Next event:
TBA

Blues News

Local 724 Political News
Keep it right here for you latest Team 724 news and events.
Political Director Chuck Flynn will posting vital info to the campaign
and Team 724's next move.

Garde theater debate - Lamont backs out!

August update

The Post Employment Benefits Commission is a panel created by Governor Jodi Rell to propose solutions to the funding gaps facing state retirement benefit program recently proposed new cost-savings projections. Proposals to calculate pensions based on a five-year average of a worker's top pay, rather than on three years as is currently done, could save as much as $17.4 million per year. Capping annual pension increases to reflect the cost of living at 1.5 or 2 percent could save between $16 million and $30.4 million per year.

Why should you care? Because the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM) which lobby for cities and towns in Hartford will try to mirror any draconian cuts the state imposes on it's employees to YOU!. In a recent CCM seminar which had over 100 municipal leaders in attendance with guest speaker former Governor Lowell Weicker who was given three standing ovations as he talked about the state fiscal crisis. There is one overriding answer, Weicker said, to solve the state's budget deficit, which is projected at more than $3 billion for the 2012 fiscal year.

"Cut spending - and I mean big time,'' Weicker said. "The spending cuts have to come, and they've got to be huge. And we've got to stop bonding. And I mean just about bring it to an end. We've reached our limit. We're way past it. ... Lowering of spending has to be the major consideration at this point. Be very afraid my friends many political leaders want to blame the current crisis on "greedy public employees" like you and me.

However, veteran state union leader Salvatore Luciano and Christine Shaw, director of government relations for state Treasurer Denise L. Nappier, have both argued such suggestions were premature and questioned whether the Post Employment Benefits Commission's final report would be taken seriously by Connecticut's next governor and legislature."I've always thought this was a solution looking for a problem," Luciano, executive director of Council 4 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, said.

Luciano has charged that Rell created the seven-member commission in February to deflect attention from fiscal loose ends she has left untied. He said that while the pension and health care programs state government offers its retirees face huge funding challenges, the problems largely were created by governors and legislatures who failed to save appropriately.

For more than two decades, state government and its employee unions routinely have agreed on annual government contributions to pension accounts far below the level recommended by fiscal analysts to cover current retiree expenses and begin saving to offset future costs.

That is why our strategy should be to "Ready to Fight, Ready to Win". We must be prepared to keep our hard won benefits as we get through this economic downturn. For many years public employees willingly accepted less in salary compared to private sector employees for solid retirement and health care benefits. This sour economy will bounce back and with it robust private sector salaries and bonuses, but if we give back our benefits to cover a few years of funding gaps they will be gone forever.

As the election cycle heats up please consider all the candidates for public office and understand their positions on issues important to you and me like: recognizing collective bargaining, upholding arbitration awards, ensuring our hard won benefits remain intact, that Workman's Compensation treats every injured worker fairly and timely.

Make your vote count this election there is too much on the line to sit this out. The Primary is Tuesday August 10. To be eligible to vote you must be registered as a Republican or Democrat before August 9, 2010 at your town hall. Independents and Unaffiliated voters can not participate.

July 2010

Dan Malloy visits Downtown New London
Photos by Marie Friess-McSparran

NLFF John Paige @ Fire HQ; Visiting the new parade w/ Union activist Dan McSparran, Mike Buscetto.

June 2010 update

Team Malloy has been saying for weeks they thought he’d open up a big lead in the Q-poll, and quite frankly, given that he’s spent a million dollars on television and they haven’t spent a dime, All are surprised Ned’s not leading by more. Given that he has this lead and all this money, I can’t understand why he has yet to accept Dan’s invitation to debate in every community in Connecticut where there’s a daily newspaper. What’s he afraid of?

Ned Lamont has vowed to primary and we should expect a contentious and lively challenge. Sources tell me the Hartford Courant is expected to endorse Malloy for Governor. Since all political roads leading to Hartford are through New London with scheduled televised Gubernatorial and US Senate debates at the Garde Theatre, we anticipate some excitement these next few months.

Despite potentially damaging revelations that Democrat Richard Blumenthal misrepresented his military record -- and an early and pervasive ad campaign launched by Republican Linda McMahon -- state voters are sticking with Blumenthal. The attorney general beats McMahon by 25 percentage points, according to the Quinnipiac University poll. Blumenthal's poll numbers dropped from 33 points after the controversy over his "misspeak" on military service.

Governor Jodi Rell will make what may be her last official visit to New London before she leaves office when she joins city officials with the grand opening of The Parade on June 5th. Regardless of politics she did play a part in securing the $10 million to re-make the park in the heart of the city. In spite of on going contractor difficulties the final outcome looks beautiful and dramatically better than what had been there. Maybe this project will be the spark needed to ignite new development projects downtown. Because real economic development (not another coffee house or pizza joint) in New London attracts more development dollars which in turn makes it easier to improve our wages, benefits and working conditions.

CONNECTICUT COUNCIL OF POLICE UNIONS
ENDORSES MALLOY FOR GOVERNOR
AFSCME Council 15 says Malloy will ‘put Connecticut back on the road to prosperity’

Council 15 is Connecticut’s largest municipal police union, representing 62 individual municipal police unions and more than 4,000 police officers throughout the state.

New Haven police sergeant, Zona also stressed that Malloy will make public safety a top priority in his administration: “Police officers have a difficult job taking on more responsibility and working with fewer resources today. Dan Malloy will make sure that cops have the resources they need to do the job and protect the citizens of Connecticut.”

Malloy anounces 724 friend, Nancy Wyman as running mate!

The unbeatable ticket!

May Update

Some good news from Hartford to report is that with just 2½ months before the end of the fiscal year, Gov. Rell and the state legislature agreed on a plan to eliminate nearly 90 percent of the projected $371 million deficit without tax hikes or major reductions in municipal aid. The plan cuts million of dollars from social services, health care and education programs. Rell signed a measure into law that cancels $323.2 million of the shortfall just 30 minutes after the Senate unanimously adopted the plan, and one day after the House of Representatives endorsed it 147-1. A compromise between the Republican governor and the Democrat-controlled legislature, the bill employs a combination of spending cuts, additional federal revenue and raids on special accounts and trust funds to bring this year's deficit just under $50 million.

The bad news is she proposed plans to borrow over $950 million to cover the 2010-2011 fiscal year budget short fall .Governor Rell proposed borrowing more than $950 million to balance the fiscal 2011 state budget, redirecting millions of existing surcharges paid by electricity ratepayers to back bonds that will help close the state's operating deficit.

The governor would balance the budget in fiscal 2011, the year that begins July 1, by shifting the remaining $1 billion from the state's budget reserve fund into that year. The resulting hole in the current fiscal year would be closed by floating $953.4 million in seven-year Economic Recovery Notes, bonds on which the state would pay 3 percent interest totaling $118 million.

Closer to home City Manager Marty Berliner has proposed an $81,030,803 spending plan for 2010-11 that is less than a quarter of a mill increase over the current tax rate.

"The City of New London is weathering the current economic storm well, but it is still not yet to calm waters,'' Berliner said in his annual budget message.

Berliner laid out a budget package that is $1,030,647 more than the current year, a 1.2 percent increase. It includes $40,058,405 for education, roughly $1 million less than what was requested by the Board of Education. It also includes funding for three new positions: a risk manager, a deputy fire chief and social worker; and a five-year capital-improvement package of $50 million. If the budget is approved as-is, the tax rate will go from 25.49 to 25.71 mills, a .86 percent increase.

Sounds to me like the city's previous demands for police union contract concessions while the city manager and police chief quietly got raises was more political posturing and taking advantage of adversity or in words best described by White House Chief of Staff Rham Emanuel, "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste". My thoughts exactly.

Even better news! A source speaking on the condition anonymity stated Electric Boat has agreed in principal to purchased the entire New London Pfizer Global Research Center for a reported $50 million and plans to phase in over 1,000 EB workers to the Pequot Avenue facility. Finally some good luck for New London !

Dan Malloy made political history when he announced that his campaign has raised the sufficient amount of small-dollar contributions to qualify for Connecticut’s Citizens’ Election Fund (CEP). Malloy is the first gubernatorial candidate to ever reach the goal in the program’s short history. As a result, Malloy will have up to $8.5 million to spend in the 23 weeks of the campaign that begin the day after the Democratic Convention, which will be held on May 21 and May 22. The CEP requires gubernatorial candidates to raise $250,000 in small contributions of $100 or less, in order to demonstrate widespread support and to avoid the influence of wealthy contributors and special interests

Team Malloy now has been endorsed by 32 Town Committees and more than 43 Committee Chairs from throughout the state. Additionally several labor organizations (including Local 724. Hartford Police Union and most recently CT State Protective Services Police and Fire -CPFU) which combined represent tens of thousands of active and retired workers throughout the state. “Dan’s campaign is continuing to build momentum and support from organizers and leaders who know how to win elections,” said Campaign Manager Dan Kelly.

Meanwhile as the statewide party establishment (normal working people like you and me) lines up behind Dan Malloy, Democratic rival gubernatorial candidate Ned Lamont gathered his troops in New Haven and dispatched them to start knocking on doors of “regular” voters in New Haven (who's that non Greenwich millionaires?) and statewide. Lamont believes he's got enough support to land on the primary ballot since it certainly looks like he won’t win his party’s endorsement at the State Democratic Convention on May 21-22. A candidate needs 15 percent of convention delegate votes to make it to the primary without petitioning, and the candidate with the majority of convention support gets the party’s nod. Which means Lamont plans to primary and is scrambling to find enough "regular people" to avoid having to create a write in petition to qualify. Let me ask you, does that sound like a candidate that you want as your governor?

A personal shout out to Roger Baker and Dustin Adkins for putting boots on the ground representing Local 724 Malloy supporters at the annual Jefferson-Jackson-Baily Dinner. Our seasoned campaigners quickly developed a plan to effectively marginalize Lamont supporters and put Malloy in the spot light outside the Convention Center.

The next big event is the State Democratic Convention scheduled for May 21-22, 2010 in Hartford, Once again Local 724 plans to show our Malloy support with boots on the ground on Saturday evening. Any one interested in helping out please contact me or Roger Baker.

April 22, 2010 – The Carpenters Local 210 union has formally endorsed Dan
Malloy as Connecticut’s next Governor. The union, which represents
approximately 2,000 members in Fairfield and Litchfield Counties, voted
unanimously to endorse, stressing that they will “work tirelessly to make
sure that Connecticut elects Dan Malloy Governor in 2010.”
Can S.E. CT do the same?

NLPD holds the line at Democratic rally. Fend off Lamont supporters!

APRIL UPDATE

April arrives and Connecticut's political leaders are still kicking the can down the street on any serious attempts to fix the state budget.The General Assembly is determined to put a band aid on this and ignore any serious solutions. The CTMirrror reported.... With time running short to develop a plan for closing $1.2 billion in deficits, House Democrats were reluctant to sign onto further tax increases.
"I don't think the stomach is there for taxes," one caucus member said privately. But the stomach isn't there for cuts, either, the member said. "We're stuck." "I think people realize we need to do something," said Rep. Christopher Caruso, D-Bridgeport. "But what that something is, I don't know."

Much of the pressure for eliminating a projected $ 518.4 million deficit for this year and a $726 million shortfall in 2010-11 is to get to
November elections, intending to let the new Governor figure out the mess. That my friends just about sums up the state of political affairs in Hartford, failed leadership from our elected officials!

New London's municipal budget is dependent upon continued state and federal funding. Governor Rell has proposed $57 million in cuts to cities and towns which will result in $300,000 fewer dollars for New London next fiscal year which begins July 1st. Many of the budget plans Gov. Rell has proposed are plans from 2009 that were never acted on by the legislature are being looked at once again.

Rell’s cuts are balanced partially by proposed relief from state spending mandates, which the legislature rejected last year. One of Rell’s proposals would give cities and towns more lasting relief would bar the legislature from imposing more unfunded municipal spending requirements without a two-thirds vote.

Another would give municipalities the same authority as the state to reject binding arbitration agreements so that contract negotiations would continue rather than, as now happens, go to a final, binding arbitration panel. Dan Malloy has pledged to oppose changes in binding arbitration and collective-bargaining rules.

After failed negotiations and weeks of waiting West Haven Police received an arbitration award giving them 4.5% over 4 years and significant pension changes. They got no raise in 2008 and 2009. They will get 2% raise in July and a 2.5% raise in July 2011. New police hires will have a 401(k) retirement plan instead of the existing city defined benefit pension plans. Mayor John Picard said his city is, "one of the most financially distressed cities in the state" and the "existing pension plan simply cost too much". The Union argued "the 401(k) plan is far inferior plan and weakens West Havens ability to attract and retain quality police officers". As each of us already knows first hand in New London- a poor contract results in a poor pool of applicants! All the more reason Local 724 must be ever vigilant.

Comptroller Nancy Wyman recently told Council 15 that another issue raised at the Governor's deficit mitigation committee was the concept for new hires participating in the Municipal Employees Retirement System be placed in a new tier "Plan C" with reduced benefits going forward. She said the concept was discussed at the M.O.R.E. Commission sub-committee meetings, to date no action has been taken or pending at this time.

The latest Quinnipiac Poll released March 18, 2010 shows "Undecided" is the big leader in the Democratic and Republican primary race for Governor, but former ambassador Tom Foley has gained some ground in the Republican race.
Among Democrats, 44 percent of voters are undecided, while businessman Ned Lamont gets 28 percent to Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy's 18 percent. No other candidate tops 4 percent. Of interest was November 2009 poll numbers showed Lamont over Malloy 23% to 9% with many undecided's while the latest numbers were 28 to 18 showing significant increase for Malloy as people around the state get to learn more about Dan Malloy.

On the Republican side, Foley has emerged as a leader in the primary campaign with 30 percent, but 50 percent are undecided. No other candidate tops 4 percent
Like Linda McMahon, Tom Foley is the only candidate for governor who is on TV, which helps him break away from the Republican pack. Even Foley, however, is largely unknown to Republicans and the big winner is still "undecided," Dr. Schwartz said.

Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz leads the Democratic primary for Attorney General with 54 percent, followed by former State Sen. George Jepsen at 10 percent, with no other candidate topping 2 percent and 31 percent undecided.

Undecided gets 66 percent of the Republican vote, with 13 percent for State Sen. Andrew Roraback and no other candidate above 9 percent.
Lamont gets a 43 - 13 percent favor ability among Democrats, with 42 percent who don't know enough about him to form an opinion.

Bysiewicz gets a 59 - 10 percent favor ability among Democrats, with 29 percent who don't know enough. Dr Schwartz said, "Despite negative headlines, Susan Bysiewicz is still way ahead in the Democratic primary for Attorney General. One has to wonder how long she can maintain her big lead if the various controversies surrounding her campaign continue."

For all other candidates for Governor or Attorney General, the "don't know enough about them" number among voters in their own party is 55 percent or higher.

Connecticut voters disapprove 59 - 28 percent of the job the State Legislature is doing........ now there is a real shocker.

Democratic candidates for Governor looking for labor's support this election year. How important a voting bloc is labor, particularly state employees? Winning the Democratic primary could take fewer than 135,000 votes - and unions can reach nearly 100,000 active and retired state employees.

Dan Malloy, Candidate for Governor, addressed the Connecticut State Employees Bargaining Agent Coalition meeting at the Webster Hill Elementary School on Saturday, 20 March 2010. "There are lots of challenges that lay in front of us. Nothing will be done unless we're around the table, working together recent meeting with over 400 state employees, who sometimes had conflicts with unions when he was mayor of Stamford, was warmly applauded after relating how his mother, a school nurse, responded to a boss who had denied benefits to women, reasoning that they could depend on their husbands. "Know what my mother did about that? She formed a union," Malloy said. "That local is now headed by my cousin."

Ned Lamont, the owner of a cable television company, mentioned that he now teaches political science at Central Connecticut State University, where the faculty is unionized. "I may be one of your lowest paid guys there," Lamont said, smiling. His audience laughed, well aware that the part-time state employee standing before them is a multi-millionaire who spent $17 million on a Senate campaign in 2006

Lamont's millions are the reason why winning over the unions could be most crucial for Malloy, one of two Democrats to open some distance from the rest of the pack in early polling. For Malloy, who expects to be dramatically outspent by Lamont, union support could be an equalizer. Which is why Local 724 is actively supporting Dan Mallloy

MARCH 2010 UPDATE

As we stride into March budget talks are never far behind. As previously mentioned our city mayor and fellow state union member sought concessions from the police union after his first month in office. Preliminary discussions with the city manager and his associates were cordial but remained premature in the budget process since City was lacking hard numbers to paint a true fiscal picture of the new budget year. The common theme in these talks are increasing management rights on work place issues for far reaching cost savings. Contrary to some rumors, there have been no formal negotiations to date just listening to what management's concerns are.

Some proposed changes may have significant impacts on our future income and how we do our jobs which requires due diligence on our part prior to any agreements. Should any issue result in a concession we will expect changes that benefit our members in return. Everyone is reminded that the current talks are non-binding which means we can walk away without any sanctions. Any tentative agreements reached that result in changes to the contract be it this year or next must be brought back to the membership for a ratification vote.

Our next general membership meeting is March 8, 2010 at 1500 hours in the roll call room. Former Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy who is a potential candidate for Governor has accepted our invitation to speak to our membership. We are excited to have him and he looks forward to meeting us, please plan to attend and share your ideas and concerns on what needs to be done to turn Connecticut around. Here is your chance to meet with the man, Local 724's Political Action Committee believes will be our next Governor.

After the union meeting New London Democrats are hosting a fundraiser for Mr. Malloy at Filomena's Restaurant between 5pm and 7pm. I encourage all members to attend if your schedule permits. For those who can't make it but would like to contribute, you can securely contribute to his campaign on his web site, danmalloy.com.

On February 22, a hearing was held in Hartford on proposed changes to the state's workman's compensation law. Stamford PD Officer Frank Chiafari a 25-year veteran officer told members of the legislature's Labor and Public Employees Committee he suffers from PTSD after shooting a frenzied chimpanzee named "Travis" after it mauled 56-year-old owner Charla Nash. The law only supports police officers PTSD when killing a person not an animal, Chiafari seeks to changes to allow claims to permit police officers who are compelled to shoot attacking animals in the line of duty to submit workers' compensation claims for post-traumatic stress disorder. The legislation, first proposed by Sen. Andrew McDonald, D-Stamford, would allow post-traumatic stress claims in incidents like the chimp attack, provided an officer used deadly force while "reasonably believing that he or she was in imminent danger of serious physical injury or death from such an animal
Co-Chair Senator Edith Prague (a strong labor supporter) promised to move the bill out of committee by March 18. Council 15 supports such changes.

Speaking of the Governor's race in CT this year, we have two candidates,Democrat Ned Lamont and Republican Tom Foley who are successful businessmen and millionaires who plan to use their personal wealth and business experience to become our next Governor but it that what we need? Here is an interesting column from The Day on this very issue: http://www.theday.com/article/20100228/OP04/302289902

February Update

Now that the new year is off and running the usual city politics begins in earnest. The state expects to cut revenues to cities and towns by an estimated 10% for next fiscal year. The ever predictable Mayor has publicly singled out the police union to provide concessions for the FY2010-2011 municipal budget. Never mind the city already reduced budgeted police overtime by $600,000 and current police budget is in the black to the tune of an estimated $400,000, Mr Mayor wants more cuts on our backs. Who would ever believe his honor is a union member himself.

Regardless Local 724 has always made itself available to the city for any discussions on any issue and will continue such a practice. But with a contract already in place officials should realize current overtime reductions have had a significant impact on our members earnings and are correct to suggest we already gave our fair share.

As the statewide races heat up the the list of hopeful candidates is expanding daily. Locally, incumbent Representatives Ernie Hewett, Ted Moukawsher and Senator Andrea Stillman seek another term. They are all good friends of Local 724 who have time tested voting records of supporting labor and public safety. They are respected members of the Legislature that have always had the best interest of New London on any actions they are involved in. We are once again happy to support their reelection efforts.

Mr Amann is the former Speaker of the House, he was instrumental in passing legislation that was positive for labor and public safety. It was he, who pushed legislation for a revised heart and hypertension bill protecting firefighters and police officers hired after 1996 who were exempted from the old legislation. Mr Amann will prove to be a valuable asset in the Dan Malloy campaign once his announcement is made public.

Recent Qunnipiac University Polls show that Richard Blumenthal has a commanding lead with prospective voters to win Chris Dodd' seat as US Senator. Ned Lamont has early name recognition in the governors race while Susan Bysiewics tops Democrats in Attorney General race.

With 44% of Democrats undecided, Lamont gets 27 percent followed by Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy with 11percent. No other Democrat tops 5 percent. Much of the early high numbers for Lamont are attributed to his high profile challenge for US Senate in 2006 when he challenged Joe Liberman. Many people claim they don't know much about Dan Malloy. We hope to change that with these monthly updates.

On the Republican side 59% are undecided with 17% for former ambassador Tom Foley and 8% for Lt. Governor Mike Ferdele. No other republicans tops 6%.

The good news is that either Democratic candidate Lamont or Malloy would beat the Republican candidates for governor. In possible election match ups Lamont would beat Foley by two percentage points, Lamont would beat Fedele by 9 percentage points. Similarly Malloy would beat Foley by 4 percentage points and beat Fedele by 6 points.

My sources were correct predicting Susan Bysiewicz would withdraw from the governor's race. Reliable sources continue to tell me Jim Amann is the next one to drop out and could be very soon. Mr Amann is the former Speaker of the House and was instrumental in passing legislation that was positive for labor and public safety. It was he who pushed legislation for heart and hypertension for firefighters and police officers hired after 1996 who lacked those protections afforded police hired prior to 1996. I am sure Mr Amann will be a valuable asset in the Dan Malloy campaign once he makes his announcement public.

While Susan Bysiewicz has made her formal announcement to run for Attorney General she enjoys 62% favorable rating with just 10% for former Democratic State Chairman George Jepson.

What was surprising was Bysiewicz announcing she will not participate in CT public campaign financing. She was a staunch proponent for enacting the toughest campaign finance law in the country when the law was passed in 2006.

But she is a realist who saw that the uncertainty caused by the federal courts, the lack of will among state lawmakers to fix the system's flaws and the danger the legislature will strip away all the program's money to help solve Connecticut's budget crunch. She wisely chose to privately fund her campaign and get her message out.

This confusion over the CT campaign finance laws is contagious.On the eve of the 2010 elections we should not have two distinct ways to raise campaign finances. All candidates should be working from the same set of rules and on a level playing field. If the law is no good and it's too broke, don't fix it throw it out and allow candidates to raise funding from all sources including special interest groups who are also entitled to a voice in Hartford.

Plans are underway for a Dan Malloy fundraiser in New London. Once we have a date, time and location we will post it on the web site.

January Update

2010 starts with many changes, challenges and opportunities. Local 724 suffered a huge loss when President Segar resigned from the union to accept the Deputy Chief position.

Chip's contributions to the membership are immeasurable. His strong leadership made this local the most powerful labor union in the city and region. His tireless efforts protected our members from unfair work rules and provided increased contractual salary and benefits. He set a bench mark for transparency and excellence that will be hard to beat and will be sorely missed. We wish him good luck in his new management duties. It is our hope his natural leadership abilities will assist with the rocky transition members have experienced on many issues as the department reorganizes it's mission and be able to settle some of the 35 grievances filed since June.

The department also welcomes Captain Steve Crowley, Lieutenants Brian Wright and Todd Bergeson along with Sergeants Rob Picket, Kyle Basket and Kristy Christina. They are all to be congratulated on their success.

The executive board voted in Darin O'Mara as our new president, Neil Rodgers joins the executive board and this writer becomes the new Council 15 Vice President. Local 724 and Council 15 lost staff attorney Ken Delorenzo who accepted executive director of Council 94 in Rhode Island. Ken was our friend and valuable source on legal issues. However it is nice to see our Council 15 leaders spread through out the country under the AFSCME banner

Our new attorney is Harry Elliot. Harry is a knowledgeable resource and perhaps the best litigator at Council 15. We have many legal challenges ahead of us and Harry will be invaluable on our current and future issues.

The winds of change continue in politics. Locally, Tony Bascilica stepped down as New London Democratic Town Chairman. Tony was perhaps most famous in this role for his behind the scenes activity making many deals happen. He was always accessible to our leadership and did provide insights on how to solve issues impacting our members.

The big surprise and relief was Senator Chris Dodd deciding not to seek re-election. His dismal poll numbers convinced him it was time to let others run. This decision was prompted in part by state and national Democratic leaders fearing Republican control of his seat in the 2010 elections and that his re-election campaign would take attention away from other statewide democrats. Senator Dodd is to be congratulated for his 35 years of Congressional service for the citizens of Connecticut.

The upside is Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announcing his long expected candidacy for US Senate. Early poll numbers show him with significant leads over other potential candidates. This in turn has created quite a buzz of activity for candidates who want to seek the Attorney General's seat. Those interested include Susan Bycewicz which thins out potential candidates for governor..

What does that mean for the gubernatorial race? We think this is a great opportunity for Dan Malloy to capitalize on the moment with new momentum. Dan is the most recognizable Democratic candidate in the field with energy, focus and executive experience who is ready to lead among the pool of state Democrats. With Dodd pulling out of the race it certainly makes this campaign exciting. The fear of national media overshadowing and distracting statewide races with their focus on Chris Dodd is also a huge relief.

A reliable source has told me Susan Bysiewcz will drop her bid for governor and go for the Attorney General vacancy with her eye on the 2012 challenge for US Senate against Joe Liberman. Since Local 724 is behind Malloy for Governor we would welcome her as Attorney General and be glad to support her bid for that office.

Rumors continue that candidate Jim Amann will also drop from the race and pursue an opportunity in the private sector.

What is problematic is the new voluntary public campaign finance law in Connecticut that many candidates are participating in. The law's intent was to keep special interests (like labor unions, contractors and lobbyists) from making money contributions claiming they provided unfair influence on elections. While the intent was pure to encourage mom and pops to donate, it has caused many hardships on how candidates and campaigns raise and spend money since campaigns for statewide office are very expensive and the law has proven hard to reach the money required .A Federal District Court ruled the new CT campaign law as unconstitutional. The Federal Appeals Court for the Second District heard the case and a ruling is expected shortly which may have a significant impact.

Most troubling is that some gubernatorial candidates namely, Democrat Ned Lamont and Republican Tom Foley are independently wealthy and have announced they will not participate in the campaign finance rules since they will not accept public money. This is from Ned Lamont who was a champion to impose the new law in 2005, who now plans to ignore it. Which begs the question is Ned Lamont the type of governor we need?

How can they level the playing field so all candidates can get their message out? Hopefully the campaign law will be thrown out and allow all candidates to raise money and compete with these independently rich candidates to keep things fair. Or demand that all candidates comply with campaign finance laws.

The upside is the Legislature is sitting on it's hands not offering any new or alternative campaign finance legislation, instead hoping the court throws the restrictive law out completely and allow campaigns to get all the support they can from all people and interests in the state not just "Mom and Pop".

If this is any indication of what 2010 will be like, we are in for an interesting ride

NOVEMBER UPDATE

It seems bad news is everywhere these days, nationwide unemployment figures top 10.2 Connecticut borrowed $947 million to close last years budget gap ending June 30, 2009 and faces over $400 million shortfall in this current fiscal year and $12 billion in debt obligations. Moodys Investor Services concerned with state's debt has given it a negative rating for future borrowing with state debt per resident of $4,490 (the highest in the country). Nationally state debt averages $885 per resident.

Many observers feel lame duck Governor Rell who declared she refuses to raise taxes to solve the shortfall has already raided the rainy day fund of $1.3 billion and wants to borrow more money to close the gap while the Legislature refuses to cut spending with less than anticipated revenue streams. We expect the State Capitol to make up the shortfall by withholding funds due to cities and towns, which means less monies for New London and significant hardship for an already distressed city.

As earlier predicted in this forum, New London is loosing Pfizer Global Research. With it thousands of jobs and reduced tax revenues. City councilors are considering slashing our health care benefits and replacing it with a catastrophic health plan while whispers of reduced staffing and more concessions are being heard throughout the city.

Obviously, If we could turn back the hands of time by 6 months, the many issues discussed regarding our proposed TA that at the time seemed complicated and implausible to many members have now come into focus. The chance to vote again would no doubt been different result. But there are no mulligan's or do overs in real life.

However, rather than focus solely on bottom line spending, I believe the real issue city taxpayers should concern themselves with is value. Are their hard earned tax dollars getting a good return on every dollar spent for police services? Are we maximizing efficiency and effectiveness with the monies provided to deliver a quality service? A close look would see we routinely do more with less than any other public safety agency in the region. We are utilizing new ideas for maximum manpower deployment with quality investigations and increased usage of multiple state and federal task forces to make significant arrests in all areas of the city.

Recall a few short years ago with a staff of 64 officers from the city's inability and/or unwillingness to fill police vacancies the crime wave we experienced was like the wild west with the number of violent crimes occurring daily. When our staffing rose to a full compliment we did more with more. However we currently have almost 10 vacancies from our authorized strength of 94 and urge the new council to keep funding available for the necessary replacements

Caution should be the buzzword for city hall on dramatic cuts in public safety funding. Minimum expenditures will only result once again in current personnel seeking better opportunities elsewhere and attracting the least qualified personnel as replacements capable of delivering only minimum efforts.

Similarly, the new police chief has made it clear she needs help running the department and desperately needs a deputy police chief to assist her. The long vacant position was supposed to have been filled in July 2009 with new available funding but line item budget cuts cancelled the position just prior to the new fiscal year to save some money. The public safety committee and full council should reconsider funding this position immediately, especially since the police department budget is $500,000 in the black at the time of this update.

These problems are real and require our political leaders to solve them. Which is why Local 724 will continue to monitor and report on the political landscape around us so our membership can make the best informed decisions possible on such important issues. It is important for us to know what is happening. Just as important is that politicians know we have done our homework on issues important to us and will always come prepared when talks concern us and our families.

A follow up on 111th Congress House Bill H.R-413 allowing for collective bargaining rights for all public safety officers. The pending bill is co-sponsored by over 170 House Representatives including Connecticut's John Larson (D), Joe Courtney (D) and Chris Murphy (D). Tom Carrozza, Council 15's Director of Political Affairs followed up on the issue after the October Update was posted and personally contacted Representatives Rosa DeLauro and Jim Himes to solicit their support of the bill.

Congratulations are in order to all the returning and newly elected City Councilors. Three of Local 724's endorsed candidates were seated. On behalf of the executive board I want to take a moment and publicly thank outgoing councilors Peg Curtin, John Maynard and Kevin Cavanagh.

Public service can be a tiring and thankless job. These councilors volunteered untold hours away from family and friends working on the many complicated problems that face the city. They are all friends of Local 724 always giving us full consideration and a fair shake on issues related to the police. Thank you all on a job well done. Best of luck in your future endeavors.

