Norwalk political notes: Democratic mechanisms, Republican visits Nathan Hale

NORWALK, Conn. – The reason some Norwalk Democrats were against expanding the Democratic Town Committee has to do with at-large candidates, District B Chairman Bruce Morris said.

“You could potentially have at-large candidates that do not come from District A and B,” Morris said, attributing that potential result to mechanics and district boundaries.

Typically, the DTC honors the wishes of the district when voting on at-large candidates but not always, Democrats say. The case in point comes from 2011, when District B recommended Tony Ditrio but the DTC nominated Warren Peña. Ditrio lives in District D, according to Democratic registrar Stuart Wells.

“That was first time that happened,” Morris said. “At that point, I argued, the demographics are such, based on where we live, individuals from districts E and D are more financially able to wage a campaign than individuals in A and B.”

The DTC recently voted to expand from seven members per district to 11 members per district. There were some who argued passionately against this.

“Certainly, everybody wants more participation, but you take a look at those numbers and unless there was something binding, and the bylaws aren’t that way, the at-large candidates would have to be voted on by that 11 in that district, it doesn’t work well,” Morris said. “It’s more mechanics. Because in districts sometimes you have differences. You’re better making a good decision when you only have the differences within that district, but other districts influence that. Which does get into a larger issue.”

Room for more schools?

The topic of schools has come up at two recent DTC meetings, as Brenda Penn-Williams has repeatedly asked what’s going to happen with all the new development.

There will be 1,000 new apartments in the West Avenue area once Waypointe and its companion development, The Berkeley, are done with construction, Mayor Harry Rilling said last week.

“I’ll be the first one to state that planning in Norwalk for years has been nonexistent,” Rilling said in May. “There is no plan about what is going to happen 5, 10 years from now regarding our schools, regarding our infrastructure. It’s been poorly done and I think we all agree with that. So now it’s time to try to get our arms around that before it’s too late. But at least the Board of Education now is funding a facility study analysis. I think they’re focusing a lot on the individual facilities but now we have to start looking at do we build new schools and where do we build them? Yeah, it’s going to cost a lot of money, it’s going to cost a lot because of a failure to plan in the past. … That’s been going on for years. It’s nothing strange to Norwalk, believe me.”

This month, Board of Education member Mike Barbis also responded to comments from Penn-Williams.

“Our enrollment is growing, we do have portables left and right. From what I have been told – except for this topic of trying to build a neighborhood school in South Norwalk – building a new school anywhere else in Norwalk is really not realistic. So we’re going to have to look at different options,” Barbis said.

The pre-K center planned for Allen Road is an example of a “different option,” he said.

Need a job?

There’s been a number of people exiting Norwalk Public Schools, Barbis said, referring to high-level administrators who took an early retirement option as well as unexpected resignations, such as Chief Financial Officer Rich Rudl.

“The biggest thing that is going to be happening to the Board of Ed in the next few months is going to be hiring, staffing both the administration and the central office,” Barbis said.

New Superintendent of Schools Steven Adamowski starts work in Norwalk on July 15, he said.

Keeping Norwalkers in Norwalk

Rilling said recently that it’s very important to him that the overall review of zoning regulations for the Transit Oriented District that is now under way does not result in people being hustled out of their homes.

He agreed with Third Taxing District Commissioner Deb Goldstein that East Norwalk has two areas that could also be classified as Transit Oriented Development and said that’s being worked on.

Silos blamed for lack of information

Bike lanes on the Stroffolino Bridge had been planned by the Redevelopment Agency for more than a year before the Department of Public Works found out, Bike/Walk Task Force Co-Chairman Mike Mushak said.

Although Redevelopment hired an engineering firm to come up with the plan in 2014, when Mushak casually mentioned the plans in April, DPW had heard nothing of them, he said.

“Our DPW and our Redevelopment Agency and our Zoning Department don’t communicate. In fact, they compete with each other, there’s animosity there. There’s silos,” Mushak said. “There’s been a real big shakeup in DPW, which I see as a positive development for the city. I think DPW is as much to blame as Redevelopment for not communicating, but you can’t continue to have planning in silos.”

Heavy hitting fundraiser?

Norwalk Democrats may have an ace in their pocket when it comes to raking in the cash. Rilling said last week that he had met a famous person at a recent GOPIO (Global Organization of People of Indian Origin) event in Stamford, who had agreed to be the draw at a fundraiser.

The name would draw people from all over the state, he said.  No, he can’t reveal the name yet. Details are not confirmed.

Check out the new Nathan Hale ballpark

The new athletic fields at Nathan Hale Middle School are ready for use, according to Common Councilman Rich Bonenfant (R-At Large).

Bonenfant posted this on Facebook on Sunday:

“While checking in with the Norwalk Post 12 American Legion Baseball team at City Hall, one of the parents told me they have a game scheduled for Thursday, July 2, at the new Nathan Hale school field complex. My wife and I went over to look at it. The fields are beautiful, but I see some issues that may be raised, such as lack of parking, bathrooms, viewing area for baseball parents, newspaper photo and video access, and the ability to keep rogue leagues off the facilities.”

Some photos, courtesy of Bonenfant: