2007 Hartford Mayor's Race

[grock]

With the news today that another convention is pulling out of Hartford because of Unite Here, I'm wondering if Mayor Perez could be in trouble for re-election in 2007. His support of Unite Here is costing the city hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue. How long will business owners put up with this?

Who could run against Perez? There is some scuttlebut both Democrats and Republicans at the Capitol want Hartford to have a new mayor.

Do these Unite Here folks even live in Hartford? Should they be calling the shots?

[drc72]

Honestly, anybody but Perez should run!!!

[Cotuit]

The Union won't go away if you have a Mayor that doesn't support them. If the Union is driving away conventions, a Mayor that didn't support the Union wouldn't change that.

[grock]

Perhaps, but a Mayor who came out and told the union to "stop hurting my city" could do wonders.

Perez needs to distance himself from these people. The workers at the Marriott and the Convention Center are making a decent wage, and they do NOT want to unionize.

If Front Street was built, Renaissance PLace and the Whalers coming back, Perez would have some credibility, but with ING, Lincoln, Mass Mutual, and WFSB all leaving the city, he has NO business aligning himself with anyone who hurts business in the city.

[jcrc]

Perhaps, but a Mayor who came out and told the union to "stop hurting my city" could do wonders.

Perez needs to distance himself from these people. The workers at the Marriott and the Convention Center are making a decent wage, and they do NOT want to unionize.

If Front Street was built, Renaissance PLace and the Whalers coming back, Perez would have some credibility, but with ING, Lincoln, Mass Mutual, and WFSB all leaving the city, he has NO business aligning himself with anyone who hurts business in the city.

Is there a statement by the workers that they don't want to unionize?

[grock]

The workers were just on Channel 30 saying that.

[drc72]

Perhaps, but a Mayor who came out and told the union to "stop hurting my city" could do wonders.

Perez needs to distance himself from these people. The workers at the Marriott and the Convention Center are making a decent wage, and they do NOT want to unionize.

If Front Street was built, Renaissance PLace and the Whalers coming back, Perez would have some credibility, but with ING, Lincoln, Mass Mutual, and WFSB all leaving the city, he has NO business aligning himself with anyone who hurts business in the city.

Exactly!!! The problem is, is Perez won't stand up to the union, instead he supports their hurtful tactics. Take a look, another convention cancelled again.

[Cotuit]

The workers were just on Channel 30 saying that.

All of them? One can find people anywhere who don't want to unionize if they look for them. Have the hotel workers voted yet? I know from first hand experience that UNITE can be persistent, but if there's no support among the workers, they wouldn't be taking public action.

[beerbeer]

Cotuit --

You are missing the point. Perez has emboldened the unions. He has stuck his nose into places it doesn't belong to support unions. He is a major cause of the problem.

He is costing his own city jobs and revenue with his union organizing tactics. The mayor needs to be even handed or he cannot solve disputes. He has left his objectivity behind and became an impediment to the wishes of the workers and management.

[Frankie811]

Perez would have some credibility, but with ING, Lincoln, Mass Mutual, and WFSB all leaving the city, he has NO business aligning himself with anyone who hurts business in the city.

Why are these companies leaving the city?

[HartfordTycoon]

The workers were just on Channel 30 saying that.

Those are the ones allowed to speak to the media. They do not let the pro union employees speak out. The only pro union employee I've seen so far had to go annonomous in the Courant because supposedly management is very much against unionization. I'm not on either side of this, just stuck in the middle, but it's important to see it from both sides.

All of them? One can find people anywhere who don't want to unionize if they look for them. Have the hotel workers voted yet? I know from first hand experience that UNITE can be persistent, but if there's no support among the workers, they wouldn't be taking public action.

There are some who want to organize or who want more information about it. The environment is anti-union, as would be expected, among management. The workers are not stupid, they know this. The ones who are speaking publicly are for management, the ones who speak anonomously haven't made up their minds and are only getting info from management. Everyone here is jumping on the Perez bashing bandwagon, and that's up to them. I however know him and will not start bashing an acquaintance so venomously and publicly.

