And in black and white:
Showing posts with label Henri Martin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Henri Martin. Show all posts
October 29, 2014
Mailings turn negative in Senate race's final days (Updated at 11 a.m.)
September 24, 2014
Martin's online advertisement promises to turn Connecticut around
July 8, 2014
City councilors divided on whether to back cafeteria workers
A sharply divided City Council declined Tuesday to take a stand in favor of the school cafeteria workers who may be replaced by a private food services firm.
The council’s three Democrats supported a move to call on the Board of Education to abandon any legal appeals and focus instead on working with the union representing the 53 cafeteria employees who are slated to lose their jobs in the privatization bid.
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| Calvin Brown |
But the four Republicans, including Mayor Ken Cockayne, opted to sidestep a direct vote and instead backed a motion to postpone indefinitely any action on city Councilor Calvin Brown’s resolution asking the Board of Education to cease fighting with the union.
Brown said the GOP council members “don’t want to take a stand” and chose instead to shirk a vote. He accused them of “acting out of cowardice” instead of standing by the cafeteria workers.
City Councilor Eric Carlson, a Republican, said he believed that requesting any action by the school panel would be “a little bit overstepping our bounds.”
“I don’t have a dog in this fight,” Carlson said.
Another councilor, Republican Henri Martin, made the motion to table Brown’s resolution. He said he did not think the council should interfere with a school board choice.
“Let them settle this. This is not our fight,” said Martin, who is seeking election to the 31st District state Senate seat representing Bristol, Plainville, Plymouth, Thomaston and most of Harwinton.
At its Wednesday meeting, the school board plans to discuss whether to appeal a decision last month by the state Board of Labor Relations that ordered it to honor the tentative agreement it negotiated with the union. The school board had decided to drop the deal and hire a private cafeteria operator instead, a decision made along partisan lines by its Republican majority.
City Councilor Ellen Zoppo-Sassu, a Democrat, said the $140,000 the school board has already spent on legal fees trying to push privatization would have been better used for classroom needs.
The other Democratic councilor, Mary Fortier, said the GOP majority’s refusal to take a clear vote was “a cowardly way of getting out” of making their positions clear.
But Cockayne, who said during last year’s mayoral race that he opposed the cafeteria privatization, said the mayor and council “have zero to do with Board of Ed contracts” and shouldn’t take a formal position.
“It’s not our say,” the mayor said, adding that councilors “would be pretty peeved” if the school board sought to tell them what to do.
Brown said the council has a duty to try to protect the 53 cafeteria workers whose “lives are being toyed with” by a school board that made an “unjust or illegal” decision to ignore the deal it negotiated with the union.
The school board meets at 7 p.m. Wednesday in the auditorium of the district headquarters at 129 Church St.
March 7, 2014
Martin hit for opposition to the busway
Press release from the Connecticut Working Families Party:
When Republican Bristol City Councilor Henri Martin announced his run for Connecticut State Senate in the 31st district, he was heavily critical of the New Britain to Hartford Busway. The busway, which will be completed in February of 2015, has created good jobs for workers in central Connecticut. It shows poor judgment on Henri Martin’s part to criticize a project already underway which is on time, on budget, and providing needed jobs in the building trades sector.
This isn’t a partisan issue; it’s about what is best for workers. New Britain’s newly elected Republican Mayor Erin Stewart said of the Busway: “But, whether you supported it or not, it’s here,” she said. “So, the question now is: How are we going to make it work, not only for New Britain but for the residents of the central Connecticut corridor?”
Copyright 2014 All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
Connecticut Working Families Party questions Henri Martin’s judgment on Busway
Every year, the Connecticut Working Families Party looks at the records of all the candidates from every party and only endorses the candidates who share our values. That means being a champion for issues like raising the minimum wage, expanding Connecticut's historic paid sick days, and promoting infrastructure projects that put Connecticut residents back to work, like the busway.
March 6, 2014
Martin declares intention for state Senate run
Why did I decide to run
for State Senate?
I’m running because I want to help put the state back on a
path of prosperity. As we all know, the
state is still struggling to recover from an economic downturn that began over
six years ago and is still affecting our economy.
As a real estate broker I come across individuals and couples
regularly who are under a considerable amount of stress from this downturn. You
probably know friends and family members and business owners who are having a
hard time too.
I wish the state did more to help stimulate our economy. But
they don’t. Despite the spin we hear
from the Governor’s office about a surplus, the facts show we have one of the
weakest economies in the country, our job growth is well below the national
average, and our financial outlook is so fragile that businesses and people are
moving out faster than any other state in the country. According to the federal Bureau of Economic
Analysis and the Connecticut Department of Labor, Connecticut was the ONLY
state in the country that saw a decline in its Gross Domestic Product in
2012. And this was the second year of
decline in a row, again the only state in the country with that record.
Many people are still looking for work. And many have to leave the state to find work.
In 2008, the state lost 121,000 jobs. In the past six years we have recovered
only 52% of those jobs, while the rest of the country has recovered nearly 80%
of its lost jobs.
Job growth in Connecticut has been stagnant since 1990.
That’s over 2 decades. During the same period, the number of jobs in the U.S.
grew by over 20%. Put another way, if Connecticut had kept pace with the rest
of the country the state would now have 350,000 additional jobs.
Another contributing factor of these challenging economic
times is the reality our state has a $66 billion deficit made up of debt
service and unfunded pension and health care obligations. With a state population of 3.6 million, the
per capita dollar value of $66 billion in unfunded obligations is $19,000 for
every man, woman and child living in the state.
If you compare this to the bankrupt city of Detroit, their per capita
obligation is $25,000. Lurking ahead,
Connecticut also faces a $2 billion deficit in the next two fiscal years.
One has to ask: how did this happen? We have the best and most productive workers
in the country, we are well educated, our location is exceptional and our
quality of life is second to none. But
all these advantages are being drowned out by government overspending, massive
debt and policies that reduce our business competiveness in the national and
global market. Simply, we need to go in
a different direction – and fast – and that is why I’m running for State Senate
in the 31st District.
We must do better and the people of Connecticut deserve
better from their elected leaders in Hartford. This problem didn’t happen overnight and will
take a while to fix. It’s been growing
for years and the responsibility belongs with the past and present Executive
and Legislative branches of the state government, us who elect them and special
interest groups who support the elected officials for their own gain at the
expense of our future.
The current leadership in Hartford has had free rein over
state policy and spending for several years.
They have abused their majority position and have put our future at risk
and damaged our state’s reputation badly.
I am fed up with bad decisions and bad policies being rammed down our
throats like the outrageously expensive bus way between Hartford and New
Britain. Nobody needs a $600 million
dollar bus way, and nobody wants it. Yet
it was forced on us and they spent a lot of money we need to improve roads,
bridges and rail lines. This is
unacceptable to me, and the fiscal irresponsibility, raising taxes and
unsustainable spending has got to stop if we want our state economy to improve.
Further, I don’t believe the solution to Connecticut’s
lackluster economy, being proposed by our Governor in an election year, is to
raise the minimum wage and give everyone $55, while claiming we have a budget
surplus that everyone knows is just an accounting shell game.
The facts are clear, communities and states with higher
economic growth are the ones with less government spending and lower taxes that
attract people, businesses and jobs. We
have already lost one seat in Congress because of our shrinking population and
we are well on our way to losing another if the flow of people leaving the
state doesn’t stop. We need to offer
our children opportunities to stay here in Connecticut and raise their families
as we had when we were starting out.
There is no easy solution to turning these problems around. But it is obvious the direction the Governor
and the Democratic majority in Hartford is taking us is not working. The numbers speak for themselves, and have
for several years now. Albert Einstein
said it best, “The definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over
and expect different results.” But
that’s exactly what we will be doing if we re-elect Governor Malloy and another
Democratic majority in Hartford. If we
want to avoid what happened to Detroit and put Connecticut on the right path to
economic growth we’ll need to face the situation with eyes wide open and make
some hard decisions. We cannot keep
doing what we are doing; passing bad financial decisions and wasteful spending
on to future generations.