We look forward to working with the new council. Our primary goal is and remains representing our members interests to deliver the best police service possible. Political differences aside, the campaign season is over and it's time to govern. As we roll up our sleeves to tackle the new issues we wish them all good luck and success for the next two year term.

Our sympathy and condolences to the family of retired Deputy Chief William Gavitt who died this week. He proudly served this agency and the people of New London for 35 years with honor and distinction. May He Rest in Peace.

Here is an interesting editorial discussing the field of candidates for the 2010 Governor's race
Let's think about it (click to view)

October Update

Election season is in full swing! Not only are we voting for municipal city councilors this November, but also electing new union officers for our local.

Local 724 will host nominations for office on October 27, 2009 at 1500 hours at HQ with elections set for November 24, 2009. I encourage all members who have a genuine interest in labor relations and are willing to put in the required time and commitment to consider a run for office.

We have many important and complicated issues in front of us the next two years such as: an expiring labor contract, denial of medical benefits for our active military members and their families, challenges to current working conditions and constant threat to the erosion of wages and benefits.here are no simple solutions and all have thorns that require patience and due diligence to find the right solutions. If you think you have the combination of the "right stuff" please consider running as enthusiasm and fresh ideas are always welcomed.

Candidates for New London City Council who seek a political endorsement from Local 724 will be invited to candidate interviews set for October 28, 2009 between noon and 8 pm at the Radisson Hotel. All members are encouraged to attend. Any member who has a question or issue they would like considered for the candidate interviews are asked to drop their question(s) in the union mail box at HQ.

On November 13, President Segar heads to Las Vegas where he will attend the AFSCME National Public Safety Conference. The "Big Toe" will host a lecture on search and seizure changes following the recent US Supreme Court decision of Gant vs Arizona. Best of all he is sponsored by AFSCME International and most of his expenses will covered by them and not us.

As many of you will recall former Council 15 Executive Director Jim Howell is now with AFSCME International in Washington DC. One of his priorities has been lobbying on behalf of HR 413 entitled Public Safety Employer-Employee Cooperative Act of 2009 that will allow collective bargaining for all public safety officers nationwide. We in the northeast are lucky that we enjoy strong unions. Many throughout the nation (especially in right to work states) are employed with little or no bargaining rights. I will be contacting our US House of Representative members to support this measure.

Speaking of pending legislation one of the hot button issues has been the health care reform debate. Many of the proposed changes will require new and or increased taxes to support it. There have been many ideas on where to find new tax revenues.

One proposal that would have an immediate and dire impact on us locally is the idea of taxing employees on the value of any health plan worth more that $8,000 as income. Our health plans are exceed that value and would result in additional taxes resulting in less net income.

Historically, public employees have taken less in wages to secure better benefits than the private sector employees. This proposal would have a significant impact on our members and we will oppose any ideas that tax our benefits.

President Segar spoke directly with Representative Joe Courtney who assured us he has no intention of supporting such legislation and will do everything he can to ensure it does not pass.

Segar also contacted Senator Chris Dodd's office. After advising a staffer who he was and asked where Senator Dodd was on this issue he was quickly dumped into an automated voice mail and encouraged to leave a message since his comment was important to the Senator. A few more phone calls to some mutual friends got another staffer to call us back. The same simple question was asked, no answer was provided but assured us they would look into it. So much for a strong supporter of unions and working families here in Connecticut.

One would think with eroding voter support for Chris Dodd in his home state and facing several challengers this election year he and his staffers would be more accommodating and forthright on constituent concerns. It begs the question has Senator Dodd been inside the beltway too long? We will continue to follow up on this issue and pass along information as we get it.

President Segar, Roger Baker, Dustin Adkins and myself recently attended the Shoreline League of Women Voters "Meet the Democratic Gubernatorial Candidates" in Old Saybrook. Our collective belief was Dan Malloy's speech hit it out of the park with fresh ideas, enthusiasm and a solid plan to get Connecticut back on it's economic feet with new prosperity.

Believe it or not the governor's race is only 375 days from now. Local 724 works best with all cylinders firing and this campaign is no different, It's full speed ahead.

Want more info or care to contribute? Visit his website: danmalloy.com

MALLOY AGAIN URGES RELL TO GET ANSWERS FROM PFIZER

October 15, 2009 - Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy, who is exploring a run for Governor, today reiterated his call to Gov. Rell get involved immediately in the Pfizer merger, and to seek answers from Pfizer officials on exactly how the merger will affect the 5,000 Connecticut workers employed by Pfizer.

Stamford Mayor Dannel Malloy announced Tuesday that he has raised $101,698 from July 1 to Sept. 30. Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz raised a total of $100,460 during that same time period. Both Malloy and Bysiewicz are exploring a run for governor in 2010.
Since forming his exploratory committee in February, Malloy has raised a total of $373,583 and Bysiewicz has raised $338,915.
According to press releases, Malloy received contributions from 629 individuals this quarter, for a total of 1695 individuals since his committee was formed. Bysiewicz received donations from 551 individuals this quarter, while a total of 1,444 individuals have contributed to her campaign.
Other Democrats exploring a run for governor include state Sen. Gary LeBeau and Ridgefield First Selectman Rudy Marconi. Former Speaker of the House James Amann is out of the exploratory phase and has officially announced his intention to run for the Democratic nomination.

See you next: Hartford Oct 21st at City Hall, 7:00.
10/15 at an event for the Democratic slate in East Lyme at the Lyme Tavern

Wednesday, October 7 - Meet the Candidates Event in Old Saybrook

The Shoreline League of Democratic Women hosted a "Meet the Candidates Evening" featuring Democratic Gubernatorial hopefuls running for CT Governor in 2010, including Connecticut's Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz, Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy, State Rep. Gary Lebeau and Jim Amann, the former speaker of CT’s House of Representatives. Candidates spoke about their goals and positions for the state, and discuss why they are seeking a bid for the Democratic nomination.. Many Thanks to the Old Saybrook DTC for co-hosting the event!

The man http://www.danmalloy.com/

Malloy says publicly funded research means
Rell has a lot of questions to answer!

“It certainly appears that Governor Rell used taxpayer money for her own political benefit, which, at the very least, raises serious ethical concerns. If true, it means she paid to find out what people wanted to hear, and then she told them exactly that – knowing it wasn't true, but that it might work for her politically. This may very well explain her bizarre behavior in the budget debacle over the past eight months. What’s needed here is a full accounting. Exactly how was the $220,000 spent? Was other research done? If so, what type of research? And, what is a professor known for his expertise in polling and research doing trying to streamline state government? Isn't that the job of people at OPM and in the Governor's office? The Governor needs to answer these questions immediately – and if she won’t, legislators need to begin asking questions.”

Read Dans view on Route 11

September Update

The political season is upon us as local candidates gear up for city council elections. This year marks an especially important year. The current council has been loudly criticized from many fronts on many important issues that face the city.

Those problems include: holding taxes at the expense of city services, layoffs, furloughs, concession of employee wage and benefits, a flat State budget that has no additional funding to cities and towns, neglected city infrastructure, little or no positive economic development prospects, rumors of Pfizer leaving the city, the police union contract expires in 19 months and a new council will be tasked at finding a new City Manager, Again!.

These issues are painfully real, in our face, and will not go away by ignoring them. That's why this year is especially important that we seek out the best qualified candidates as our next city council.

To be fair to this current city council, you may have noticed some recent improvements to their credit this election cycle: repairs underway of broken sidewalks throughout the city, removal of dead and diseased trees, new DPW vehicles on the street and plans to pave 9 miles of bad streets, installation of seven new playgrounds in city parks and the PD is waiting on delivery of twenty (20) long overdue new police vehicles from a $10 million capital improvement bond.

But that borrowed money will soon be spent and we need to move beyond the same old mantra from city hall, "We have no money, where else can we make more cuts".

New London must re-invent itself, create viable and sustainable economic development projects that creates new jobs brings more people to live work and play here that broadens the tax base to generate much needed revenues for continued reinvestment for a better city. Which in turn provides us with better wages, benefits and working conditions. That responsibility rests squarely on the next city council.

Local 724 intends to once again invite interested city council candidates to our question and answer forum for those seeking our endorsement. The forum will be held in late October at a time and place to be announced. We invite all members to attend and encourage them to submit questions on issues they would like included in the forum. Please drop your questions in the union mailbox at the PD.

The Governor's race will heat up exponentially after the local elections are completed. As you know Local 724 has spent considerable time reviewing the qualities and elect ability of Democratic candidates Susan Bysiewicz, James Amann and Daniel Malloy. Rumors continue from many sources that Republican Governor Jodi Rell will not seek re-election, leaving a vacuum in statewide Republican contenders.

Connecticut needs leadership to overcome failed policies:

A JOB CRISIS: Connecticut is dead last in jobs growth, has been named the state most likely to lag when the national recovery begins, and a report from the Connecticut Center for Economic Analysis at UCONN found the State's policies are hurting rather than spurring job creation;

A BUDGET CRISIS: Governor Rell presented a budget in February she knew was $2 billion short just to claim she could balance the budget without raising taxes. Then, she stubbornly clung to that position for almost 6 months, and in the process she wasted a lot of time and taxpayer dollars.

A SAFETY NET CRISIS: Governor Rell Proposed huge cuts to programs that help those who need help - our neediest individuals and families - forcing them into hands of the State's non-profits, which are also being decimated by her budget cuts.

We can and should so better. That is why we like Dan Malloy who is exploring a run for Governor. He wants to put to work for Connecticut his 20 years of public service (many as a CEO) turning around the City of Stamford, growing jobs, fighting for health care for all, making a better place for everyone.

I ask and encourage every reader of this forum to learn the important issues facing the state as well as you and your family. Investigate the potential candidates, find out where they stand and what they offer to make things better. I think you will agree Dan Malloy is the best qualified and most elect able candidate, prepared to hit the ground running once elected.

Dan Malloy has spent many days in New London speaking to many people from all levels including Local 724. Ladies and Gentlemen... He gets it! He clearly understands the unique challenges we face here, in New London and is prepared to help us, help ourselves.

Dan is intelligent, motivated, qualified and an honorable man, a protector to working families like us, and should be considered a friend to all the members and families of Local 724 who will be the next Governor of the State of Connecticut.

The leadership of Local 724 will be looking to you to formally endorse his campaign and get behind him early. It's the early bird that gets the worm folks. We want our membership to be standing next to him long before everybody else jumps in the pool and do some heavy lifting now so we can enjoy the spoils of a successful campaign with a friend in the Executive Chambers later.

For more information on Dan Malloy and his campaign please visit his website at, www.danmalloy.com.

I respectfully request to all members, their extended families as well as our many friends and associates of the New London Police Union please consider making a secure on line campaign contribution of $50 to $100 or what ever amount you can afford to show your support...OUR support, for the next Governor!

Connecticut needs new leadership, I hope you will join the movement to bring about meaningful change - for a better Connecticut. Thank You

AUGUST 2009

With summer vacations are winding down we are all starting to settle in to the business at hand. Hopefully everybody is recharged and ready to make things happen. Unfortunately that message has been lost in Hartford. The governor and legislative leaders are still without a budget as they throw temper tantrums on who will run the sandbox.

Connecticut is billions in the red. While Jodi Rell wants to cut programs and borrow her way out of debt with minimal tax increases, Speaker Chris Donovan and Senate Leader Don Williams hold sacred every cut proposed and seek higher taxes to run the state. In the interim we have a new record of 55 days and counting without a state budget. When recently asked when she would have a budget her reply to the reporter was "I wish I knew". Ask yourself is that the kind of leadership you want or deserve from your governor?

Clearly these are unprecedented times. The overly simple answer would be to spend only what your revenues allow. But nothing is that simple. This problem will take cooperation from both the governor and the legislature to solve and they need to start right now. The political posturing and name calling hurts everybody especially the voters who elected them to be problem solvers not problem makers.

The 2010 governor's race slowly is taking shape. Rumors continue that Governor Jodi Rell will not seek another term which opens up the field.to possible Republican candidates like Lt Governor Michael Ferdele or Minority Leader Larry Cafero and John McKinney get tossed around while the announced Democratic candidates are Jim Amann, Dan Malloy, Sue Byciewicz and Gary LeBeau.

Some of you have asked why are we involved. We believe this is the year that we can get a Democrat in the governors office. As many of you know we got in early and have been very involved with Dan Malloy because we believe he is the right candidate at the right time. By the belief that Connecticut needs a new kind of leadership in Hartford: leadership that is transparent, bold, practical and deeply engaged in the basic, daily business of governing.

Those are the principles on which Dan helped govern the city of Stamford - and it worked. Fourteen years ago, he inherited a city that had lost its way, and Dan Malloy got it back on track - building a strong, safe, progressive and economically vibrant city. Being a big city mayor, he gets it. He knows how to run successful government managing budgets with executive level experience, time tested leadership and proven results.

Jim Amann as Speaker of the House was instrumental in passing new legislation that allows police and fire fighters Heart and Hypertension protections that were previously unavailable and we are forever grateful to him for that. However, his campaign for governor has stumbled out of the gate from day one with little base support outside of his hometown of Milford and essentially broke from poor campaign financing results. We spoke with him at the Council 15 Conference in Atlantic City in June and expressed our desire for an elect able candidate. We don't believe he is a position to get elected at this time.

Sue Byciewicz is our Secretary of State and does a fine job and is a very nice person, but her platform of issues is vague and lacks any real details on policy other than she has said often she wants to ensure Connecticut retains it's young people like her daughter upon completion of college. That may be an important issue in her household but there are bigger more serious issues that demand more attention. She does enjoys name recognition because of her position as a Constitutional Officer and has had some success with campaign contributions yet she does not appear to have broad support with many areas of the state including the Legislative Office Building.

Gary LeBeau is a state senator from East Hartford who recently threw his hat into the ring but has not even made a ripple of attention other than from his own press releases. He has experience on the finance committee and was instrumental on tax policy and obtaining federal funding to save the Groton Sub Base. Again he lacks statewide support.

The bottom line for our members to consider, is we want to support the best candidate who is most elect able ,has the skill sets in place and is prepared to work on issues that are important to us, our families, our city and the state. We need to get state tax and spending under control, create meaningful jobs here in Connecticut and New London, with a governor that clearly understands the kind of fiscal challenges and development problems old cities like New London face and can help provide strategies and solutions designed to ultimately help us help ourselves.

Dan Malloy has a history of being fair with his city labor organizations a and understands the importance of labor unions since his mother was a union member. If for no other reason, having Dan Malloy as governor will provide us have a friend in Hartford with access to issues and legislation that will benefit our members and their families. That is why we are in early and in it to win it.

Closer to home the PD continues to move in a new direction. As we all get acclimated to the new compass heading, there are new and exciting ideas on table. Our much maligned police fleet will be significantly upgraded, an overhaul and update of policy and procedures is underway while support services undergoes transformation and many veteran officer begin to study for upcoming promotional tests. Not always smooth waters but as our sailors get their sea legs and get over the sea sickness we all look forward to the future and calm waters in front of us.

New Londoners now have a new city manager, Mark Lauzier. Some may complain about the process and the finalist. The council has voted, the politicking is over and it's now time to move on and govern. If you are upset then seek changes to the city charter or city councilors by getting involved in the issues and make your voice and vote count in the future. New London suffers too many problems, now is a new opportunity to make this city the best it can be. We all need to support Mr. Lauzier and get the city moving in the right direction one step at a time.

We applaud Mike Buscetto and his efforts to seek the top spot. Public service is often times a thankless job demanding a lot of time away from home and family. His dedication to New London to make it a better place is second to none. Sometimes things happen for a reason. This could be seen as a chance to turn adversity into opportunity for Mike to get the education and/or formal experience he may have lacked so he will be ready, seasoned and polished to capitalize when another opportunity presents it self.

