Jeffries: Ward, Fuller betrayal cost Democrats a win

Unsuccessful City Council candidate Steve Jeffries lashed out this week at two leading Democrats in town whom he portrays as traitors for backing the election of Republican Mayor Ken Cockayne. It's understandable.

Steve Jeffries

Given that Cockayne won by a 52-48 margin -- close enough that a couple hundred votes going the other way would have led to Democrat Chris Wilson's victory -- it is entirely possible that a lack of party loyalty from a couple of key leaders might have made the difference. I'm sure both former Mayor Art Ward and former City Councilor Kevin Fuller wouldn't mind a bit if their refusal to back Wilson landed Cockayne in the city's top job. Ward never took a stand in the mayoral race, a sort of low-key endorsement for Cockayne given that it looks odd when a three-term Democratic mayor won't stand with the the party's candidate to succeed him. Fuller, who was nearly his party's mayoral candidate, didn't pull any punches. He flat out endorsed Cockayne. Jeffries called Fuller's endorsement of the GOP candidate a betrayal. Jeffries comes across as particularly irked that on Election Night, Ward "was nowhere to be found with any of the Democrats." Instead, Ward was "in full spirits with the Republican Party down at Nuchies" as they celebrated Cockayne's win. "Clearly actions speak louder than words" in Ward's case, Jeffries said. Jeffries, who came in third in the 1st District, said there is "no mistake that both Ward and Fuler in their own way convinced many Democrats to throw their support to the Republican establishment, which altered the election results."
Copyright 2013 All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Jeffries: Take a hard look at proposed sale of Bristol Hospital

Democratic City Council hopeful Steve Jeffries just sent this along:

I had a chance to read what you put out on the blog yesterday about Bristol Hospital and I have to admit that Eric Carlson's statement and his position is absolutely amazing.  Regardless of whether he is my opponent, I really have serious issues with his line of thinking.  Below is my response as I would like to weigh in.

It is in nobody's interest if Bristol Hospital fails as people will end up losing their jobs if it does!  Our priority should be to protect all jobs while ensuring that each and every patient continue to receive the highest level of care possible.  Whenever a bill is put forward that proposes the privatization of a company under certain expectations, further review of that bill is warranted to assure that those expectations are deemed appropriate.  It is the job of our elected officials at both the state and local levels to work with hospital officials to not only address the financial troubles they are facing, but also take into serious consideration the precedent that we would be setting by letting Bristol Hospital become a for profit institution.

My opponent, Mr. Carlson seems once again to be satisfied with the notion of throwing open the doors and letting Bristol become a "for profit city".  With the 65+ population in Connecticut expected to grow close to 65% by 2030, and many previously uninsured folks gaining coverage under the Affordable Care Act, Connecticut is expected to eventually have an additional 330,000 people covered.  Now is the time to take a serious look at the structure of the primary care provider in our city.  We need to start asking the serious questions and have serious discussions before moving forward.

One question could be, how does a for profit hospital plan to make money off of what was formerly a nonprofit hospital?  How would a for profit hospital provide better level of service than previously when it was a not for profit hospital?  Are they willing to sacrifice staff quality to reduce costs for patients?  How do they intend to save money where previously not for profit hospitals could not without sacrificing quality of care?  Unfortunately Mr. Carlson seems reluctant to engage in a discussion to address these questions and is quite satisfied with playing partisan politics at the expense of Bristol jobs, much like Tea Party members of Congress are with Nationwide jobs during the Government Shutdown.  I am disappointed that my opponent continues to put profits above the health and welfare of the citizens of Bristol.  I challenge him to stand up to the principals set by the Tea Party both local and on the national stage by taking a stance on this issue.  Will Mr. Carlson continue to fail his constituents on yet another major issue like he did with Jennings School and the Memorial Boulevard School?  I am asking him to use his remaining time on the council to work with State and hospital officials to find a long term meaningful solution for Bristol Hospital.  I am also open to join in this discussion if invited.

Copyright 2013 All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Jeffries: 'This council has failed the city'

The city's Planning Commission reaffirmed its opposition to the sale of Memorial Boulevard School. Here's an early version of the story.
Statement from Democratic City Council candidate Steve Jeffries:

Steve Jeffries

Clearly the end result on the planning committee was positive and I am grateful that the proposed sale of our fabled Memorial Boulevard School will not be sold, at least not yet without more thoughtful conversations that actually make sense while covering all available bases.  Regarding the present City Council members, I find it very interesting and disturbing that 3 out of the 6 on the council were so willing to sell off this valued and historic piece of property without any consideration to the "historic value" to the city as well as the people who graced the halls of this school as students and graduates.  While Ken Cockayne valiantly proposed that the sale of the school should be put on the ballet in November which was backed by two other on the council, what is troubling is that Cockayne can't seem to distinguish the value (emotional, historic and actual) that selling property, in this case the school would have on our city, and this is the guy that wants to be Mayor?

In addition, there can be no question that this council has failed the city and its citizens in a number of ways by shuffling issues back and forth with no real action or solutions.  There is no question that the desire of this council is  to wait until after the upcoming election to re-address the sale of the school.  Perhaps if the Democrats regain control of the council, real positive solutions and actions will take place and things will finally get done.  Let's face it, looking to sell off property, waiving property fees for favorite businesses and raising taxes seems to be a Republican recipe for disaster.  I'm sure the Five Amigos will be looking to blame the Democrats on Memorial Boulevard School just like they do all the other issues!
Copyright 2013 All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com

Waiving fees may be 'recipe for disaster,' Jeffries warns

Democratic City Council hopeful Stephen Jeffries is concerned that waiving the building permit fees for the Bristol Boys and Girls Club may lead to fewer inspections and less safety.

The City Council Tuesday unanimously agreed to waive about $62,000 in potential fees to give the nonprofit a boost in its $10 million building project on West Street that's slated to get underway in mid-September.

Jeffries, who is seeking election in the 1st District,said,"RevenuerReduction will directly correlate with safety inspection prioritization and could actually mean cuts to the number of inspections."

He asked, "Will the damaging revenue concessions result in a reduction of service equality?  This could very well be a recipe for disaster!"

Update at 8:40 a.m.:

City Building Official Guy Morin, after reading what Jeffries had to say, responded:

"That is one of the most bizarre comments I have ever heard. The required inspections for any project are dictated by the state building code and state statutes, the amount of inspections have nothing to do with the permit fees."

Update at 8:50 a.m.:
Mayor Art Ward asked, "Why wasn't this concern raised when the issue was discussed at the City Council meeting? The issue was waiving of the permit fees, not the inspection process."

Copyright 2013 All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com