For Connecticut to find its path to economic growth and
prosperity, and retain its jobs and skilled people it is going to require hard
working and concerned citizens to elect leaders who will advance policies that
will reduce taxes, minimize government spending and take the initiative to
address our looming debt obligations.
With your help in electing me, I’ll work to help refocus our
state government on things that matter most:
economic growth, long term job creation and fiscal responsibility. And that is why I’m running for State Senate
and why I’m asking for your support and your vote.
If elected I’ll take to heart the words of Rudy Giuliani –
“It would be an obligation, on my part, to perform honestly and effectively.”
February 12, 2014
Henri Martin jumps into State Senate race
Welch, also a Republican, said this month he was going to step down after his term ends so he could spend more with his family and his full-time job.April 5, 2013
Martin to seek 2d term on City Council
 |
| City Councilor Henri Martin |
Henri is appreciative and thankful for the overwhelming
backing and support he has received during his first term from family, friends,
Republican town committee members, members of his church, community leaders,
and the citizens of Bristol.
In his first term, Henri said “because of the economic
situation, new leadership and fresh ideas concerning how city government
operated was needed on the Council”. Henri has encouraged creative
collaboration within city government to promote long term fiscal sustainability
and organizational transparency.
He believes with the experience he has gained, a second term
would provide him greater opportunity to effectuate his ideas. “The goal”,
Martin says, “is to make Bristol work better.
It’s imperative to address the challenging economic times we are in by
improving the delivery and quality of public services in cost-effective ways
that our citizens can afford.”
He will continue listening to citizen’s concerns, to be
their voice, and promote what he believes is the right course of action for
Bristol.
December 10, 2012
Martin 'bothered' by colleagues' choice to reject chamber plan for Memorial Boulevard
City Councilor Henri Martin just issued this statement re the decision of the city's Real Estate Committee recently to reject a plan for Memorial Boulevard School's reuse by the Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce:
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| City Councilor Henri Martin, left, with Mayor Art Ward and Councilors Ken Cockayne and Kevin Fuller trailing |
I’m bothered and disagree
with the recent decision by the Real Estate Committee of the City of Bristol to
initiate a new RFP (Request for proposal) regarding the future use of Memorial
Boulevard School. Further I disagree with the member’s decision to discuss this
matter in an executive session rather than in public.
In its proposal, the Central
Connecticut Chamber of Commerce submitted a viable plan which I believe answered
the wishes of our community — to protect and find a potential re-use for this
historic property. The plan was visionary and provided innovative ideas for
economic development to Bristol through the creation of an arts center that
included the preservation and future improvements of the theatre, and a business
incubator for start up entrepreneurs in the technology, media and bio-fields.
At its last Real Estate workshop,
with a change of use from a building educating students to the anticipated use
the Chamber was proposing, city department officials offered their views of ADA
updates, fire and building code deficiencies, and future capitol improvement
costs that may lay ahead for any intended use. Revealing these facts and costs may have worried
the committee, but should not have warranted the rejection of the Chambers
proposal or a motion and approval to request a new RFP.
I understand the city’s
budget is under pressure, but imagine the unknown costs associated with the innovative
idea of ESPN back in 1978/79 that gave city officials reason to pause. Thank
God we pressed forward. In my opinion, revealing all the facts and costs only facilitates
a better understanding of the risks for all involved.
The proposal was an
opportunity for the City and Chamber to develop a Public/Private partnership,
thus allowing them to work together to preserve the theatre and building, and
simultaneously bring some kind of economic development in the downtown area. We
need new innovative vision—not the same old same old.
Downtown needs energy; art
energy, entrepreneurial energy, young professional energy, upscale energy,
community energy—and the Chamber’s proposal offered all of this. Unfortunately
this didn’t happen. After a questionable
executive session meeting, the committee decided to start the process all over
again.
