Blake Vs. Joy, War of Words Yet Best of Friends

The Milford Mayoral campaign has kicked off to a relatively enthusiastic start, and in that quest for a new beginning the gloves have come off between the Main Party candidates. Last week Blake was lambasting the flawed judgment of Joy, and Joy was off complaining about Blake. During this dysfunctional melee it was hard not to notice some of the names in the “info war viper pit” whom were writing letters to the editor of the Mirror and the MOB.

There are several, but to get our Independent readers informed you should be well aware that Jagodinski, Dellamonica, Fowler etc... are “Hard Core Republicans” who I can say almost always Vote their Row. The same goes for names like Smith, Rosen, Brown etc... Who also, I would bet, always vote their Row.

While these two groups are Row, Row, Rowing Milford off the edge of a waterfall I have been “shouting from the rooftops” while pointing to the dangers that lie ahead. As the election moves on, I am realizing that common sense, combined with critical thinking skills is what’s lacking among both my competitors, I suppose to elaborate on this point, and to point out some of the idiosyncrasies, I would allude to the relationships they hold dear and the company they keep on display. For instance, I do not think it is genuine or sincere to offer up help to our veterans and then go door to door with someone like Rosa Delauro or Jane Fonda for that matter (both are very similar and equally disliked by veterans,) nor would I call myself a conservative and then press ordinances that deprive us of liberty or promote unnecessary wasteful spending on pet projects.

My goal in this editorial is not to join in on the impish and immature war of words that both Joy and Blake love so much, rather it’s to point out that after the election both of them will be the best of friends. The staged theatrics of division between these two individuals is to decieve you. The truth is that they have agreed on just about everything in their past votes at the Board of Alderman except for some very minor issues.

Each of them is thus far equal in their charitable giving, equal in their thoughts on taxation, and both have not yet once taken a stand on the excessive liabilities incurred at the hands of their political parties. This letter is not to tell you how to cast your vote come November, nor is it to tell you how great the Independent Party is and all its candidates, this letter is to remind you that if you do not get non voters out to vote, one of these two parties is going to perch themselves right in the “business as usual seat” being vacated by Richetelli.

Let this note be a plea on my part to have you come out in defense of this patch of beautiful land we call home. At the end of this election you will have decided our and your families future!

Milford's Plymouth Men's Club Mayoral Debate

The Following Video was filmed by Bob Adams AKA "Connecticut Bob."


Part 1



Part 2

Police Substation an Example of "Pork Barrel" Spending.

Simon Lake School was closed at great inconvenience to many parents who had children in that area. The decision to close the school was because the BOE was short on funds and they were told concessions had to be made.

You may not remember, but about two years ago the Jonathan Law auditorium was packed with nearly 1,000 very visibly upset teachers, parents, and students who held up signs pleading to have their school saved. School staff were laid off, attritioned and it was a very sad and despondent last day when the kids who were there had to say good bye to their school.

Education challenges in Milford have come mostly from the Republicans who opposed improvements to Jonathan Law, hired less than qualified Superintendents and terminated security guards. Never is there any discussion about how their choices caused our kids to rank in the bottom 1/3 for elementary schools, and the bottom 2/3 for middle schools. I remember when the CAPT scores were so terrible Polanski had to visit other schools and figure out how to effectively educate our kids.

With the way our schools have been financially treated over the last five years perhaps it’s my opponents concern that their actions and decisions will tempt our jobless kids to resort to more local crime.

The Republicans in Milford have had a very unusual and unorthodox relationship with the Milford Police Department. They stood silent as evidence in the Anderson vehicular homicide issue was front page news. They said and held no one accountable when the city destroyed the
subpoenaed videotapes "allegedly by accident" and they defend the fact, that despite all the policy and managerial issues in the P.D., that our police chief deserves nearly $200,000 a year in compensation for his effective management skills.

I could go on, and on, about how republicans dole out money to the police department in Milford I think the people of our city heard enough fear mongering about public safety issues. I will instead focus on the fact that this police substation is a BAD IDEA that will accomplish more waste at a time when the city is riddled with an est. 300M in debt.  A police training center/substation, in my opinion is a luxury not a need. I believe it will do little to nothing to alleviate the ongoing criminality in our city in any meaningful way.

What I believe the substation will accomplish is to perhaps earn the Republican Party support from the Police Unions and their friends and families here in Milford. I personally believe that those beneficiaries will help aid and assist Bob Joy in breaking his fiduciary promises by getting this "Wasteful" complex up and running.

To explain what I mean, Both Blake and Joy have borrowed phrases from Department stores like Target. They promised the voters that they were concerned about the city debt and we were going to get "More for Less." Instead it appears we are getting just "More or Less" of the same wasteful
spending. The election has merely begun just a few short months ago and these two liberal usurpers have doled out or proposed nearly 2 Million in wasteful spending under the guise of "charitable donations." I would like to remind the people of Milford that there is little to no difference
between Blake and Joy, they are both alike, in that they enjoy "Spreading the wealth" of the property owners in Milford.


Hopefully the voters are alert and awake enough to realize that they are spending our own money and not "bearing gifts" as they both would have us believe. If Milford fails to elect a real conservative they may just wake up one day and ask “how did such a great city change so dramatically.” For this reason I warn and beg of the voters to learn the facts and vote using critical thinking skills, if we keep letting the parties hijack our city they will keep forcing the rest of us to endlessly dig deeper to support their pet projects and outlandish salaries and benefits.

It is ultimately up to us to vote for those individuals who will allow Milford to prosper for the people and not the politicians.

Debate Reminder For Tonight!

Come out to the Milford Mayoral Debates tonight at the Plymouth Men's Club. It is the Church across from the Parsons Complex in Downtown Milford. Debates start at 7:30P.M.

Remembering The Broken Promises of 2009

After watching this video and carefully examining the state of the city it should be clear that we have been lied to time again. Hopefully the voters this year will not get fooled again!

New Lows In Milford Real Estate

Milford has conducted an annual report each year called the Comprehensive Audited Financial Reports (CAFR'S), and the asset side of those reports seems to defy conventional wisdom. While I am no economist, I do agree with firms like the Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC) and Real Estate think tanks like Trulia.   But to take into consideration the 2006 CERC, the year our property assessments began, Milford had a reported grand list of  10.2B. Today, just Five years later that number has plummeted to 7.4B.  There is nothing more enigmatic and perplexing than the CAFR figures, of which indicate the assets held by the city of Milford have appreciated Apx. 35% during a period where the Grand List has been getting decimated.

Something does not add up, something does not make sense, because no one I know has had that kind of asset appreciation in the last five years and it is yet to be explained to us as to how how we arrived at such an amazing figure in the wake of mass property devaluations and city debt growing to nearly 300M during this period. Trulia had this to say about Milford, and to be fair many other communities as well.

"The median sales price for homes in ZIP code 06460 for Jun 11 to Aug 11 was $204,540. This represents a decline of 14.1%, or $33,460, compared to the prior quarter and a decrease of 22.5% compared to the prior year. Sales prices have depreciated 36.3% over the last 5 years in 06460, Milford. The median sales price of $204,540 for 06460 is 5.34% lower than the median sales price for Milford CT. Average listing price for homes on Trulia in ZIP code 06460 was $465,668 for the week ending Sep 07, which represents an increase of 0.1%, or $465 compared to the prior week and an increase of 4.4%, or $19,742, compared to the week ending Aug 17. Average price per square foot for homes in 06460 was $153 in the most recent quarter, which is 12.57% lower than the average price per square foot for homes in Milford."