Perhaps, but a Mayor who came out and told the union to "stop hurting my city" could do wonders.

Perez needs to distance himself from these people. The workers at the Marriott and the Convention Center are making a decent wage, and they do NOT want to unionize.

If Front Street was built, Renaissance PLace and the Whalers coming back, Perez would have some credibility, but with ING, Lincoln, Mass Mutual, and WFSB all leaving the city, he has NO business aligning himself with anyone who hurts business in the city.

I hadn't heard anything about Lincoln leaving.

Mass Mutual was a long time coming, why have operations in Hartford when Enfield is cheaper and closer to Springfield? They only stayed so long because of the history or CT Mutual.

WFSB has an aging broadcast house Downtown, the mayor did everything he could to accomodate them with a site for a new building and they rebuffed the city. Don't be mad at Eddie becuase they pulled a corporate dirtbag move.

ING is NOT leaving. They are still downtown. They are moving workers from their Asylum Hill Facility to Windsor. They never even considered keeping those jobs in the city. The only other choice was E. Hartford anyway. And the Asylum Hill building belongs to Aetna and is adjacent to their global HQ. They willl most likely re-occupy the building once ING leaves bringing hundreds or thousands of jobs in from the burbs.

[grock]

With 3 major employers leaving the city (ING, Mass Mutual, & WFSB,) dozens of empty storefronts, acres of undeveloped parking lots, and an abandoned hotel (the old Clarion/Summit) should the mayor be aligning himself with a boycott of the Convention Center?

The Convention Center means millions of dollars of revenue for the city and he is standing by while conventions re-book in other states and cities.

The people of Hartford and the businesses of Hartford need this revenue and the mayor could put a stop to the union protests and boycotts if he wanted to.

A new poll in the Hartford Business Journal shows 4 out of 5, 80% feel Perez has supported "Unite Here" too strongly.

The Waterford group has proposed letting the National Labor Relations Board decide the matter. Unite Here says No to that. Why?

[Frankie811]

From the Unite Here website

http://www.hotellaboradvisor.info/hotelgui...operty_id=14602

[HartfordTycoon]

The Waterford group has proposed letting the National Labor Relations Board decide the matter. Unite Here says No to that. Why?

You are all missing the point that this is about a city ordinance requiring a labor peace agreement that WATERFORD refuses to sign. To the city it's a simple legal matter and Waterford is not in compliance.

[Cotuit]

You are missing the point. Perez has emboldened the unions. He has stuck his nose into places it doesn't belong to support unions. He is a major cause of the problem.

He is costing his own city jobs and revenue with his union organizing tactics. The mayor needs to be even handed or he cannot solve disputes. He has left his objectivity behind and became an impediment to the wishes of the workers and management.

I admit I know nothing about Perez, but one would think he wouldn't be risking his political capital by fighting a losing battle for a union. There must be some support that he believes will translate into votes for him.

Regarding the Dem. vs. Rep. issue, in RI our Republican Governor has written union mandates into several hotel agreements that have state funding. This is New England, politicians have to play with the unions.

[HartfordTycoon]

I admit I know nothing about Perez, but one would think he wouldn't be risking his political capital by fighting a losing battle for a union. There must be some support that he believes will translate into votes for him.

Regarding the Dem. vs. Rep. issue, in RI our Republican Governor has written union mandates into several hotel agreements that have state funding. This is New England, politicians have to play with the unions.

Thank you. You can't ignore them. Look what Unite is doing to Waterford. Do you think he wants them doing that to him? Most Hartford forumers here have never voted for a Hartford mayor before anyway. Move to Hartford, then we can talk about who the mayor should be.

Also, if you really knew about Hartford politics, you would realize that a real threat to Perez given Hartford's current demographics will come from the left and not the right. I think you should be happy with what we have. We could get stuck with someone who really doesn't care about big business.