The Real Estate committee
failed to work collaboratively with the Chamber to determine if a format could
be established which met both their and the City’s goal. The process was
instead adversarial in nature which was not fair to the Chamber and does a
disservice to our citizens.
If the Real Estate Committee
was worried about the potential costs mentioned by the department officials or
had unanswered questions; those details could have been addressed during
negotiations between the City and the Chamber before any final lease document
was executed. The concept was still sound.
City officials should be
working collectively with our business partners in the Chamber to achieve the
goal of the community to preserve the historic Memorial Boulevard School. In
the end, we either may have had an agreement that met the needs of both sides,
or maybe it wouldn’t have worked for the either, but the decision would have
been reached in a cooperative manner rather than the way it did.
Unfortunately, the Chamber
has decided to withdraw its proposal and not respond to the new RFP, and given
the nature of the process which was followed who can blame them.
Now we’re back to square one…
November 26, 2012
Cockayne: 'The right person at the right time'
Here are the prepared remarks that city Councilor Ken Cockayne spoke to the Republican Town Committee tonight:
Today I am announcing that I
am running for Mayor of Bristol in 2013.
I am asking for your support in this endeavor and feel I am the right
person at the right time for this job.
I am the senior member of the
Council and have spent the last five years fighting for change and fighting for
you, the taxpayers of Bristol. We are on
the precipice of significant change and new leadership for Bristol. In the last local election, the people of
Bristol spoke and elected leaders to fight for them. Leaders, who are truly, fiscally
conservative, who understand that voters are not ATMs. The sitting Mayor controls the agenda, so
while the voters spoke, loudly and clearly, there is one more crucial
step. We need a mayor that will listen
to the people of Bristol and set an agenda that puts their interests first. We
need a true leader to drive the change that must occur and I believe I am that
type of leader.
I believe I am the right
person at the right time for Bristol. These
will be challenging times. We need someone
who can lead from the front. I have
spent the last five years doing just this.
I have never hid from an issue or avoided one. I have worked steadfastly for the people of
Bristol, even when it met that I stood alone. When we needed change in leadership
with our Police Department, I was the only elected official willing to attach
his name when asking for this change. When
our community was in danger of having no say in group homes for troubled
adolescents moving into established residential neighborhoods, I stepped up
immediately to fight. We wanted a voice for Bristol, and I was that
voice that brought this practice to light.
At times I have been the lone voice of dissent when voting on contracts,
for I refused to be a part of a rubber stamp council. I was voice for the West End, an often
overlooked section of our community, and called for increased police presence
and was an advocate for the formation of the West End Association.
I believe that I am not only
a person who leads from the front, but also the person with the right
experience to do the job well. In the
last five years, I have served on 21 separate boards, including the Bristol
Development Authority, the Bristol Downtown Development Corporation, the Board
of Public Works and the Salary Committee.
I have fought the tough battles and have an intimate understanding of
our municipal government.
These last five years have
been arduous, but the foundation is in place.
The current City Council is ready to work for responsible change to benefit
you, the taxpayer. The next step is to
put a person in the Mayor’s Office who will set an agenda to facilitate this
change. With my willingness to take on
challenges and embrace the fights that need to occur, coupled with my
experience as your senior councilman, I believe I am the right person at the
right time. I humbly as for your
support.
I may have a video to add sometime Tuesday for those who want to see it all in high def.
March 2, 2012
Council, school board rift is growing
The rift between the City Council and Board of Education is growing.
The five
Republicans recently asked for detailed monthly school spending reports and
were turned down cold.
School
Superintendent Philip Streifer wrote Wednesday that “it is the policy of the
school administration to provide the public only those documents requested by
or created for the Board of Education, therefore, we will not be providing you
the detailed request” sought in an email sent to the Board of Education by city
Councilor Henri Martin.
“I don’t
know why the resistance,” Martin said Thursday. “I just want to know some
information.”
For city
Councilor Ken Cockayne, the superintendent’s response only serves to widen “the
disconnect” between councilors and school board members.