In the meantime we look forward to upcoming city council elections and Mike's continued partnership with the police and Local 724 as Chairman of the Public Safety Committee who has always demonstrated his belief with actions and deeds to make the police department the best it can be.

July 2009 Update

With newly credited vacation time many members are enjoying their time off. Unfortunately the state budget stalemate will begin to effect us all if the legislative leadership and the Governor stop waiting for the other to blink and do what is best for the fiscal health of the state. As bad as things are be assured next state fiscal year will be worse. The trickle down effect will have ramifications on our members next spring when we expect the city to once again ask for concession talks. Unless and until the state budget is set allowing cities and towns to know how to plan accordingly this budget mess will potentially hurt us all. I urge you to contact your state representatives and senators to pass a workable budget.

Dan Malloy recently announced that he raised $144,135 for the second quarter ending June 30, 2009 in his exploratory bid for governor. His year to date total is over $272,000. Challengers Sue Byciweicz raised $141,000 for the second quarter while Jim Amann raised a meager $8,000.

The search for a new city manager continues! The union has no horse in the race since we will work with who ever the city council selects as Marty Berliner's replacement. We look forward to the future with anticipation and good will for the new candidate.

President Segar is in Washington DC meeting with several members of AFSCME International on a variety of issues of local and national importance.

Chief Ackley is settling in as the new boss as we continue our shakedown cruise of assorted new changes and expectations. For those on vacation or about to leave for one ENJOY!

JUNE 2009 UPDATE

June was a whirlwind of issues that all competed for the top spot of attention. The impending retirement of Chief Rinehart, the selection of Chief Ackley was announced with many transition issues, several bad faith bargaining issues with the city over prescription benefit changes, a city manager who is also leaving and the logistics to provide a formal and dignified change of command ceremony.


Members were relieved the long wait was over when the candidate announcement was made. It was of course a win, win since one of our own was selected. Some were happier than others, but regardless of which horse you backed the campaigning is over and it is now time to run the ship and start a new course.

As cops (myself included) we are comfortable with what we have and changes are not always welcomed. But there will be changes all intended to make us better. No one person has all the answers but as a team of 93 experience officers with a wealth of knowledge and experiences we can help chart the new course. Let's put our best foot forward and see where it takes us.

The MedCo prescription issue was resolved amicably between the city and local 724. The issue was complicated and loaded with many thorns that required patience and diligence. The back room details are not important at this time but everyone should know it took determination from both sides to resolve in a timely manner.

City Manager Marty Berliner whose contract was set to expire on June 30 was extended until August as the Council seeks a new manager. Some politicos, gadfly's and political people have all complained about all the problems that were some how his fault. Maybe a few were, but the city has many complicated issues with little resources to resolve them with. In my opinion he did the best he could with what he was given.

As a labor representative who attended many negotiation sessions, I can say he was a breath of fresh air from his predecessor. Marty was open, honest and willing to work with us for common solutions when ever possible. Even when tempers flared he was always respectful it was never personal just business. At the conclusion of those few meetings he was always approachable. While the buck always stops at his desk, I think he will be remembered in a better light for his dedication to public service for all of New London. Good Luck in your retirement Mr. Berliner.


To our members I want to say publicly that the change of command ceremony was a class act. Everyone did their part, looked good, marched well and kept cadence like real pros. Being on the motorcycle I could see the formation from many different angles and it was tight and sharp. It was especially nice to see the formation approach city hall with the crowd applauding the arrival.

The ceremony could not have been the success it was without Local 724. President Segar and many members helped organize the catering, set up the color guard, pre-set the stage, organized the street as well as split the actual cost of incidental expenses with the city. Thank you to Rich Cable, Mike Strecker, Larry Keating x2, Rob Pickett and Matt Galante for color guard duties, Patty Tidd and Max Bertsch for escort duties and logistical help during the morning hours. Special thanks to Chip for crash course in military drill and ceremony.


Lastly, a final farewell and thank you to Chief Bruce Rinehart. His 42 years of public service is admirable and a NLPD record of service that will be hard to beat. Asked recently how he described his tenure he stated "It was the best of time, it was the worst of times". After almost a half century of police work you have seen just about everything there is to see. He worked hard for the city and on behalf of his officers, his efforts were always well intentioned but often time fiscal realities stood in the way of progress. He did the best he could with what he was given and worked tirelessly to maintain what he had. He will be missed and has earned his retirement. Hail and and farewell Chief Rinehart.

42nd Annual Council 15
CONVENTION UPDATE

The 42nd annual CT Council #15 Convention was a success at many levels.

Chip was elected as Vice President to Council 15 filling the Dean Forier vacancy.


Other changes included Jeff Matchett was formally introduced to membership as new Executive Director and Tony Zona as president replacing our friend Paul Ariola .

CT AFL-CIO president John Olsen spoke about the importance of organized labor now more than ever as the economy challenges all of us to fight to protect what we already have and remain vigilant to challenges.

Council 4 Sal Luciano reminded all of us that a shift in thinking from a population growing accustomed to lower wages and limited benefits threatens our benefits. With some many people not having good benefits begs the question " If I don't have it why should you" referring to our salary and benefits.

AFSCME Director of Research Kerri Korpi spoke of the fiscal crisis and the negative effects on current contract talks and working conditions. The economy is so bad it is hard to imagine the challenges we must face as bargain units work to protect what they have.

Council 15 is hard at work with Hartford PD seeking them to join us, other PD's close to joining include Madison

Council 15 hosted candidates for governor Dan Malloy and Jim Amann to speak at the convention. Both worked the room with meet and greet and a few words for the membership. Our opinion Dan hit home run with his message and easy going style.


Rodgers and Akins had some early success at the tables, while Chip and I kept our money in our pockets.

Good convention a lot of business got done as we lay plans for the future

May Political Update

Membership votes down Tentative Agreement.

Local 724 members recently refused to accept a multi year contract extension that included concessions requested by the city. The vote was almost 3-1 rejecting the final offer. Many members felt there were too many give backs, most importantly were: postponing the 2009 raise to 2012, reducing threshold for requesting days off and and detectives being subjected to a flex hour schedules. The good news if any was these talks were non-binding allowing the union to walk away without any harm. The current contract will remain in effect until it expires in 2011. The city hopes to meet budget shortfalls by significant reduction in budgeted overtime, redeployment of some support services personnel as it considers other fiscal measures not yet made available.

The fire department with an expiring contract subject to binding arbitration agreed to a new contract with some significant concessions. Talks broke down between the city and Public Works employees, while MEU members voted to reject the concession agreement they negotiated.

In the meantime Local 724 leadership will continue to monitor the economy and labor/management trends prior to any new talks with the city.

Economy limiting services of local police


By Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY
The recession is altering local law enforcement in the U.S. by forcing some agencies to close precincts, merge with other departments or even shut down.
Once largely spared from the deepest budget cuts, some police departments are struggling to provide basic services, police officials say.

"For the first time, because of the economy, police departments ... may have to change how they do business," says Chuck Wexler, executive director of the Police Executive Research Forum, a law enforcement think tank. "People will see a change in the basic delivery of services," from longer police response times to a dramatically reduced police presence in some communities.
Harlan Johnson, executive director of the Minnesota Chiefs of Police Association, said political leaders are "choosing whether they keep the streets open the police on patrol," though it's too early to tell whether the changes will increase crime.

The Obama administration's $787 billion stimulus plan gives about $4 billion to local law enforcement, including $1 billion to hire and retain officers. But the hiring money has not been distributed, and applicants have requested more than is available.

:
• In Pennsylvania, 19 suburban and rural police agencies have closed in the past 15 months, and seven others have cut patrols. The "unprecedented" closures and cuts have forced the state police — who face their own budget struggles — to assume full or partial public safety responsibility for about 54,000 more people, says Lt. Col. Lenny Bandy, deputy commissioner of operations for the state police.

• In Minnesota, nine small police agencies have closed in the past five months, leaving sheriffs' departments to protect the public. The Elko New Market Police Department was briefly the 10th shuttered agency, until residents last month demanded that the City Council reverse its 2-week-old decision to eliminate it. "A lot of people felt that we were sending a potentially dangerous public message ... without a police department," says Mayor Jason Ponsonby, who opposed the closure.

• In Portland, Ore., police are consolidating operations by eliminating two of five patrol precincts. Portland police spokesman Greg Pashley says some residents fear response times will rise and established officers will be replaced by others who are unfamiliar with local problems. He says the move, which takes effect in June, was needed to cut costs, but he believes it will not compromise safety.

• In Southern California, Indio and its neighbors Palm Springs, Desert Hot Springs, Cathedral City and Beaumont have merged some key functions and also plan to combine dispatch operations to increase efficiency. "It's the legacy of the budget crunch," Indio's Capt. Richard Banasiak says

APRIL 2009

TENATIVE CONTRACT AGREEMENT
Local 724 has obtained a tenative collective bargaining agreement with the city of New Londonthat will extend our contract through 2014. These difficult economic times have required us to do our part to help the city through some economic concessions.

We had a contract in place and could have elected to do nothing. However It is union leadership's belief we took the high road and choose reasonably help where we could with emphasis on maintaining benefits that were most important to our members. Concessions are never popular or painless. We tried to minimize that impact. Expect a full disclosure of the agreement details shortly. This TA will require a ratification vote by the membership.

GOVERNMENT PENSION OFFSET UPDATE
Follow up from union meeting with US Representative Joe Courtney on pending legislation to repeal Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provisions. Courtney, a co-sponsor of H.R. 235 provided language of the Bill for our review. Updates on this legislation will be provided as they become available

NOTE: Senate Bill No. 1010 corrects an oversight of Congress in 2006 which eliminated the same procedures in federal legislation by mistake. This legislation, when passed by the House and signed by the Governor, will continue a protection for Public Safety Workers that was the practice, is currently the practice, but may not be continued unless required by Statute.

AN ACT CONCERNING EXPOSURE TO INFECTIOUS DISEASES AND EMERGENCY RESPONDERS.

Statement of Purpose: To require hospitals to notify emergency service organizations when a patient who was transported by such organization is diagnosed with an infectious disease, to permit a designated officer to request that in a case where exposure has occurred, to be informed if the hospital tests the patient and determines that the patient has an infectious disease.
CONTACT YOUR DISTRICT STATE REPRESENTATIVE AND ASK THAT THEY CO-SPONSOR and VOTE IN FAVOR OF Senate Bill No. 1010.

Joe Courtney visits local 724!

Does ride along!

March update

Contract Talks
The city has been wrestling to prepare the FY09-10 municipal budget with news that state funding would create a $1.4 million revenue shortfall. This gap can only be filled two ways: raise taxes or lower spending. As many members know (but many of our public readers on this site may not) Local 724 has in place a rock solid 2-year contract through 2010.

We had the option of ignoring the city's plight or do our part and be a part of the solution. Doing nothing (even though no legal obligation exists) would only provide critics with a negative public perception that we are greedy, selfish and unwilling to do our fair share to help the city when we had the ability to help. It was our belief if we had open discussions with level heads a solution beneficial to both sides was attainable.

Local 724 choose to lead once again and help the city and hopefully produce results beneficial to our members at the same time. Union leadership has met with city officials several times to explore what concessions we could provide that would provide the city with expenditure controls and provide long term stability for our members.

The result was an agreement in principal on mutual issues of importance to both sides with proposals that each side would see as beneficial. The city for it's part will seek advise and consent from council before any further discussions or tentative agreement can be discussed.

Rest assured Local 724 leadership focused our importance during these talks on maintaining current benefits, staffing and contract language continuity. All tentative proposals will be brought back to our membership for discussion and ratification when finalized.

Council Trims Expenditures by Reducing OT
The city has accepted some recommendations from its oversight panel on ways to reduce spending. Of most important to us is a proposed reduction of $247,000 in overtime costs for next year. While this number represents an aggregate savings from combined agencies it will still have an impact.

As many of you know first hand overtime reduction will have an impact on the number of officers on the street for patrol assignment and means less disposable income for us. Since January administration has tried to cut 14 patrol OT vacancies each week by "Do Not Fill". This has resulted in fewer officers on the street and more calls for each working officer working to handle. While we always try to to more with less, deliberate unfilled shifts will ultimately lead to doing less with less. Pro-activity will decline and low priority calls will be answered only as staffing allows. Hopefully the economic turnaround will occur in 2010 and allow us to be fully funded to provide the city the police service it deserves.

Representative Joe Courtney to Address Membership
On April 7, 2009 Congressman Joe Courtney will address Local 724 at a police headquarters membership meeting at 1515 hours. He wants to thank our members for our continued efforts to make New London as safe as possible.

Thanks in part to Mr Courtney he provided for $225,000 federal COPS grant allowing us to hire three additional police officers and allocated over $104,000 in federal JAG grant monies. This funding contributed to our impressive 2008 activity statistics shows that we upheld our promise to city officials and residents that continued funding to hire and retain police officers would lead to increased police activity and a drop in criminal activity.

Secondly, Mr. Courtney wants to announce new federal funding becoming available under the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) which NLPD will be a participant in.

Many of our younger members may not know who Eddie Byrne was. Edward Byrne was a 22-year-old rookie NYPD cop (Badge #14072) assigned to the 103 pct in Jamaica Queens who was murdered while on duty in 1988 while keeping an eye on a residents house who frequently called police to report drug activity in his neighborhood.

Drug dealers became incensed with increased police activity and made threats to the resident which prompted police to post an officer outside the resident's house. Drug dealer Howard "Pappy" Mason ordered his associates to murder Edward Byrne with the intent of scaring everybody to fear the dealers. Instead the opposite happened with the police and public becoming outraged to stand up and fight crime. President Ronald Regan personally expressed his condolences to the Byrne family. Eddie' dad was a retired NYPD cop and his brother was a FDNY firefighter. George H.W. Bush carried Byrne's NYPD badge with him during his 1988 presidential campaign.

As a result of this senseless death Congress created authorizing legislation for the Edward Byrne Memorial Grant (Public Law 100-690) which provides federal funding to federal, state and local police to reduce violent and drug related crime in all 50 states.

Congressman Courtney has been a good friend to NLPD (the largest municipal police agency in the 2nd Congressional District) and I encourage every member to make time in their busy schedules to share a few minutes with Mr. Courtney

LOCAL 724 MEETS WITH DAN MALLOY

Malloy on Murray Renshaw

Stamford's Mayor Dan Malloy traveled to New London recently to meet with President Segar and myself on his upcoming 2010 bid for gubernatorial elections. Dan gave a frank discussion on many issues and has already started an exploratory committee. He provided us with an overview of what challenges Connecticut will face and solutions he proposes to move the state forward with his leadership and vision. We anticipate similar conversations with other candidates before any formal endorsements are considered. However, Dan looks forward to scheduling a casual meet and greet with SE CT residents in New London sometime in April for an opportunity to know more about him as a person and candidate. More info to follow. check out his web site: http://danmalloy.com/

Pending Legislative Action-

Opening the State Health Plan to Municipalities House leaders say they will introduce a bill to open the state employee health plan to municipalities in order to provide towns with the option of joining the state plan to insure their employees at a lower premium. The idea aims to take advantage of the greater purchasing power of the large state employee insurance pool.
Last session the legislature passed PA 08-183 to open the state employee plan to municipalities and other employers. It was vetoed by the governor and the legislature did not attempt to override the veto.

