Story by reporter Jackie Majerus:
Wanted: legal beagles for Bristol.
Mayor Art Ward said Friday he is going to be looking to hire a corporation counsel and two assistant corporation counsels for the city.
"It's a new administration," said Ward, and he wants to "see what the response is."
The city's personnel office is preparing to solicit resumes for the jobs, according to Ward.
He said it's not a reflection on the people now holding those positions – Corporation Counsel Edward Krawiecki Jr., and his assistants, Jeff Steeg and Dale Clift, who all work part-time for the city.
"I've had no problems," said Ward. "It's just a process of taking a look at the marketplace."
Two attorneys in the office, Dick Lacey and Ann Baldwin, are full-time and won't be affected by the search, said Ward. He said Lacey is in the middle of a five-year appointment and Baldwin is a permanent city worker.
Ward said all three attorneys are aware of his search and it's expected that they'll all apply to stay on.
The mayor said he wants to see what interest is out there for the jobs.
"I've been very fortunate all the present staff has opted to stay on board with the transition," said Ward. "I think everybody's doing a fine job."
Ward said it's not about rocking the legal boat, but about providing citizens with the best possible legal service to the municipality.
By February or early March at the latest, he will have a decision, said Ward, with any changes likely in effect by the end of March.
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Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
14 comments:
Of course Ward is going to get rid of Kraweicki - he's a republican. And Clift was a Zoppo supporter so he'll be gone too. Steeg is just mildly annoying so he might stand a chance of staying on board.
Steeg and Clift are doing an excellent job. It would be a mistake to dump either of them. I don't see how the mayor can keep Krawiecki, who might just be the Republican candidate against Ward in 2009.
Welcome back, Kosta and Ziogas.
Clift and Dale are horrible ATTY's...They have no clude about anything. My question to the mayor is "why change anything if its working fine and nobody wants to step down?"
Wasn't Kraweicki caught doing something unethical in the not too distant past? Now he might be a candidate in 2009? I sure hope not.
Dale Clift and Jeff Steeg are not "horrible attorneys," as one anonymous poster said.
I've watched each of them for years and can attest to their professionalism and knowledge.
Are they the best lawyers for the job? I don't know.
But they are not, by any means, "horrible."
And as for Krawiecki... he left the state House under a cloud in 1994 after receiving what at the time was the largest ethics fine in state history for sticking some provision in a piece of legislation that aided a case he had. I'll look up the details sometime if it ever becomes necessary. At the time, he was the minority leader in the House, a pretty big wheel in Hartford.
However, that was a long time ago, and as far as I know, he's done nothing wrong since. As we know from both Ward and Couture, this town is willing to forgive, if not forget, what its politicians did years ago.
Krawiecki hosts a fund raiser with Governor Rell, at his own house to support Ken Johnson and gets rewarded by keeping his job under Ward?
Either Ed or Ken will be Art's next opponent And the two of them are in constant contact.
Who knows which choice pearls of insider information Krawiecki is passing on or storing up for the next election.
A corp counsel is the mayor's closest confidant. Talk about welcoming the fox into the henhouse.
Artie, guard your flank.
Don't be too quick to assume that it will be Johnson or Krawiecki.
There are some Republicans who are already working on at least one other person, and it appears that he has significant support.
Keep tuned.
Gee, I wonder why Couture and Ward would be willing to forgive and forget. Is it maybe because the skeletons in their closets are always there waiting in the wings, i.e. the Diamantis hiring and other past foibles? It seems that Bristol can't seem to get past unethical behavior because we keep ignoring and condoning that unethical behavior time after time by reappointing or re-electing the unethical types. When will we ever learn?
The next Republican mayor will be Frank Johnson NOT Ken Johnson. Wait and see.
More like Navin R. Johnson.
"It seems that Bristol can't seem to get past unethical behavior because we keep ignoring and condoning that unethical behavior time after time by reappointing or re-electing the unethical types. When will we ever learn?"
Maybe it's you who needs to re-think what rises to the level of "unethical". Hiring a QUALIFIED crony for an openly patronage position is not unethical. It may be stupid and get you in trouble with the voters next November, but it is not unethical.
Or some one else!
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