Statement of
Alderman Naples to Common Council, August 13, 2014
Your Honor and Council Members:
I rise to advise you of a pending action regarding a matter
of significant importance to the Council.
I’m referring to the status of Alderman Trueworthy as a member of this
Council.
Those who know me know that I am not a partisan person and
am not a good politician, as I often speak my mind without considering the
political implications of my statements.
When we learned of the unfortunate events of July 22nd, a
number of us on the Council from both sides of the aisle called for Alderman
Trueworthy to resign, not just as Mayor Pro Tempore, but as a Councilman as
well. Mr. Trueworthy has resigned as
Mayor Pro Tem and he remains on the Council.
There has been mixed reaction from the people we serve,
namely the residents of New Britain and employees of the City. Some, recognizing that alcoholism is a
disease, believe that Alderman Trueworthy should be given a chance to redeem
himself and he should remain on the Council while doing that. Others feel that his actions were so serious
that he should not be allowed to remain on the Council.
After several days of weighing the pros and cons of this
issue, I must side – reluctantly – with those who are calling for Alderman
Trueworthy’s removal from the Council as soon as possible. Two factors rise above all other
considerations: 1) Primary emphasis
should be placed on the conduct rather than the person, and 2) Elected
officials are presumed to have a higher behavioral standard than those who are
not in public office.
In this case, Alderman Trueworthy’s conduct reflected extremely
poorly on himself, the Common Council and the City of New Britain. Section 4-10 of the New Britain City Charter
lists several reasons for removal of an elected official from the Common
Council, including incapacity and malfeasance in office. If Mr. Trueworthy’s actions on July 22nd
didn’t cross the line of incapacity and malfeasance, I have to ask what
would? I believe this is a first for New
Britain, and not a desirable one.
Because of conduct like this, people lose faith in the political system
and their government. How do we explain to
the public that an elected official does something like that and keeps his job?
I present this statement now, to give Alderman Trueworthy a
chance to step down on his own. I
believe this gives him the best chance for recovery and avoids a formal removal
hearing, which would expose him and the City to further embarrassment.
Thank you.
Subsequent to today’s New Britain Herald’s Editorial I have received emails from some Aldermen claiming that Southington doesn’t need us they just can dig a new well and say “Good Bye to us.”
Because of the many contaminates according to Mr. Bligh, director of New Britain’s water department, that town rented the Patton Brook well from us because their drinking water has been exposed to toxics from two sites The old Southington landfill and solvents recovery of New England. Both sites became Superfund cleanup sites.
With ten or so contaminants under the ground surface existing it would be very doubtful that the state would grant an approval for a new well site.
Rather than our mayor negotiating lower rates with that town she should raising it many times more annually.
President Obama and his team are working hard to lower public expectations for the U.S. response to both Islamist militants in the Middle East and the advance of Russian forces in Eastern Europe, but a new poll suggests expectations could hardly be any lower. In the latest survey from USA Today and the Pew Research Center, 54 percent of respondents said Obama is not tough enough on foreign policy and just 35 percent of respondents approved of his handling of Iraq, with an equally low number approving of his Russia response. Obama’s broadly panned remarks Thursday seemed designed to throw cold water on the dire warnings issued by his military team last week. Obama also ducked a question about whether Russian troops fighting in Ukraine constitutes “an invasion.” But the line that will certainly define this chaotic era of U.S. foreign policy – “we don’t have a strategy yet” – was the most obvious effort to demonstrate the president’s go slow approach.