Read OLR’s reports:

"State Employee Health Insurance Programs Open to Local Government Employees" 2008-R-0067 "Impact of Pooling State and Local Employees for Health Insurance" 2008-R-0463 "Contractual Obligations Regarding State Employee Health Insurance Pool" 2008-R-0108

DeStefano seeks ninth term as New Haven mayor
Associated Press February 23, 2009
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - New Haven Mayor John DeStefano has launched his campaign for a ninth term in office. The 53-year-old Democrat launched his re-election bid Monday afternoon. He had said in October that he would be running again. DeStefano easily won re-election in 2007 with 69 percent of the vote, a year after losing the governor's race to Republican Gov. M. Jodi Rell. A ninth term would make DeStefano New Haven's longest serving mayor. Richard Lee also held the mayor's job for eight terms.

January Update 2009

Budget Problems
Governor Rell will unveil her proposed budget to fight a whopping $900 million spending gap between now and June 30 plus an additional $3-6 Billion projected deficit over the next two fiscal years. New London's city budget is comprised of 50% revenues from it's grand list and 50% from state and federal funding.
The city will learn just how tight the FY09-10 budget will be when those numbers are released. City manager Marty Berliner has informed us concession talk are on the horizon. Our contract is intact through 2011 but we are not opposed to discussions that can benefit the city as well as our members who will be kept advised of any new developments. Non binding discussions on retirement medical benefits continue with a variety of other linked issues that include random drug testing, personnel evaluations and the K9 drug dog.
These talks which began in December 2006 have produced several tentative agreements. Recent talks have produced a renewed interest in cooperation with a focus on trying to bring a final resolution to the stickiest issues at hand where ultimately they will be presented to membership for any ratification vote.

Elements of CT Public Act 08-61 Heart& Hypertension) pertaining to police are:
* uniformed member of a paid municipal police department
* any condition or impairment of health
* caused by a cardiac emergency
*occurring on or after the effective date
while such member
* is in training for
* or engaged in public safety operation
* within the scope of such member's employment
* that results in death or temporary or permanent total or partial disability
* shall be presumed to have been suffered in the line of duty
* and within the scope of such member's employment
* unless the contrary is shown by a preponderance of evidence
* and provided such member successfully passed a physical on entry into service
* which failed to reveal any evidence of such condition

The effective date of the above provisions is July 1, 2009.
Employees hired before the 1996 statute revisions were covered 24/7 by a rebuttal presumption.
Employees 1996 to 2009 are covered under Workers' Compensation, without a presumption.

Any claim would have to be substantiated by the employee through the Workers' Compensation process.

On July 1, 2009, pre 1996 employees are grandfathered under the pre 1996 with a rebuttal presumption.

On July 1, 2009, post 1996 employees are covered going forward under Public Act 08-61.

HR-218 (LEOSA) Updated Information South Dakota Circuit Court judge recently dismissed charges relating to carrying concealed weapons against Scott Lazalde, 38, of Bellingham, Washington, and James Rector, 44, Ferndale, Washington, law enforcement officers with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Service, and Dennis McCoy, 58, of Seattle, Wash., a Seattle police sergeant and Ron Smith, 43, a Seattle police detective.

During a confrontation at the Loud American Roadhouse bar in Sturgis, South Dakota, Detective Smith shot Hells Angel member Joseph McGuire as McGuire made aggressive moves toward Smith.

McGuire still faces assault charges.

The judge ruled that a state may restrict police officers from carrying weapons on state property, but is barred from restricting officers from carrying weapons on private property within the state. The judge’s decision dismisses charges filed by Meade County State's Attorney Jesse Sondreal. Sondreal claimed that state law should trump HR 218, known as the Law Enforcement Officers’ Safety Act (LEOSA).

Judge Warren Johnson ruled that, “While states retain the right to prohibit the possession of firearms on government property and to permit private persons and entities to prohibit the possession of firearms on their property, they cannot restrict qualified law enforcement officers in any other manner.”

Judge Johnson’s decision is a victory for sworn officers whose concealed-carry rights are protected under LEOSA. The court really did nothing more than uphold the time-honored principle that local authorities must obey federal laws.

The LEOSA allows any law enforcement officer with powers of arrest, who is authorized to carry a weapon on duty (whether or not the officer actually carries a weapon), and meets certain standards, or retired officer who formerly met these criteria, to lawfully carry a concealed handgun in any state. There are certain narrow limitations. Qualified law enforcement officers employed by or retired from a local, state or federal law enforcement agency. A “qualified active law enforcement officer” is defined as an employee of a government agency who:

• is authorized by law to engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution or the incarceration of any person for any violation of law;
• has statutory powers of arrest;
• is authorized by the agency to carry a firearm; is not the subject of any disciplinary action by the agency;
• meets the standards, if any, established by the agency which require the employee to regularly qualify in the use of a firearm;
• is not under the influence of alcohol or another intoxicating or hallucinatory drug or substance;
• and is not prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm.

Qualified active law enforcement officers must carry the photographic identification issued by the agency for which they are employed. A "qualified retired law enforcement officer" is defined as an individual who:

• has retired in good standing from service with a government agency as a law enforcement officer for an aggregate of fifteen (15) years or more for reasons other than mental instability, OR retired from such an agency due to a service-connected disability after completing any applicable probationary period of such service;
• was authorized by law to engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution or the incarceration of any person for any violation of law;
• had statutory powers of arrest;
• has a non forfeitable right to benefits under the retirement plan of the agency for which he was employed;
• meets, at his own expense, the same standards for qualification with a firearm as an active officer within the state in which he or she resides;
• is not under the influence of alcohol or another intoxicating or hallucinatory drug or substance;
• and is not prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm.

Qualified retired law enforcement officers must carry the photographic identification issued by the agency for which they were employed and documentation which shows that they have met the qualification standards in their state of residence for the firearm they are carrying.

A number of questions are left unanswered by the LEOSA and are left to state officials to interpret and implement. For example, the LEOSA speaks of meeting a state firearms qualification standard. Some states have no state standards and those states leave firearms qualification standards to local agency discretion. There are no mandated procedures for qualification and identification documents for retired officers. Several states have taken affirmative action to fill the gaps left by the LEOSA and to facilitate its implementation. Other states have done little or nothing. Commonly asked questions include:
"I am a fully-sworn law enforcement officer with statutory law enforcement authority, but I work for a private university, or other non-governmental employer. Will I be able to carry under the provisions of the LEOSA?”

No. You must be an employee of a local, state or federal governmental agency to carry a firearm under the provisions of this legislation.

“My agency has a policy that does not allow me to carry my firearm while I am off-duty. Does this mean that this legislation will not affect me?”

If you are a qualified active law enforcement officer, you will legally be able to carry a firearm under the provisions of the LEOSA. There may be agencies which enforce or adopt policies, rules, regulations, or employment conditions which discourage or punish officers who choose to carry while off-duty, but such actions do not mean that the officer cannot carry under the provisions of the bill.

“I am a retired officer, how do I qualify to carry under the provisions of this bill?”

Retired officers must qualify at their own expense and, once they do, will be able to carry the firearm with which they have been qualified with under the provisions of the LEOSA. Each state may adopt different procedures. The state may issue retired officers who have qualified with their firearm a document certifying that the officer has met the state's requirements. Retired officers must carry this documentation in addition to their photographic identification.

“Does the LEOSA allow me to carry a firearm on an airplane?”

No. This legislation exempts qualified active and retired law enforcement officers from state and local laws regarding the carrying of concealed firearms, not federal laws. Carrying firearms on aircraft is regulated by other federal statutes and airline policy. There are other laws regulating carrying firearms on military bases, national parks, court houses, and post offices.

“I am a constable. Do I benefit from this law?”

Not unless employed by a state, city, or county law enforcement agency, and granted powers to investigate crimes and make arrests. A contractual relationship with a city or county is probably not sufficient to grant the protection of this law, but further study is needed on this issue.

“Could the state do nothing to implement the LEOSA, and not be in violation of federal law?”

Yes. An officer has no right to state-issued identification, state-administered qualification, or for the state to establish a qualification standard. Many agency legal advisors conclude that if the state does not have a firearms qualification standard, then no standard must be met. In other words, retired and active officers could carry weapons without meeting any standard. As for identification for retired officers, the federal law does not require that the identification be current, or show that the officer is actually retired. If a state does nothing, the likely legal result is that officers can still carry concealed weapons.

“Who will issue the required identification for retired officers?”

Some agencies already do so. The law does not contemplate that the state will issue identification; the state's role is to issue a ‘certificate’ of qualification if the agency from which the officer retired does not do so.

“Who will administer the qualification of retired officers?”

Unknown. Should it be the agency from which the retired officer resides? What about retired officers who move to Utah (a big issue in Florida!)? Should it be the state’s POST?

“Who will maintain qualification records for retired officers?”

Unknown. Aside from individual agencies, a state POST could easily create a system transforming officers’ training records into retired officers' records once an officer retires from an agency. This does not address the situation of officers who retire from one state and move to another state.

A clean-up bill is pending in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives. Senate Bill 376 and House Resolution 2726 would amend the LEOSA to clarify the concealed carry rights of retired law enforcement officers. The bills also clarifies that Amtrak Police Department officers and the executive branch of the Federal Government who are classified as a GS-0083 meet the definition of “qualified law enforcement officer” in the LEOSA. The Senate bill proposes that the aggregate years of service needed to meet the definition of "qualified retired law enforcement officer" would be reduced from fifteen to ten years and cleans up confusing language related to that definition.

December update

As we begin 2009 a look at December shows it was a busy month on many fronts: department activity, a new legislative session set to begin and the city begins to deal with the economic recession that is touching all of us.
First course of business is to congratulate two honorable men on recent appointments. Wade Hyslop on his swearing in as New London's newest mayor. With it he brings a wealth of legislative experience from both the State General Assembly where he was the former Deputy Majority Leader and prior city councilor.

State Representative Ernie Hewett (D) was selected Deputy Majority Leader for the 2009 Legislative Session and will be sworn in on January 7th. Ernie is Vice Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, Chair of the Appropriations Sub-Committee on Transportation and a member of The Labor and Public Employees Committee as well of The Public Safety Committee that are true and loyal friends to NLPD and especially Local 724. Congratulations Wade and Ernie!

Union leadership met with Council 15 to discuss our legislative agenda for the next Legislative Session in Hartford. With Connecticut facing a $350 million budget gap between now and June 30 the budget knife is slashing all types of programs.

A more pressing concern is the projected $6 billion budget deficit expected for the FY2009-2010 & 2010-2011 budget years. With such unprecedented numbers it is hard to envision any new legislation that will benefit our membership in the near future. Our best course of action is to maintain a vigil to keep and defend what we already have.

New London's budget is reliant on a steady stream of state and federal funding to maintain any sort of realistic operating budget, with those funds now in question the city has begun to scratch it's head on where it can save monies since the economic slow down makes raising taxes even harder to swallow. Most of the city expenses are labor costs and that may be where the city tries to save money.
That process has begun with a freeze on all new hires and now cuts to our overtime by implementing "Do Not Fill". The elimination of overtime may help the city budget but it has long been regarded as the glue which keeps us together. These leaner times will have an impact on our earning capacity and we should try and plan accordingly.

Local 724 is fortunate to have a long term contract in place which we hope will outlast this recession. Union leadership has heard from some interested persons looking for any ideas from all sides on ways to get through these tough times. Informal talks were used as a sounding board to see where everybody was on the issues. While some ideas were bantered about none were given much consideration at this time.

However, the most important thing we can say is that leadership has always tried to maintain an open dialog regardless of the issue so our membership is part of what is happening in real time rather than asking what happened after the fact. We will continue to be in front on this and related issues.

December 1st started off busy with a bank robbery at the Dime Bank. Officers were able to quickly establish a suspect and broadcast the suspect description and vehicle to surrounding agencies. With in 45 minutes of the robbery former NLPD alumni now CSP-"F" Troopers Darwin Garnett and Brian Fahey apprehended the suspect on I-95 in Madison. As a result of the quick apprehension our detectives were able to link the suspect to a prior New London bank robbery. Great work by all!

The promotional testing is over, congratulations to Matt Galante the newest detective! His promotion earns him a coveted coffee couch seat in Camp Delta with bankers hours and week ends off. His Ascension to the champagne suite has a positive trickle down effect since Matt's K9 "Ike" will be retiring from police service leaving a vacancy for a new K9 handler yet to be selected from an active K9 list. According to Sgt. Todd Bergeson the department hopes to get a new dog in early spring with plans to deploy the new K9 team on the road before early summer.

Officer Darren O'Mara gets the Tip o' the Hat this month for his actions when he responded to a man with a gun barricaded in his apartment on Hawthorne Drive. The despondent man was eventually convinced to exit his apartment that was surrounded by responding officers. O'Marra took a position alone in the rear yard when the suspect exited still clutching a black pistol. It took several tense commands from Darren before the man complied and dropped the weapon which was later determined to be a very realistic looking air gun, so real it had a Glock logo on the side of the slide. This potential suicide by cop was avoided by the cool actions of all the officers on scene and the extraordinary patience displayed by Darren to prevent a justifiable police shooting.



Speaking of politics no update provided on when lights or sirens will be installed in the CID fleet cars. Our membership delivered on it's promise that hiring more street cops would generate new levels of police activity and make the city safer from a year ago.
Listed below are the final numbers for 2008.

Out of curiosity the 2008 numbers were compared against 2006, 2005 The point being despite the claim we don't do enough, the numbers say it all We are doing exactly what we said we would do. The recent spike in violent crimes in Norwich and Groton is no accident, our street thugs and felons have moved out of New London due to our pro activity. Job well done everybody.

With 2009 under way let us hope we all find easier, better and smarter ways to be productive and responsible to the public we serve. Local 724 will continue to be out in front on issues important to our members. May the new year find us all safe, prosperous, healthy and wiser. Happy New Year!

Local 724 helps Joe Courtney roll to victory!
Party at the Radisson.

October Update

The month of October started off in high gear as Local 724 assisted AFL-CIO President John Olsen with a "Labor for Courtney" rally on October 7th outside the Garde Theater. Once again organized labor demonstrated that logistics, organizational skills and a can do attitude gave Joe Courtney the noticeable advantage. We were glad to assist.
On October 30th Local 724 will formally endorse the following candidates: US Representative Joe COURTNEY, State Senator Andrea STILLMAN, State Representatives Ernest HEWITT and Ted MOUKAWSHER. All have been friends and supporters of our membership in particular and on most important public safety and labor issues in general. We are proud to call them friends of this organization and strongly support and encourage our membership to make their votes count and re-elect these incumbents back to office.
It was especially encouraging to see our younger members of 724 taking an active role in these political rallies since these same members could one day be the next batch of union officers fighting for YOUR wages, benefits and working conditions. Remember politics is best defined as "Who gets what when" Local 724 continues to be out in front of putting our members concerns first on the city officials agenda, making things happen rather wondering what happened.
The following message was passed along by Council 15: November 4th is election day. Besides picking our next President of the United States there is an important question on the ballot this year which will have long term effects on your collective bargaining rights. Council 15 urges you to vote "No", in order to protect your wages, pension and future contracts. A proposal has been made to have a Constitutional Convention in Connecticut in order to open up questions of referendum and initiative to the voters. While this sounds like democracy in action, it is actually a scheme by anti-labor voices to eliminate contract arbitration, collective bargaining, and fair wages for public employees.

Advocates for the change believe that they will be able to put questions on the ballot which will ask voters to decide whether we should put a cap on property taxes, thus capping your wages and benefits; whether we should eliminate interest arbitration, thus turning your collective bargaining into collective begging; and whether we should eliminate collective bargaining rights as a whole for public employees.

Don’t be fooled by this scheme. Your wages and benefits are at risk. Do your own research. Massachusetts passed Proposition 2 ½ in 1981 by means of a state-wide referendum. The measure limited property tax increases to 2.5% per year. As a result there were thousands of layoffs and wages and benefits stagnated.

