I'm not in Hartford right now, so it feels a bit disingenuous to write about Mayor Eddie Perez. Yet I have internet access here in the insta-city of Port Ghalib, Egypt, and I am reading the news, even on my few-and-far-between days off (Al Quayser was just not that interesting).

 

And before we leave for a 10-day delivery to Salalah, Oman, I want to contribute a few thoughts and links about from afar about the recent goings-on in CT's Capital city.

 

Eddie must go. I have been saying it for years, and I suppose now with his recent coronation, we have only to wait for Lear to fall.

 

I was somewhat distraught by the Mayor's re-election, but I understand that at $93 a vote (according to Bill Curry's calculations), you get what you pay for. I wasn't around for the campaign, but I can imagine the schlock that Perez was selling.

 

It's not that democracy failed here, and I refuse to give up on the one person, one vote form of government based on its failure to oust the idiot in chief in Hartford.

 

Simply put, Perez and his money machine subverted the will of the people. Enough schlameils bought what he was selling. Enough people buy Pepsi and Coke, too, even though they both taste like carbonated black water (for non-boat types, that's poo).

 

John Jay in the Federalist Papers, "No. 64: The Powers of the Senate," arguing in favor of state legislators appointing senators, had this to say about our humble electorate:

 

"This mode has, in such cases, vastly the advantage ov elections by the people in their collective capacity where the activity of party zeal, taking advantage of the supineness, the ignorance, and the hopes and fears of the unwary and interested, often places men in office by the votes of a small proportion of the electors."

 

It's not that I think an elite group of people should appoint the mayor, I just think 220 years ago, Jay foresaw problems we would have today.

 

Nor was I surprised that two major pieces of news waited to hit the stands: a) that the toothless State Elections Enforcement Commission slapped Eddie with an $800 fine for the franking privileges he abuses and b) a grand jury is now investigating the Mayor.

 

Genghis Conn over at CTLocalPolitics says that Eddie Part III reminds him of Johnny Frat Boy Part III. I couldn't agree more.

 

As for the franking penalty, Chris Healy, the Republican state chair, filed the complaint. Good on you, Chris. I only wish that a) it was me who filed the complaint instead of just writing about it and b) that Healy would sink more time and effort into building a legitimate opposition party to the Democrats in Hartford.

 

Here's hoping that Luis Cotto and Larry Deutsch of the Working Families Party can inspire some backbone in the City Council. Otherwise, we are left to start imagining and building an opposition to Perez's entrenched money machine. We won't see help from either of our State Senators, who were ethically frozen in DeLuca-ville.

 

Thankfully, DeLuca resigned, saving Mssrs. Fonfara and Coleman from the distaste that is criticizing a fellow country club member. Mr. Coleman doesn't have much of a leg to stand on, though, because according to news reports, he once had to repay $1,800 to his campaign because he used campaign funds to buy himself some suits.

 

That's probably because the Republicans haven't run anyone against him in ages, either.

 

So, citizens, start running, because if democracy doesn't work, it is our fault, and our fault alone.