Moving forward into the next election, it appears that the Republicans and Democrats are both acting reckless, ignoring the city debt and instead spending taxpayer money we do not have. Just in the past few months, as the interest on our nearly 1/3 of a Billion dollars in debt was growing they were giving away money. This was 26K to a Trash Museum, an estimated 550K given away in permit fees, proposing the reopening Simon Lake at a substantial cost estimated close to 1M, and of course pardoning late fees and interest on property taxes to all veterans serving in wars.

While no one doubts that charity is essential in our community, we are moving in a direction that crosses the line of the responsibility of local government. My personal opinion is that the money is all ours, its paid for by each of us and when that money falls short we have to reach in our pockets a little deeper. This is the never ending paradox of taxpayers funding what amounts to socialism or as Obama put it "the redistribution of our wealth."

Elections, and election season is always disconcerting and part of me feels like elected officials who run for political office should step down from their previous posts while campaigning. This year I have seen such egregious abuses of the city treasury by both candidates that its disheartening. The amount of allocations made for political purposes is in my opinion an abusive and aberrant practice that should be stopped in all future elections.

While everyday I work hard to remind both Republicans and Democrats that our priorities should be to pay off the city debt before funding any pet projects or non essential expenses, everyday I am dismissed as a enigmatic insane platitude to be ignored. Sadly at the end of the day, when we expect to see progress we instead learn that the population of Milford is declining and our real estate values are plummeting.  Who will be held accountable when we reach our climax and eventual epiphany?

Sadly its going to be all of us, those who just want to be left alone, to live in our homes, drive our cars and enjoy our television shows. It will be those apathetic young people who did not vote this election, their parents and the reality that they are slowly falling farther and farther behind on their expenses. Who will be held accountable, it will be you the person who lives and pays those unreasonable ever increasing taxes that continue to fund socialism and an endlessly growing debt. Its time to wake up and vote Independent!

Event Updates on The Milford Race For Mayor

Last Monday all three candidates attended a question and answer session at News 12. The segment was 28 Minutes long and will be airing this coming week for Cablevision Customers who have exclusive access to local programming.

The segment was very informative and revealing of the many thoughts and ideas that all three candidates have covered. I certainly recomend watching the Tom Appleby show on News 12.

This Month, all announced candidates for mayor of Milford have also been invited to present their platforms and answer questions from the public at a Candidates Night Debate on Tuesday, Sept. 20, at 8 p.m., at the First United Church of Christ (Congregational), 34 West Main St.

Expected to participate are mayoral candidates, Bob (Bernard) Joy (R), Ben (Benjamin) Blake (D), and Rocco Frank (I). The debate will be the first of the political season and be open to the public at no charge.

Next Month, Mistie Powell, the President of the Milford Coalition of Condominiums (MCCA)is also scheduled to hold a debate on October 8th at 9A.M. The coalition is made up of 50+ condo/homeowner associations throughout Milford.

In past election years, the coalition has hosted a mayoral debate between the prospective candidates, including the one of October of 2009 – Mayor Richetelli, Genevieve Salvatore and Peter Spaltoff each participated.

In this forum Questions are given to the candidates ahead of time from members of the (MCCA) and are based on issues and/or concerns that they, as condominium owners, had.

This event is also open to the public. For more information and an address visit their website at http://www.mcca-ct.org/

Open House Mayoral Event, Come to Cafe Atlantique

Come out to Cafe Atlantique, 33 River St., in downtown Milford from 6 to 7 pm Wed. Sept.7 as part of the New Haven Register’s ongoing community engagement series. You’ll meet Milford Bureau Chief Brian McCready, who will be accompanied by Milford Democratic Mayoral candidate, Republican Mayoral candidate, and Milford Independent Party Mayoral candidate Rocco Frank. You’ll have an opportunity to interact with them, and McCready. If you can’t attend but would like to ask the candidates’ questions please email questions to bmccready@nhregister.com and he will ask your question. Check the Register’s website www.nhregister.com for a recap of the event along with videos.