It could happen to us. Vote “NO” on the Constitutional Convention ballot question.

As we come to the end of October there has been a noticeable decline in violent crimes in the city. The combination of continuing to hire new police officers, new deployment strategies and our members hard work have made a positive impact.The city has become safer and many people feel safer which is attracting more people to visit, enjoy and consider future investment here in New London.

Credit is due in large part to the City Council, Marty Berliner and Chief Rinehart for taking the gloves off and vigorously finding the funding and supporting the influx of new blood into the police department and for that we are grateful. However, we must ensure the funding continues to support the police department or this early success will be fleeting.

For our part we stressed from the begriming that we could and would do more with more personnel and we believe we have lived up to our part of the deal. Below are the latest numbers on department activity as of 10/26/08.

However, there is frustration building with many who have worked long and hard through some difficult times with little recognition for some outstanding police work. Some will say we all took this job knowing what we got ourselves into and that is true. However, some of our members have performed exemplary police work under extraordinary conditions, whose hard work have fought back what was an alarming spike in violent crimes and produced a significant increase in departmental productivity evidenced by almost 110% increase with issued citations over last year is apparently not enough.
Some managers (we all know who they are) continue to cry out for more, more, more! More activity, more arrests, more citations, more field contacts, more productivity, more stats, more accountability, more oversight and more discipline thus more aggravation. This pattern of gluttony (wasn't that one of the seven deadly sins?) suggests that our hard work is only rewarded with criticism and more work causing an impossibility of trying to satisfy an unsatisfying appetite. Hint to management, leadership is leading from the front rather than from the safety and 20/20 hindsight from behind a desk on monday morning. Maybe if they were there with their troops in the trenches once and a while to see what we do they might have a different perspective on their subordinates.
We just received a copy of the OSS report which reviewed past and current police departmental operations, The information prepared by an independent group of objective outside law enforcement professionals whose findings confirms our long held beliefs in systemic organizational weaknesses, policy and procedures as well as deployment and infrastructure concerns.
Strangely, the report puts some of this blame directly on the union contract (a COLLECTIVE bargaining agreement between the city and union) as the root of some of these problems. OSS made many recommendations which included the city negotiate enhanced retirement benefits to union members as a way to make adjustments to work rules in the contract to enhance operational needs of the department. Hey, isn't that what Local 724 has been trying to do with the city for the last year with little to show for it?? If the city is serious maybe some real positive changes will come from these recommendations after all. We are preparing complete copies of the report and will be issuing each member their own copy of the report before any future public comments are made.
After six long months of hard work and preparation the big nite is upon us as we celebrate 140 years of NLPD! The party kicks off Thursday Oct 30 at 5:30 at the New London Radisson and set to run through 10 PM. Open bar, great menu, super entertainment with interesting raffle and silent auction items that should satisfy everybody!
This is a chance to let our hair down and enjoy a night celebrating our public service with ourselves and the community at large. Let's have a great time and perhaps even make a little money for the union.
We are excited to honor 9 NLPD officers who have served in in the armed forces during wartime service. They will be presented with CT Veterans War Time Service Medals by special guests Congressman Joe Courtney and Attorney General Richard Blumenthal who will also provide personal citations from his office for each recipient.
This will be the party everybody talks about, so make sure you are there to be a part of history. Everybody, police, fire, business, civic and business leaders and the public at large are invited! Tickets are $40 per person and available at the door. The Radisson has made special room rates available to all party attendees at $49 for the nite of Oct 30th. If you want a room, contact the Radisson at 443-7000 and book a room with the NLPD room rate for that nite. Hope to see everyone there!

Union also announces support for local delegation

New London, Connecticut (10/24/2008) – The New London Police Union will formally announce their endorsement of Representative Joe Courtney (D-CT) for a second term in the U.S. Congress on October 30, 2008 when NLPD celebrates it’s 140th Anniversary Celebration at the New London Radisson Hotel.

“Through his hard work and dedication to public safety and labor issues, Congressman Courtney has earned the respect and support of the second congressional district’s largest police union,” said Marshall “Chip” Segar, president of the New London Police Union.

The freshman congressman, a tireless advocate for men and women in uniform, received the Connecticut National Guard’s highest honor, the Meritorious Service Award, in recognition of his efforts.

“We are pleased to throw our support behind Congressman Courtney,” added Mr. Segar. “We believe he will continue to support not only our members, but all residents of southeast Connecticut.”

Locally, the NLPD has endorsed State Senator Andrea Stillman (D-Waterford), State Representative Ernest Hewitt (D-New London) and State Representative Ted Moukawsher (D-Groton).

“The tireless work of our local delegation has not gone un-noticed,” commented Mr. Segar. “Just like good friends, they have been there when we needed them, and we are proud to help them get re-elected to another term in office.”

Mr. Courtney and Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal will attend as honored guests to present nine active and retired NLPD officers with the Connecticut Veteran’s War Time Service Medal for those who served in the armed forces during times of war. The party is 5:30-10pm and the public is invited, tickets are $40 and available at the door the night of the event.

Rally Oct 7th
Photos by Marie Friess-McSparran

SEPTEMBER UPDATE

On Sunday September 7th we learned our own Patty Tidd was severely injured in an off- duty motorcycle accident. We are monitoring her situation with her family and city officials to ensure we can do everything possible in her families time of need. Her husband Cliff, a naval officer assigned in Cuba, was able to reunite with his family upon learning of the accident. After almost 10 days in the hospital she is home recovering.
Once again the hard work of organized labor and Local 724 proves it can get out the vote when issues are important to our membership. On September 9th the city budget referendum was handily defeated by a 2-1 margin! Perhaps the most important lesson learned will be from other city unions who are not as politically active as us. They saw first hand that attention to details, organizational mobilization and logistics make a difference in the outcome of any election. Special thanks to Scott Soars from AFSCME Council 4 who took on the cause full time and the Carpenters Union Local 24 who allowed use of their hall as a base of operations for the campaign.
News from city hall. As some of you may recall city manager Marty Berliner ordered a study of the police department from an outside consulting group (OSS) almost a year ago. That report has been published and submitted to Mr. Berliner. The union requested a copy of the report through Bernadette Welsh at a meeting with her on 9/10/08. We were told "he had just received the report and was still going through it". Ok... But the report is public information and the union wants a full and complete copy of the report to include it's findings and recommendations. We will keep you updated on this request.
Members of the department along with FDNL paid tribute to all the 9/11 victims with a formal ceremony held at Fire Headquarters on 9/11/08 marking the 7th anniversary of that horrible day. A total of 2,999 people lost their lives while 6,291 were injured in NYC, Arlington and Shanksville PA. Included among the dead from WTC were 343 FDNY, 23 NYPD and 37 PAPD officers. WE WILL NEVER FORGET!

On September 12th FDNL and NLPD hosted the 7th annual Juliana McCourt Foundation benefit softball game. The teams and crowds arrived only to have the game called by the 4th batter due to the heavy rains. All was not lost since the foundation made money and the after party was full of good spirit and good cheer for all those who participated.
New Haven PD was shocked by the tragic death of Sgt Dario "Scott" Aponte a 17-year veteran who was killed in a departmental accident when his cruiser collided with another cruiser while responding to a violent domestic in progress call. His funeral held on an overcast and rainy Saturday morning of 9/13/08 brought over 1,000 brother and sister officers from around the state to honor him at his funeral. He leaves behind his wife Donna also a NHPD officer and young family. Unfortunately fellow NHPD Officer Diane Gonzalez also involved in this accident remains extremely critical on life support at Yale New Haven Hospital. Our thoughts and prayers go out to both families as well as NHPD.
September 20th Congressman Joe Courtney held a press conference at NLPD announcing he had secured $225,000 COPS funding for NLPD. New London was one of only sixty municipalities nationwide that qualified for these funds. Chief Rinehart said this funding will allow us to hire at least one and as many as three new officers. The union has proved that we can do more with more and looks forward to more officers on the street

.

Speaking of productivity the September numbers are in.

Productivity numbers are those available on 9/22/08. Nice Work EVERYBODY 2007

The political season is in full swing as the League of Woman Voters and Channel 8 host questioning of the candidates seeking the Second District seat in the U.S. House of Representatives at the Garde Arts Center on October 7, 2008. Representative Joe Courtney's campaign has asked Local 724 to help produce a political rally for Joe prior to the debate outside on State Street. Therefore I ask that all off duty members, their families and friends please attend the rally to show support for Joe Courtney. Expected to run from 5:30-6:45 PM. Hanafin's Irish Pub will host the official after party.
Speaking of parties, we are getting close to the big day when we host the 140th anniversary bash. Posters are being produced and will start showing up around the first week in October. We will extend invitations to all city employees as well as the courts and area police departments. The public is invited and welcome!

On Oct 1 tickets will be available from any Executive Board member, Hanafins and at the door the night of the event. We expect a great time. For our members this is a time to celebrate our history and our future and a chance to meet many former officers who have been invited back to join in the celebration. We also have some great auction items as well as Stenier Sports Memorabilia offering many items of interest for just about every sports fan. Save the date.....Thursday October 30 5:30-10:00 Radisson Hotel $40 pp

AUGUST UPDATE

August 08 Update September is already upon us and begs the question, where did the summer go? While many of our members enjoyed much deserved vacations Local 724 was in overdrive with several important issues in front of us.
The city budget referendum vote is scheduled for September 9, 2008. We have joined forces with all other city unions to organize a get out the vote campaign to support the current city budget by VOTE YES for New London! All of our membership who live in New London and/or have family and friends living in the city that are registered voters are urged to make their voice heard and vote YES New London to support the already in place city budget!

We must not let a small, vocal minority of anti-budget protestors cut the budget and resulting city services. The current municipal budget resulted in a .72 mill increase which translates in an average taxpayer increase of $144. This increase represents reasonable spending, especially in light of a weak dollar, needed capital for infrastructure, and skyrocketing energy costs. Year after year of zero spending budgets didn't work.Former city manager Richard Brown left the city in shambles after multiple years of city budget cutting. Rather than focus on the dollar increase this revolt group would do well to focus on how well their money is spent.

Just look around and judge for yourself. There are more police doing an outstanding job of taking back the streets from the thugs and drug dealers with a commitment to make this a better city to live, work and play. We have over 30 new and energetic officers on the street. The new PD slogan is we are doing more with more. We are on course to have record setting (and mainly proactive) police activity numbers in 2008. Public works is working with due diligence to make the city noticeably cleaner and have been much more responsive to resident concerns. The fire department has hired several new fire fighters, purchased new ambulances and aerial ladder truck to provide the best fire protection in the region. These things just don't happen they cost money. We believe these results are indicative of money well spent.

Anyone who continually expects zero increase city budgeting year after year is being selfish and short sighted, the city needs to responsibly spend taxpayer money to turn the city around. These positive changes are happening right in front of us due in large part to adequate municipal funding. Show your support and invest in the future of the city... VOTE YES for New London.

Speaking of police productivity the latest numbers are in as of 8/25/08.

Fall is upon us which means election time is just around the corner. Two Local 724 friends need our help. Incumbents Senator Andrea Stillman and Representative Ernie Hewitt are up for re-election. The New London Police Union once again strongly endorse and support both of them for their respective seats. Both need campaign donations to qualify for public campaign monies. To accomplish this they need to pass a threshold on the number of eligible donors from their districts and reach specific dollar amounts to qualify for public campaign money. For this reason we have donating forms for both candidates and urge everyone to take a minute and help them out. Andrea and Ernie have always been there for us and both Chair and sit on important legislative committees. Lets put them both back in Hartford this fall. See Chip Segar for campaign donor forms.

Important dates to remember: September 11, 2008 11a.m. NLPD will join with FDNL to pay tribute to all the victims of the World Trade Center with a ceremony at Fire Headquarters. Any member who wants to participate in the PD honor guard is asked to contact Bill Edwards, refreshments will follow the ceremony at FDHQ. WE WILL NEVER FORGET!

September 12, 8p.m.at Waterford's Memorial Field, under the lights!. The Finest (cops) play the Bravest (firefighters) for our annual charity softball game benefiting the Julianna McCourt Education Foundation. As we all remember 4-year-old Juliana and her mother died on 9/11/01 when they were traveling from Boston to Los Angeles to visit Disneyland on American Airline Flight 11 when their plane was hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center. We are dedicated to keeping their memories alive. Show your support and stop by the game. CSP's "Trooper 1" helicopter is scheduled to do a flyover during the National Anthem. Local 724 was again on the move when the bat signal went up.

This time to Bridgeport PD where we supported our Bridgeport brothers and sisters of Local 1159. BPD was protesting Democratic Bpt Mayor Bill Finch's first and last proposal of zero salary increases for their next contract and significant benefit concessions and then walked away from the bargaining table. This from a newly elected mayor who campaigned as looking out for the working family. His refusal to negotiate with them, brought 100 angry cops protesting his "Mayor's Cup" charity golf tournament where they demanded he speak to them. It is safe to say the mayor heard them! Local 1159 showed their class when they donated $400 towards the charity before leaving the golf course. Solidarity will always pay dividends. Sad news to report: New Haven Police Union Local 530, President Louis Cavaliered (the absolute godfather of running an effective police union and a friend to NLPU) suffered a tragic loss on 8/17/08 with the death of his wife Lorraine after 42 years of marriage. We offer our prayers and condolences to the entire Cavaliered family.
Item last: Only 2 months to party time! The plans are coming together for the 140th anniversary party and silent auction. As many of you know part of the program will feature the presenting CT Wartime Service Medals to our current members and retirees who served in the armed forces during declared wartime. We have extended invitations to several dignitaries to present these awards schedule permitting. As of 8/28 Attorney General Richard Blumenthal has confirmed he will attend. We have booked a favorite local r&b band "Mind, Body & Soul" for entertainment. We have been extremely busy soliciting support from many businesses for silent auction items to ensure a great time is had by all and we even raise some much needed capital to continue to help our members as well as the many community and civic organizations who have come to rely on us for their support.
Please make a habit to check our 140th celebration web page as we continually update with business sponsors and donors who are ensuing this historic event is a success. I ask every member, family and friend to support those businesses who have supported us. We are grateful for their support.

July 08 UPDATE

Hard to believe summer just started and it's already half over. The invigorated staff levels of NLPD continue to prove WE CAN DO MORE WITH MORE. The latest numbers are in! Last year (2007) we issued 3662 summons' and citations and generated 5342 Incident reports. That was a monthly average of 305 summons and 445 incident reports respectively. Year to date our hard working members have issued in just 7 months 4523 summons' and generated 3421 Incident reports! That monthly average is 646 summons' and 488 Incident Reports! Your hard work is noticed by the public and city council and you are all to be commended for outstanding work and diligence to make New London a better city to work live and play in.

However, we must continue our vigilance to protect the hard earned positions, salary and benefits we have worked hard to enjoy. This will be challenged by the budget referendum vote set for September 9. 2008. A small but vocal minority of voters are convinced the city budget for FY 08-09 is fat and demand it be cut. The actual budget increase is .72 mills over last year. That translates into approximately $900,000 or about $140 tax increase for the average taxpayer. If the VOTE NO group is successful and demands the budget be cut to zero increase. Councilor Buscetto stated he intends to make up the $900,000 budget cut by slashing $450,000 from the Board of Education and $450,000 from the city government side of the budget. A cut from the city side of the budget will mean the loss of funded positions and some actual employees.

