Former Governor Rowland has been much in the news of late, being offered (and now accepting) a job with the Waterbury Chamber of Commerce, partially funded by the city government, in an economic development coordinator position.
Colin McEnroe, a long time fan of the former Gov's, has been blogging about it, as well as hitting the airwaves (look for the interview with Paul Vance Jr). He seems to be surprised by the apparent mixed support that this move has among the citizenry. WTIC has a front page poll going which is pretty evenly split in terms of supporting this hire.
I was moved to comment over on Colin's blog, but once it gets past 5 paragraphs, it's worth some column inches on my own blog, no?
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Well, maybe we can take some solace - "better the devil you know than the devil you don't"
Mr. Rowland's history and notoriety will certainly keep him under the media microscope, which in Waterbury, is not a bad thing. Offer that position to anyone else, and the media spotlight would move on quickly, leaving the potential for mischief.
And whether one agrees or disagrees with Rowland's philosophies regarding urban development and bringing home the bacon, its pretty clear that he's had a soft spot in his heart for the brass city, pushing projects and funding that way long after he had set down roots in Hartford.
I think it speaks to two realities that perhaps are hard to accept. In Waterbury (and perhaps in other places), backroom deals and quid pro quo are just how things get done. Rowland's crime was not playing dirty, but rather that he got caught. And the support out there for the former gov is a good indication that many citizens don't see all that much wrong in what he did.
And if you are a member of the privileged class in this country - if one is male, white, educated in good schools, come from the right family, a 90-120K job is your birthright, regardless of competency or behavior.
Those are bigger, and more intractable issues, than John Rowland. He's the whipping boy, perhaps for some fairly deep-rooted problems in our society and our government.
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Surfing around for some feel as to how this is playing in the brass city, I find this nugget on the Republican-American site:
"The only worse person they could have put in that position would be Osama bin Laden," said Steve Santovasi, president of Waterbury's white collar union. "On the other hand, bin Laden has a background in civil engineering."
And for the record, I owned a home in the Waterbury (Town Plot) for over 12 years before moving to Hartford. So I have some experience with the Brass City myself.
2 comments:
Town Plot? No kidding! Cavallo's market? And what about Faces on Highland? How many city bidness deals were made THERE??
I grew up in the South End, off of Jersey street.
My sibs and I just sold that house about 2 and a half years ago, after our Mom, who had still lived there, died.
John Rowland landing a job with a Connecticut city's chamber of commerce? That's like Jeffrey Dahmer getting a job as spokesman for the beef industry. Ya can't make this kind of stuff up.
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