[jcrc]

Thank you. You can't ignore them. Look what Unite is doing to Waterford. Do you think he wants them doing that to him? Most Hartford forumers here have never voted for a Hartford mayor before anyway. Move to Hartford, then we can talk about who the mayor should be.

Also, if you really knew about Hartford politics, you would realize that a real threat to Perez given Hartford's current demographics will come from the left and not the right. I think you should be happy with what we have. We could get stuck with someone who really doesn't care about big business.

That is the problem with any place with a skewed demographic, and unfortunately for Perez, the more he caters to Hartford voters, the more he alienates business community, and the harder it is for Hartford to attract investment. I personally think he should not have taken such a public stance on this issue, but other than that I think he is relatively pro business.

[HartfordTycoon]

That is the problem with any place with a skewed demographic, and unfortunately for Perez, the more he caters to Hartford voters, the more he alienates business community, and the harder it is for Hartford to attract investment. I personally think he should not have taken such a public stance on this issue, but other than that I think he is relatively pro business.

We are in total agreement on this issue.

[ctman987]

Thank you. You can't ignore them. Look what Unite is doing to Waterford. Do you think he wants them doing that to him? Most Hartford forumers here have never voted for a Hartford mayor before anyway. Move to Hartford, then we can talk about who the mayor should be.

I am sorry but I take offense to that. Yes I do live in a Hartford suburb but that is because my family moved to the suburbs. My dad's family is from NYC but my mom's family is a Hartford family. My grandparents came over from Italy and bought & operated rooming houses on Albany Avenue in the North End, on Ann Street near the proposed public safety complex and then on Farmington Avenue in the West End. My grandparents, aunts, uncles and parents had seen it all and did not want to live in Hartford. They had seen the crime in the city, they had seen Hartford decline over the years, they had seen the poverty increase, etc. and they didn't want to stay. My grandparents moved to Wethersfield, one of my aunts worked for Travelers in Hartford and lived in Simsbury before moving out to CA with her family because of my uncle's job then they moved to NJ and are now moving back to CT so my uncle can work with an engineering firm in Windsor (not Hartford) and as empty nesters now they will not look at the units downtown or even the Goodwin Estates...they are looking at West Hartford, Glastonbury & Avon. My other aunt works for the now Bank of America and used to work downtown but now is in Farmington and my uncle works for Henkel Loctite which used to be in Hartford and is now in Rocky Hill. I am a major supporter of Hartford and slowly I am getting my family turned back onto Hartford. A few weeks ago I took them to Wood N' Tap and the Half Door...they loved them and were extremly suprised to see how nice and active these establishments were. My parents, grandparents as well as most relatives of my family grew up in Hartford but moved out later and I take offensive from comments such as these.

On the union note....I know the head of the Waterford Group and I know the mayor and the Waterford Group stepped up to partake in Adriaens Landing at a time when noone else wanted to. Now this is how they are being treated. This negative clout is going to remain over Hartford and hurt everyone. Adriaens Landing is an investment from the people of CT so we this union unrest is hurting all taxpayers, it is also hurting downtown business owners such as the owners of downtown restaurants, bars, shops, cafes, etc who would see increased business from conventions. In the long run we also may be hurting the prospects of new business in Hartford....a company that comes into town and sees a bunch of conventioneers walking around may think higher of Hartford or a company that sees that the city, state and private developers have invested in a new convention center & hotel may think that this is a city worth investing in.

I have vented now...that is all

[grock]

Perez needs to see the bigger picture.

This union debate is hurting the city and the state and scaring off developers.

Do you think the general assembly will give Hartford any more cash when their major investment isn't being used?

Perez needs to settle it now, and if it means the Wolmans win, then so be it.

BRING CONVENTIONS BACK TO HARTFORD, NOW!

[HartfordTycoon]

Perez needs to see the bigger picture.

This union debate is hurting the city and the state and scaring off developers.

