saying I was a teen of the 60’s, when local and national newspapers and news organizations were respected because they were the watch dogs of our country. Today, if a news organization is backing a politician, they will slant and ignore stories to benefit their candidate.



Quite a few people over the past year have mentioned to me that Mayor Daniel T. Drew,
the mayor of Middletown, is seldom at work at Town Hall. As a former town employee, I
know there are many meetings in and out of the building a mayor attends to conduct the
taxpayers’ business. The complaints didn’t cease, so I spoke to a newspaper reporter
about it. I was told they would look into it, but never heard back from them.
The same complaints persisted. So I decided to look into the matter. I requested copies of
Mayor Daniel Drew’s daily meeting/work/appointment schedule or calendar through the
Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA), beginning from September 1, 2014 to the time of
request, which was August 10, 2015. I paid the $172 fee for copies, and began to study
them.

What I found out about Mayor Daniel Drew’s work ethic was that in the 10-1/2 month
period of records I reviewed, Dan had a total of 35.8 days off from work. Mind you now,
this is according to the Mayor’s official appointment/work calendar. There are no other
documents regarding what and where the mayor spends his time – that is according to City
Attorney Brig Smith. That Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer is a LOT OF TIME OFF FROM
WORK! Who gets six (6) weeks of paid time-off after being on the job for three (3)
years?

No wonder Mayor Dan misses so many Middletown events! He’s never around! Too
busy rubbing elbows with Governor Malloy’s people and being introduced to the power
players. According to Dan’s own calendar, he has had forty-nine (49) out of town
meeting/opportunities, which have more to do with political exposure and donations, than
anything to do with Middletown business. I’m sure if asked by the “real” press, Dan will
tell them I don’t know what I’m talking about!

Speaking of players – the Mayor regularly has meetings with his paid political consultant
Geoff Luxenburg and cohorts, of The Vinci Group from Wethersfield CT. The meetings
occur between 8:00am and 5:00pm; Monday through Friday. I didn’t know it was ethical
or legal to conduct campaign business with taxpayer money? After all, the Mayor is
supposed to be working. Mayor Drew even attends meetings which Mr. Luxenburg directs
him to go to. Good exposure opportunities. Who is Dan working for? It’s not the people
of Middletown! Not when you’re giving your paid political consultant 84.5 hours (two
plus full-time weeks) of taxpayers time in 10-1/2 months! According to the Mayor’s first
batch of campaign disclosure paperwork filed with the State of Connecticut, since Mayor
Drew has declared his candidacy, The Vinci Group has so far been paid $10,325.66, from
his campaign contribution funds.

With all the time-off Mayor Daniel Drew took, not once did he request the Deputy Mayor
to assume his responsibilities. Not once! Ssshh! It’s a secret that the Mayor is missing!
This year, the Mayor earned a Masters Degree from Columbia University. He stated in the
Middletown Press he took courses remotely. Maybe that is why his work calendar only
averages 3-1/2 to 4 hours of work per day over this same 10-1/2 month period. By the
way, he doesn’t like to work on Fridays!

Stay tuned for additional stories on how Mayor Drew spends his time, which is your
taxpayer money!

Stay strong. Stay involved. Stay together. Seek the truth.
John Milardo


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.

Your Daily Spin from the Middletown Mess: Dubious Drewbious

"If your lips are movin', you're lie lie lying."
Today the Mess published an article copy and pasted from a press release from the Drew camp. Aside from a few added lines, its regurgitation of the talking points Drew is using to launch is campaign for a third term. Mayor Daniel Drew received an honor from the progressive organization called the New Deal org.  The New Deal is a "non profit" made of up liberal minded elected officials around the country headed by Governor John Hickenlooper of Colorado. Hickenlooper was co founder of the Community Health Center of Middletown back in his Wesleyan days, you can connect those dots..The Mess, oh so conveniently fails to mention what this group & award are really about. Must be an election year if the paper is already doing its due diligence as local Democrat's personal soapbox.

 Below are a few corrections to the congratulatory accolades Mayor Drew bestowed on himself in his auto- bio. http://www.newdealleaders.org/leader_drew_daniel

So what is the NEWDeal Org?? Basically a PAC founded by liberal democrats to give out fake awards to each other. Is it really news for politicos to give fellow politicos awards for towing the party line? The ND Org seems to be a millennial version of the Democratic Leadership Council, a '80s "non-profit" used to recruit young D's as future politicians & donors. A worth-the-click article explaining what this Democrat bank rolling machine is all about can be found here: http://www.vice.com/read/the-democratic-party-future-dark-money-fracking

"Since becoming mayor of Middletown in 2011, Mayor Drew has closed the $8 million deficit in the city budget and upgraded the city's bond rating with the lowest interest rates in city's history. (FALSE: All municipalities bond ratings have gone down in light of the economy! He created a deficit. Since he has been in office he has proposed & passed budgets increased by $13 million. Today there are more grievances being filed than ever before, 19 from Union 466 workers at the BOE alone, despite his campaigning to end the lawsuits. Also a record number of lawsuits by private citizens are being settled for big bucks instead of being contested, costing us all a lot more than they should. The City recently settled two for $250k and $400k that may have been disproved if they went to trial. But that would be bad publicity for Mayor Drew as the  "make nice" guy)He has also improved the efficiency and efficacy of City government by implementing large-scale re-organizations that will save taxpayers millions.(FALSE: This has never been proven with data presented to the public. In fact you can read here how in reality MORE money is being spent) Mayor Drew has restored highly competent leadership to the police department and added several new officers to the force. (FALSE: 3 officers have lawsuits for wrongful termination. Drew contested one officer's PTSD diagnosis. Since when is Drew an MD?) Several new businesses and manufacturers have opened or are under construction in Middletown. (where?)He has also enacted a senior tax relief program which will significantly aid seniors on a fixed income( most seniors don't qualify) in addition to a prescription drug discount program for Middletown seniors. (FALSE: Drew was against the Senior Center at Eckersley Hall and proposed it be crammed into the Council Chambers. The prescription drug program is independent of the city of Middletown, run by the state only low income seniors qualify for.)

In addition, he has re-negotiated a large energy service contract for the City of Middletown, saving taxpayers $1.4 million. (FALSE: Drew proposed budgets significantly raising the millrate each year he has been in office. NO savings of his attempts to consolidate departments have ever been shown.) Mayor Drew has saved taxpayers $800,000 by reducing pension fund costs. He also merged city and BOE finance operations, substantially increasing transparency. (FALSE: Outside legal costs are are at an all time high. Read it here)Mayor Drew graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2002. He will graduate from Columbia University in 2015 with an MA in social and organizational psychology.(Drew is attending college during work hours and still being paid, not too shabby, and why the hell not taxpayers sent him to CHINA once before)"