Local 724 is fine tuning it's powerful little engine that CAN as it prepares to support the current city budget with VOTE YES NEW LONDON campaign to defeat the referendum challenge. We have joined forces with the democratic councilors as well as the city's organized labor groups (except the teachers union which is strangely absent from this fight). to ensure this is a resounding victory to keep the current budget intact. We have organizational meetings underway to ensure all our city resident members, family, friends and associates are registered to vote and are educated on the issues and make sure we can get out the vote. Additionally we need to place lawn signs, have our people work the polls on Sept 9th to get out the vote and other duties. If each member could donate just one hour of time between now and the vote day we will make a dramatic difference.

I urge all new NLPD members who live in the city are registered voters. More information will follow soon on this important issue that will have potential lasting effects on current staff levels, promotional opportunities and new hires for the department. Another Sailfest is behind us. This years follies left us tired and a little banged up from the number of fights throughout "The District" Saturday's fireworks extravaganza night. It continues to beg the question "Why do we still allow this to happen every year and expect a different outcome? Hats off to our guys who did another fantastic job. Also a round of applause for the mutual aid help from CSP, Norwich, Clinton, Montville and UConn. We just can't do the event by ourselves anymore and appreciate the help our fellow agencies provide.

The 140th Anniversary Celebration and Silent Auction is slowly starting to come together with generous help from business and civic leaders who are and have provided sponsorship, advertising and in kind donations for silent auction items. We are trying to obtain unique and distinctive items for the auction. If anyone has any ideas or contacts please pass them along to me or any other party organizer. I humbly remind all members and their families to remember and in particular support the businesses that supported us. Likewise while supporting these fine businesses remind them and say thank you for supporting us. The interest surrounding the party is picking up with many questions about obtaining tickets before they are sold out.

I would recommend our members prepare now and obtain their tickets from myself, Roger Baker, Chip or Rich Cable now before we sell out. I think it's important that NLPD have first chance at tickets and it would be a shame to have waited and loose the chance at a ticket since this is bigger than we have ever done before. Dr's. Summeroff and Winteroff will make themselves available for those with scheduling conflicts.

April 08

Another month has passed with all cylinders firing as we monitor issues on many fronts. Our hard work and due diligence continues to pay us back.

Negotiations continue (albeit slowly but deliberately) to reach our objective of retiree medical benefits. We await results of a city actuarial study on fiscal feasibility. In the mean time we have been able to close out several lingering grievances and reached tentative agreements on Random Drug Policy, Updated Employee Evaluation Guidelines and Procedures, and deployment of a departmental drug dog named "Kilo" who is already at work on the street.

The city budget for FY08-09 has been carved out with both Republican and Democrats in agreement on next years spending package. While the police department's initial proposal of 11 new sworn positions was ambitious (but none the less needed) it was pared down to four. We will be minting two new Sergeants sometime after July 1 as well as adding a new Patrol Officer and a Civilian Community Resource Officer to be assigned to the NIPIT Team. The new city budget results in .8% mill increase. It is unknown at this time if any special interest taxpayer groups will seek a referendum contesting the proposed budget.

However the union believes the taxpayers should not be so quick to refuse to spend any money rather examine how wisely the city is spending it's tax dollars. Case in point, Since the bulk of new police officers have hit the streets our union members have made a commitment to take back the streets from the drug dealers, street punks and criminals and give the citizens a chance to have some peace and quiet. Your efforts are indeed paying off.

While some supervisor(s) have an developed an insatiable appetite for never ending productivity that has given rise to the phrase "More burgers, More burgers!" They fail to take a step back and say thanks for all your hard earned efforts. Local 724 does realize those efforts and wants to share them with you.

As of 4/30/08, since January 1 the department has issued 2650 citations. For all of 2007 the department issued a total of 3363. That represents a year to date increase of 238%! Let me say that again 238% INCREASE! Likewise 2007 generated 5340 Incident Reports while year to date we are at 1859. That number represents another 4.25% increase over last year at this same time. You should all be commended for your collective efforts and it is not unnoticed by your union executive officers. Congratulations for a job well done!

On the legislative front, Comptroller Nancy Wyman has introduced a Mega MEHIP health benefits program for all municipalities as a cost savings measure against spiraling health care costs. As you may recall Local 724 has been in talks with Nancy for several years on this very issue. City executives from around the state have finally taken interest and may result in some positive changes for both labor and management. While the proposal is a work in progress very preliminary information might show similar benefits we now enjoy with lower annual premiums for the city and ultimately lower cost sharing for our members. Our concerns are and will remain that any change in health care providers results in benefits that are substantially the same or better to what we have now.

Local 724 along with Council 15 continue to maintain a dialog with our state representatives on legislation that effects our membership. Two bills of interest that we continue to follow is HB-5269 regarding Workman's Compensation that allows police and fire officers hired after 1996 to have heart and hypertension and protection from some communicable diseases. The bill passed the House 135-16 and was forwarded to the Senate.

Another important Bill is the much debated and multiple versions of a three strikes law where dangerous multiple felony offenders are finally locked up once and for all. Obviously we the police know better than almost everybody that there is no place in society for violent repeat felons. Likewise the citizens of New London and city council have made it clear they are tired of the recent rampant crime wave that has taken hold in the city and want to restore law and order. We pledge to continue our discussions with elected officials and remind them their constituents want them to support meaningful legislation that indeed will lock up the worst of the worst in our society.

All members are invited and encouraged to stand down for a night and celebrate your hard work at Louie's Restaurant for the Local 724 Cinquo de Mayo Party Tuesday March 6 1900-2200. As many of you may know we conclude our recent fundraiser at the party when we raffle off a framed US flag signed by the entire 1980 US Olympic Men' s Hockey Team. Included is a photo of the historic winning moment signed by ABC announcer Al Michaels with his famous phrase "Do you believe in miracles!" plus a certificate of authenticity. Raffle tickets are still available at the party for $20 each . Support the men and women police and buy a chance to possess a genuine piece of history.

MARCH UPDATE

The month of March where spring is eternal closes out more like a lion than a lamb. The leadership was able to reach a tentative agreements with the city on random drug testing policy, and the implementation of a drug dog. We continue talks with the city for medical benefits upon retirement. The issues on the table are many which will require give and take by both sides but will ultimately be decided upon by costs.

Our position is simple, we need to make NLPD competitive with salary and benefits if we are to remain successful with recruitment and retention. We are fortunate of all the new hires in the last 18 months, but the shortage of qualified candidates is real and we will loose our gains if we can't make our salary and benefits competitive with the state and local agencies fighting over the same small pool of applicants.

Let me take a moment to say thank you to the many faces that make up NLPD. Unfortunately official departmental recognition is an oxymoron, so the great work of our membership goes largely unnoticed. After all it was 17 years after Hurricane Gloria (1985) before recognition was presented to those still with the department!

First and foremost as many of the new hires are beginning to hit the streets, we have more boots on the ground aggressively targeting the drug dealers and associated criminal elements with early success.

The Anti Violence Team has become the pit bull of the department taking back the streets every night. Their daily results are notable felony drug arrests, serving multiple outstanding arrest warrants and just making it difficult for the street level drug dealers to conduct business .

Similarly the detectives have been working hard on many violent crimes that have led to several high profile arrests for homicide, robbery and assaults with firearms. Likewise the Vice investigators along with SNTF and ATF have made some significant arrests and seizures of drugs and weapons.

Last but not least is the Patrol Division, the flat foots are the backbone of the agency yet more often than not seem to be treated like the doormat. 24/7 365 patrol officers keep the vigil on crime in the city. With the much needed infusing of new officers we can see the beginning of a new era, where the punks, thugs and drug dealers are begriming to look over their shoulder all the time because Five O is stopping everybody out there.

As some may recall, it was a regular road trooper that stopped federal building bomber Tim McVeigh on a routine traffic stop. A rookie Customs and Immigration Officer with three weeks on the job stopped a terrorist trying to enter the US from Canada who was planning on blowing up LAX. So while patrol may be thought of as the grunts of the food chain, time and again patrol has made significant arrests. Most recently where a domestic violence call on Hawthorne Drive resulted in seizing 4 lbs of marijuana, 2 handguns and $8,000 and taking another thug off the New London streets. So to all the members of Local 724 this Bud is for YOU!

With the budget season upon us, we once again have to fight for limited funding. Fortunately this city council has made the decision that of New London is to prosper it needs to be safe. For their parts they came back with fair wages in our recent contract and we have hired more officers in the last 18 months than we have hired in 14 years. I commend the city council and the city manager for being our advocate.

The Chief has submitted an ambitious budget that includes additional staffing of patrol officers, detectives, supervisors and Deputy Chief. This proposal if adopted will allow for more police personnel to be deployed to the streets where more initiatives can be implemented to fight crime and give back the neighborhoods to the residents.

Councilor Buscetto is right when he made public safety his top priority by saying if the city isn't safe than New London can't prosper. All members are asked to support the Chief's proposal. You can do your part by you, your friends and family contacting the councilors and let them know you want the police budget approved.

FEBRUARY BEGINS WITH MANY ISSUES ON THE TABLE

As we enter mid winter and spring right around the corner it is time to update you on Local 724's progress operating on many fronts.

First, a follow up on pending legislation. As you will recall from my September 07 posting the 110th Congress has pending legislation from House Bill 82 and Senate Bill 206 both entitled Social Security Act of 2007 seeking repeal of Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) where the government takes your money away from you because as a government pensioner who contributed both your pension plus social security but claim you are not entitled to benefit from two pensions, unless you work for a private employer. The aforementioned bills would repeal such penalties to us as pensioners and allow us to be treated like everybody else.

An inquiry was made to Council 15 Legislative Affairs Director Tom Carrozza who contacted AFSCME International in Washington for an update.

The House Ways and Means Committee took testimony this past January on overview of the problems and potential future costs to reverse the provisions. Accordingly there have been other bills offering less expensive options including H.B. 726, 1090 and 2772 that offer improvements to the pensioner at less costs to the government. To date no votes have been taken and the bills are still active in committee. I will keep everyone updated as information becomes available.

President Segar has maintained a continuing dialog with representatives from Comptroller Nancy Wyman's office regarding new legislative action for improvements in the Municipal Employee Retirement System (MERS).

After many months of talks with members of International Brotherhood of Police Officers (IBPO) and International Association of Fire Fighters the concept agreed upon remains improvements that will all MERS cities and towns to compete with state public safety workers with similar percentages of salary upon 25 years of completed service that will improve recruitment and retention of public safety municipal employees. The goal is to introduce legislation in this session of the General Assembly scheduled to begin February 6, 2008.

Once we have an idea of the Bill provisions and if or when it is introduced we will advise members to make themselves available for for a possible field trip to the Legislative Office Building as well as contacting our respective Representatives and Senators seeking for our legislative support.

Medical benefits upon retirement is another hot button topic in the PD hallways. We have started discussions with the city and have several schedule future dates on the agenda. It is our hope and intent to work for a fair proposal that will ensure the welfare of our members and their families that we can bring back to the membership. We will talk as long as necessary to find a solution.

724 is also working on enacting a random drug test policy with City Hall. Obviously the citizens have the right to expect any city employee, especially police are free of illicit drugs. We have no reason to believe any members are using illicit drugs but we want to ensure the rights of the membership on any implementation of new protocols, ensure privacy and a standard of fairness are included in any settlement. The end result will be a fair and workable policy that protects the city, its residents and it's employees from drug abuse.

Congratulations are in order to newly minted Captain Peg Ackley, Lt. Jeff Kalolo and Sgt George Potts. It is always exciting to see upward movement in the department. In fact City Council is reviewing a request creating two new Sgt positions for the next fiscal year. The union recognizes the need for more supervision and supports the proposal welcomes the initiative as we begin to bring the department in a new and better direction. To our city residents who regularly read our updates, please show your support to the councilors and encourage them to create these needed positions.

As this update is being written on 2/1/08 we have sworn in yet another three new officers, bringing the total officers to 85. Remember many of these men and women are either just starting, currently attending, about to graduate the academy or in some phase of supervised field training. Still it is exciting to see the future of NLPD being created in front of us.

The year in review 2007

As the final days of 2007 are upon us I thought it would be fun to look back at the issues we faced over the last year. Here are some highlights in no particular order

City Manager Marty Berliner has completed his first full ca lender year and adjusted well. He brings a welcomed attitude and willingness to address many labor issues and city failings on many problems. We settled a good contract that gave us much needed raises allowing us to attracts and retain officers. But there was that one sticky problem with private eyes watching you, that chapter remains a work in progress. More to follow

Staffing shortages was the most critical problem we faced this past year. NLPD said good bye to retirees Garcia, DiNoto, Hesney, Persi, Nott, Edwards, Hedge and Meehan while the "Fab 4" jumped ship to join CSP. At the same time we hired 18 FNG's all wide eyed and wonderful waiting to save the world with their shiny new badges.

In between the hiring and retiring all the regular grunts in patrol worked alot of hours many forced to keep the department running. No mention of the years activities could be complete without thanking everybody who had to work missing so many hours away from family and friends for the sake of the city. Thank You!

Which brings up the lack of FTO's. Too many newbies and too few FTO's left many a rookie warming a seat in dispatch or the shift commanders office for too many shifts. Speaking of FNG's it was nice to steal from CSP when we hired Todd Lynch! He seems to have "embraced the chaos" with few problems. Now tell me again... when does the dog start? Welcome aboard Todd.

Segar was named Labor Leader of the Year by Council 15, Rodgers accepted Detective MVP, Officer of the Year was an interesting turn of events but no less deserving to Cucuro, while the badge #1 idea was not ready for prime time.

City elections went better than expected with 6 of 7 endorsed candidates picking up council seats and the mayor. Union elections were exciting resulting in a run off where Flynn won by a hair. Departing Executive Board members Cable and Pickett were thanked and honored for their work and contributions while Laurie and Potts joined the team.

Promotion issues started and ended the year with controversy. In January the city extended the certified Sgt and Lt promotional list, Union had other ideas and threw out the lists. New lists offered Barney and Bergeson new stripes while Kalolo waits patiently for bars. Which leads up to the Captain's test. After protracted talks that ebbed and flowed from our esteemed Personnel Coordinator finally resulted in a settlement and promotional captain's test. The release of those results have been slowed to a standstill causing unneeded speculation of city hall interference is in play.

Velez wrecked only three cars this year while the city replaced our aging and miserable fleet with 9 new cruisers. Unprecedented! Another year or two and we could actually have a pretty nice fleet of cars to overfill the too small parking lot. If ever there is a photo op of what grid lock is any one with a camera between 1300-1600 hours need look no further than the parking lot. I never thought so many cars could fit in such a small space.

Speaking of travel Segar and Flynn attended the first national AFSCME law enforcement conference in DC while other E Board members attend the annual AFCME convention in Atlantic City.

Our charitable efforts continued at Dodd Stadium in August where the cops played the hose heads for the annual McCourt Foundation. Thanksgiving allowed Cable and Keating to once again with the help of Shop Rite pack the paddy wagon for the community food pantry. Christmas season we joined forces with Joni Discordia to provide gift cards to deserving families provided by neighborhood alliance.

Many visitors came to New London this year, none more important than the President who gave commencement at USCGA. His visit was especially tense this year with the war in Iraq encouraging quite a few diverse groups of protesters. Once again NLPD along with CSP kept things quiet. A big thank you to CSP Major Steve Fields who coordinated with Chief Rinehart to ensure adequate staffing was the order of the day.

Perhaps the most memorable expression on the skirmish line of opposing protesters along Mohegan Ave were the Veterans supporting Bush who exchanged taunts with Code Pink anti war protesters..."Ladies take off your tops for Peace"

Cruise Lines discovered New London this year bringing in many a new face to discover the city. SailFest once again took the city hostage for three days in July which begs the question just how many people can fit in the city for fireworks night? Speaking of fireworks the parking lot bomb threat resulted in unprecedented cooperation from the FBI and CSP. Our position .. Thanks for the help!

The fall brought the return of Irish festival and the Currach races, once again those stinking big hats stole the race from us. Maybe next year will be our year.

No look back can be complete without a look ahead. Local 724 will continue to ensure we provide a good working contract as we seek two significant benefit improvements, medical insurance for retirees and increased percentage in retirement calculations. 2008 will no doubt bring new challenges which we will try to turn into opportunities to make our members, this agency and city the best we can be. Happy New Year

Local 724 Keeps All Cylinders Firing 12/1/07

The police union continues making forward progress on many fronts!

The promotional exam for Police Captain has been posted with the test scheduled for 12/17/07. This position has been vacant since Ken Edwards retired in July. Since that time the Patrol Division has suffered from a lack of direction and leadership. Good Luck to the Applicants!

The leadership has started negotiations with the city for retirement health care benefits. With ongoing discussions between both sides this will not be the forum for details of the process. We look forward to productive talks and a win/win outcome for both sides

On the MERF improvement political front, we have had several meetings with a number of people including representatives from IBPO, AFSCME and IAFF to narrow down what specific issues all parties will agree is important to their members. Follow up with staffers from the Comptrollers office is in the works to find workable language and fact find cost benefits analysis. Our goal is and remains to submit a good passable Bill in the next legislative session set to begin 2/6/07.

Good news from city hall this week announcing Kevin Cavanagh as the next mayor and Wade Hyslop as Deputy Mayor. Both are knowledgeable, experienced with demonstrated political experience that have a genuine desire to make New London a great city.

More importantly that are solid Local 724 supporters who have always given us a fair shake on our issues before them. Both will be sworn in Monday 12/3/07 at city hall. Mayor Cavanagh, his family and friends will be at Hanafin's Pub 310 State Street Monday night for a pint or two to celebrate the new lineup at city hall. Please stop by and say hello.

Lastly and most closest to home, Monday 12/3/07 724 has an election run off between Rob Pickett and myself for the contested executive board seat. On the positive side both candidates bring knowledge and experience to the table. Fortunately the membership will benefit regardless of who wins. Regrettably only one will remain on the EBoard following the election. After Monday's vote count please congratulate the winner on his victory and even more importantly take a moment to thank defeated candidate since both have worked equally hard to make this union the best it can be.

Six of Unions endorsed candidate win!

Thanks 724 for voting!

11-8-07
New London Police Union once again demonstrates we are the "little engine that could" does it again as six of our seven endorsed candidates win a city council seat!

Local 724 members were working the phones at democratic headquarters along side our FDNL brothers. Our homework paid off and we can let our hair down and celebrate the hard fought win.

As we prepare for the next two years we look forward to work closely with the council to endure better working conditions for our members and delivering the best police service possible to residents and visitors to the whaling city.

We also want to congratulate councilor Adam Sprecace on his election victory. While he was not endorsed by us. He is a smart and capable gentleman who provides a new perspective with fresh ideas and we look forward to working with him as well. Congratulations Councilor Sprecace!

A note of thanks is in order for outgoing councilors Bill Cornish and Charles Frink. While we may have had our political differences, they are admirable men with a history of public service who supported our current contract. Best of luck to both of them in their future endeavors.

We are eager to work with City Manager Marty Berliner and the new councilors to help make the city the best it can be.

Just a few words about the city council candidate interviews held on October 3, 2007. Our executive board invited every registered candidate to the event. For those that did not show they were eliminated from further consideration. The remainder were asked a series of fair and pointed questions on the state of the city and what visions and plans they had to improve the city over the next two years. From the answers provided we were able to make an informed decision on which candidates we believe are the best to guide the city through the next council session.

Local 724 heartily endorsed the listed candidates. All have public service backgrounds with insight and knowledge of how the city works and how to maximize it's potential in the next few years.

It is for this reason we ask that you become informed on the issues facing the city and the candidates running for council. We believe that the slate of candidates endorsed are the best ready to serve the citizens of New London and encourage you to get out the vote this election day and vote for our candidates.

This election day please vote for : Peg Curtin (D), Wade Hyslop (D), Kevin Cavanagh (D), Tim West (D), John Maynard (D). Mike Buscetto III (D) and Rob Pero (R).

If you have the time or resources please consider donating campaign money to the candidates to defer campaign costs, volunteer at the party headquarters a few hours a week making calls or preparing literature, help on election day holding candidate signs at the polls o by helping your neighbors by offering rides to the polls. Every little bit helps. Together we can make a better New London.

VOTE This election day.

Local 724 Interviews 2007 Candidates for City Council.

REPORT - AFSCME L.E. Conference

President Segar and yours truly just returned from the 1st annual AFSCME Public Safety Officers Conference held in Washington where over 500 officers from around the country lobbied for legislation that impacts directly on police officers.

The three main issues of interest with the 110th Congress are:
Collective Bargaining Rights for Public Safety Officers
Law Enforcement Due Process Rights
Government Pension Offset and Windfall Elimination Provision
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING: The House passed H.R. 980 on 7/17/07 and a Senate companion bill S. 206 will soon be introduced in the Senate. The legislation establishes minimum standards which state laws must meet and provides a mechanism for resolving impasse in states without such laws. We in Connecticut are fortunate to already have these protections but may officers in the south and west don't have any of these protections.

DUE PROCESS RIGHTS FOR POLICE: The state and Local Law Enforcement Discipline Accountability and Due Process Act of 2007 (S.449) and the companion bill (H.R. 688) provides for practical, sensible and respectful guidelines which will ensure rights of officers are protected while also providing for a full investigation of the alleged misconduct. Such guidelines will ensure fair and professional examination and unbiased review of internal and criminal investigations against sworn officers.

PENSION OFFSETS: The Government Pension Offset (GPO) and the Windfall Elimination Provisions (WEP) of the Social Security Act unfairly punish public safety personnel by taking away Social Security benefits earned and paid for by certain public employees including police officers. Under the GPO, if the public pensioner (you) is eligible for spouse or widow's Social Security benefit, the law requires that benefits be offset by the amount equal to 2/3 of a retiree' public pension. The law when enacted years ago targeted persons who had double and triple pensions sometimes making more in pensions than when working that Congress had in mind when the GPO was passed is no longer valid and the GPO is too harsh on public pensioners.

The WEP applies to individuals who receive a pension from a public service job not covered by Social Security (NLPD). If the public pensioner also worked in a Social Security job for at least 10 years, the WEP creates a public pension offset that can greatly reduce the person's Social Security benefits. Social Security wont let a pensioner keep two full benefits. Normal benefit's formula which is weighed in favor of lower-wage workers, WEP retiree's benefits are calculated using a modified formula for higher wage earners. The WEP was created in 1983 by Congress to distinguish between two types of retirees-those who receive good pensions from primary jobs in non covered employment, but whose low wages or short work records from secondary jobs make them appear to have had low wage careers; and others who actually spent their entire lives in low wage jobs. Supports of WEP believed that those with secondary jobs were getting an unfair advantage from a Social Security formula designed to give low wage workers a decent income upon retirement. However, the Social Security Administration does not determine what a public employee has hearkened in total wages but treats the retiree as a high wage earner under WEP thus unfairly penalizing these public pensioners. Simply put we want to see participants be entitled to the full benefits they earned and deserve.


Local 724 and other Council 15 delegates went to lobby some of the Connecticut congressional delegation. Both Senators Dodd and Lieberman did not make themselves available granting access to staffers instead. Representatives Murphy and Courtney were found passing in the Cannon House Office Building hallways and were not available for a meeting. Representative Delauro did meet her 3rd Congressional District constituents in her office. Representative Delauro has a strong history of being open and friendly with law enforcement. Both she and Representative Chris Murphy graciously made an appearance at the AFSCME Congressional Reception. The Senators as well as Representatives Larson and Courtney were not in attendance.

Overall the DC trip was a good experience for Local 724 and Council 15. AFSCME will press to see these Bills pass both chambers and try to enact them into law in this session.

CITY ELECTIONS: Again this election season Local 724 will host a question and answer session with candidates for city council. A firm date will be announced soon.

Summer Slows Down as Union Speeds Up

Mid August and most members are returning from their respective well earned vacations. September approaches with Local 724 involved in many events.

August 25th members are encouraged to support the union by helping cook and sell burgers or our T shirts at this years Celts and currachs boat race at City Pier and in Irish festival on upper State Street 10-6PM. Net proceeds go directly to the union.

August 29 New London's Finest (NLPD) vs. New London's Bravest (FDNL) at the annual Juliana McCourt Charity Softball Game held at Dodds Stadium at 3PM. Juliana was killed on 9/11 at the World Trade Center, each year monies raised benefits a non profit foundation in her memory. Everyone is encouraged to attend.

September 5-7 President Segar and yours truly are off to Washington DC for the first annual AFL-CIO National Law Enforcement Conference. Included will be a meeting with some of Connecticut's Congressional leaders. We hope to strengthen our existing relationships and create new friendships while in our nation's capitol.

This year will also be municipal elections. The union will once again conduct city council candidate interviews with the intent of endorsing a slate of candidates. As many will recall from recent elections Local 724 is a proven political ally and voracious campaign engine when engaged.

Issues important to our members include:

- Continue to fund and hire new officers to reach authorized
strength
- Ensure administration continues to hire for shift vacancies
- Obtain medical benefits upon retirement
- Replace aging police vehicles
- Expand Tazer implementation to field officers
- Implement patrol rifle training and deploy weapons

724 looks forward to the next few months with an eye on the future, always focused on good working relationships and better working conditions for it's membership.

Contract Signed, Money on the Way!
SAILFEST 07 is in the can

Today we bear the fruits of our hard labors! The contract is signed, new raises are in effect and signing bonus checks are on the way. Congratulations to the negotiation team. The success of the Local 724 has been the result of small efforts repeated day in and day out.

Another SAILFEST is now behind us. In the end the administration sought out a collaborative effort and incorporated some new ideas on deployment. Chief Rinehart empowered Captain Mike Lacey to ensure the event was safe for everyone. Frankly this event is so big we can no longer handle it with out mutual aid, these new ideas proved that working as a team we can achieve great things.

A big thank you and round of applause to all the federal, state and local police agencies who helped make SAILFEST a safe and relatively quiet weekend. A special word of thanks to FBI-New Haven for their Homeland Security resources and CSP Major Steve Fields who was able to provide over 30 additional troopers and assets on fireworks nite.

The city too gets a big thank you, City Manager Marty Berliner ensured fresh food and plenty of cool drinks for all on duty personnel were available throughout the weekend. It was greatly appreciated.

Local 724 once again hosted a post fireworks cookout at the "Winthrop Grill" for all public safety personnel who worked the event. Just a small token of our appreciation to all who helped us.

THANK YOU!

No Rest for 724 Members During Summer Months
June 23, 2007

Local 724 has all cylinders firing as we head into the summer. The contract committee is finalizing contract language on a long over due update of our contract with all our prior agreements properly codified.

The work is slow and detail orientated but ever so important, now more than ever with rumors of more retirements swirl. This new contract will ensure our membership continues to benefit from prior hard fought working condition settlements between the city and the union. Bad news is the retro pay due us will not be available until the final contract is signed, expected to be on or about August 1. However the good news is members will receive a long overdue raise of 8% effective July 1.

Meanwhile work continues on potential retirement improvements. President Segar and his committee plan to have a bill introduced in the next legislative session (Jan 08). asking for higher annual increments towards retirement benefits.

Similarly the city Retirement Health Savings (RHS) plan with ICMA is problematic. The current plan is no longer recognized by IRS and will require hard work to find an acceptable solution. Current participants are in a period of limbo while we figure out what to do. Meetings are being scheduled and hope to find an acceptable solution
.
With SAILFEST upon us once again, many members are frustrated that the PD simply doesn't have the manpower to safely handle the event. Now whether the issue is staffing shortages due to attrition/retirements or the event has become too big for the city to handle is an argument for another day. But what remains a constant is a very tired Patrol Division being tasked out once again to do more with less on a summer weekend that always exceeds our limitations.

The union drafted a memo to the administration highlighting manpower concerns, offering mutual aid/deployment suggestions and expressed our willingness to help formulate a better/safer plan. To date we have not been asked to help in any planning. Local 724 will continue to monitor events and fact find the SAILFEST issue and file appropriate actions should our worse fears be realized.

For those members who worked the USCGA Presidential visit, a tip of the hat for a job well done! Our members provided a very visible police presence that was safe and uneventful for President Bush, CGA families, protestors and the New London community.

I don't know of any local police agency that is routinely handicapped with a daily diet of A-Z SNAFU's that consistently get in the way of the mission, yet we are able to overcome and deliver when called upon.

With that in mind we have averaged 300 overtime shifts per month since January. Patrol Division is beat up, tired overworked and under appreciated. The police officers assigned to patrol have been routinely ordered in several times each week and continue to meet the challenges.

Kudos' to Support Services and a few detectives who have helped out with some shifts, but this is really directed at Patrol Division. We are all tired, we have all exceeded what is expected of us and continue to carry on with the mission despite the many short comings.

As you all know official recognition for a job well done around here is scant (and that is being generous). But what we do have is each other. The members of this union have regularly demonstrated a high degree of integrity,due diligence, perseverance and personal sacrifice to preserve and protect the safety of the people of New London. The Officers and Executive Board of Local 724 recognize and appreciate the efforts of our members.

Membership Ratifies New Contract...
We Continue our Mission to Improve Working Conditions

The Negotiating Committee delivered a new contract to the members for ratification after 5 months of hard work of contract talks with the city. Anyone who has ever sat in on negotiations knows there are times when you would rather have bamboo shoots shoved under a finger nail than continue to bang heads on tough issues. These talks were no different.

Hard work and a mutual understanding by both the union and city that a more competitive contract was necessary for both sides to benefit resulted in this agreement. Is it perfect? Of course not. Are there some issues unresolved? You bet. Parties always leave the bargaining table less than satisfied but, that is the nature of the beast. Think of this contract as the first big step in an evolving process over the next several years to make NLPD competitive with all of it's contemporaries.

Our projects include continuing talks next year with the city to provide medical benefits upon retirement, improve our MERF retirement package with the State Comptroller and improve daily working conditions at NLPD. Nothing is easy, the bigger the reward the more effort that is required.

The union is committed to improve the working conditions of it's members. Everyone is encouraged to become more involved in the process after all it effects you directly.
A big round of applause is in order for the negotiating team of Chip Segar, Mike Strecker, Roger Baker and Toni Walker.

Similarly we must also recognize and applaud the efforts of City Manager Marty Berliner, Chief Rinehart and Bernadette Welch, the city councilors and State Representative Ernie Hewitt. They understood our plight and had the courage to stand up, do the right thing and make our wages more competitive. Thank you.

Shooting from the lip
Political Director C Flynn

COMMUNICATION WORKERS BACK MALLOY FOR GOVERNOR

February 17, 2010 – Communication Workers of America Local 1298 announce their full support for the gubernatorial candidacy of former Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy, should he become an official candidate for Governor. Malloy is currently exploring a run for the state’s highest office. Malloy is currently exploring a run for the state’s highest office.

Cardiac Legislation passes the House and Senate.
Important victory for police officers and fire fighters.

Thomas R CarozzaSr.
Director of Legislative Affairs
Council 15

Ernie Hewett

Andrea Stillman

Nancy Wyman

The latest campaign news from 724 Political Director Chuck Flynn.

Thanks for all your efforts!
Enough can not be said about the contributions made by our membership
to make this an exciting election season!

724 for Nancy Wyman and Ernie Hewett