“I can’t
help wondering what the Board of Ed is hiding,” Cockayne said Thursday.
Chris
Wilson, the chairman of the school board, said that 137 cities and towns in
Connecticut “spend more dollars than Bristol per student. It seems that the City Council wants to erode
that position further.”
The sole
Democratic councilor, Kevin Fuller, said he is worried the GOP’s effort will
create “a bigger divide between the Board of Ed and the Council, and who does
that hurt in the long run? The students of Bristol.”
Streifer
said Thursday he will gladly turn over any of the financial reports prepared
for the Board of Education but it won’t create ones that don’t exist simply
because city councilors want more detailed data.
Streifer
said he hopes that problems don’t develop between City Hall and the school
administration.
“There is an
established process under the city charter to review and fund budgets,”
Streifer said, pointing out that the Board of Finance reviews budgets and “then
makes a recommendation to the City Council and they jointly vote on budget
appropriations.”
“I would
hope that everyone would respect and honor that process which has worked well
in the past,” Streifer said.
Martin said
the schools spend 61 percent of the city’s budget, a total of $102.6 million
this year, and he would not be doing his job if he didn’t try to understand
where all that money goes.
Fuller said,
“The council in the past has looked at the BOE budget but we cannot control it.
The only vote the council has is to approve or deny the total amount of the budget,”
and cannot deal with particular line items.
“We
understand that we don't have the power to line item the BOE budget and
determine where money should or shouldn't go,” said city Councilor Derek
Czenczelewski
“However,
that doesn't mean the city shouldn't be able to see where the money is going on
a monthly basis. We are looking for transparency, plain and simple,” he said. |”Unfortunately,
some administrators and officials believe that the BOE doesn't need to report
to the taxpayers in any way.”
Cockayne
said that voters showed last year they don’t want officials to tread along the
same old path.
“The
citizens of Bristol are fed up with the Board of Education,” Cockayne said, and
they very much want change.
Though
Republicans took control of the school board for the first time ever in
November, Cockayne said they failed to shake up its leadership.
“The old
guard is still in charge,” Cockayne said, and its members don’t believe there’s
a need to do things differently.
“The Board
of Education needs to open its eyes,” Cockayne said.
Fuller said
he is curious what the Republicans are looking for.
In his email
to Streifer, Martin sought detailed monthly reports on these accounts: central administration, principals and
assistants, supervisors, psychologists, other instructional, improvement for
instruction, instructional services, other professional services, rentals and
leases, and staff transportation.
“Give me
additional information,” Martin said. “Let’s break it down.”
Streifer
said the reports Martin asked for “are much more detailed than what we have on hand
or which the Board of Education has asked for, thus we will not create them for
him. “
Martin said
he did not understand the resistance to providing councilors with the
information.
Cockayne
said in a Thursday email to Streifer that he “can't believe the BOE doesn't
have a detailed expenditure report run every month. This is something at even a basic business
would do.”
“How then do
you do accounting on $100 million?” Cockayne said. “You must have more internal
detailed reports than you give out to the public.”
Copyright 2012. All rights reserved. Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
May 16, 2011
Henri Martin leaps into City Council race
Well, the city's election season is beginning to heat up.
With two mayoral contenders -- Democrat Art Ward and independent Gary Lawton -- already in the ring and two declared council hopefuls, the political playing field is starting to fill up.
The latest entrant jumped in over the weekend.
Here's the story:
A political newcomer with a long history of community service leaped into the contest for a City Council seat this weekend.
Henri Martin, a Republican, said that “to meet the challenges of the difficult economic situation we are going through requires new leadership on thecouncil and fresh ideas about how the city operates and is governed.”
Martin is seeking a seat in the 2nd District, currently represented by Democrat Kevin McCauley and Republican Ken Cockayne. Cockayne is seeking reelection. McCauley’s plans are uncertain.
Martin declared his candidacy Saturday night to a crowd of friends and family at the Franco-American Club.
Click here for story.
There will be more in Tuesday's Bristol Press.
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