Do you think the general assembly will give Hartford any more cash when their major investment isn't being used?

Perez needs to settle it now, and if it means the Wolmans win, then so be it.

BRING CONVENTIONS BACK TO HARTFORD, NOW!

We need to have it settled in court once and for all. If the court says they need to sign the damn labor peace than they need to sign it so they can start hosting conventions again. If the court says they don't have to sign it, than they do it their way and get a protective order against Unite Here or whatever they have to do to keep them away. However, thus far the courts have denied Wolman's assertion that he doesn't have to abide by the ordinance.

And c'mon, if you think Perez doesn't see the big picture you don't know him at all.

[beerbeer]

Perez came up as a grass roots community organizer. That is why he doesn't see the bigger picture. he has been fighting evil "business" his whole life.

He stole the Hartford Hilton from a Rhode Island group and gave to Waterford on a stupid premise. He didn't want the hotel to shut down and cost union jobs. It shut down anyhow. And the union employees were rehired exactly the same as thye would have been without his idiotic display of power.

[HartfordTycoon]

Perez came up as a grass roots community organizer. That is why he doesn't see the bigger picture. he has been fighting evil "business" his whole life.

He stole the Hartford Hilton from a Rhode Island group and gave to Waterford on a stupid premise. He didn't want the hotel to shut down and cost union jobs. It shut down anyhow. And the union employees were rehired exactly the same as thye would have been without his idiotic display of power.

Have you ever spoken to the man? I'm just asking because you seem as if you know his every motivation. I have spoken to him on numerous occasions and know many people who work with him on a daily basis and you are off base in my opinion. But you are free to hold that view. I just wanted to know if you had any way to substantiate your knowledge of his driving force politically.

[grock]

I've had several conversations with the mayor, who is very nice guy. However, he seems to be an old school Democrat embracing the unions.

This union thing is hurting the city. ING and WFSB both decided against building headquarters in Hartford because of the union requirements Perez told them they must honor if he was going to give them a tax break.

Rocky Hill and Windsor offered better tax breaks without the union limitations...and ING and WFSB were off.

Perez should have made it happen for ING. They were considering building a 5 story headquarters on one of those vacant lots until Perez told them they needed to use union labor. They chose Windsor.

Same deal for WFSB, ask anyone close to the negotiations. It's disgraceful WFSB is leaving and the city couldn't make them a better deal.

The problem is now WFSB and ING tell other companies Hartford is anti-business, and if you want to come to Hartford, get ready to do business with the likes of Unite Here.

[HartfordTycoon]

I've had several conversations with the mayor, who is very nice guy. However, he seems to be an old school Democrat embracing the unions.

This union thing is hurting the city. ING and WFSB both decided against building headquarters in Hartford because of the union requirements Perez told them they must honor if he was going to give them a tax break.

Rocky Hill and Windsor offered better tax breaks without the union limitations...and ING and WFSB were off.

Perez should have made it happen for ING. They were considering building a 5 story headquarters on one of those vacant lots until Perez told them they needed to use union labor. They chose Windsor.

Same deal for WFSB, ask anyone close to the negotiations. It's disgraceful WFSB is leaving and the city couldn't make them a better deal.

The problem is now WFSB and ING tell other companies Hartford is anti-business, and if you want to come to Hartford, get ready to do business with the likes of Unite Here.

I agree and I know that these were some of the sticking points. My only point is that Perez is between a rock and a hard place and I'm not gonna rush to bash him because he has to play a game whose rules were determined when he was a poor spanish kid in the North End. He is not anti business or pro union in my opinion. So I guess we just see it differently. His right hand man told the unions to go shove it after the CAUSA, Hillary Clinton debacle. If he could tell the unions to get lost, I'm sure he would. It's not that easy and it takes a delicate approach. Now he may have been able to be a little more forceful, but I'm not sure that would be wise either. Do you want Unite Here bad mouthing Hartford and boycotting the city altogether? These things could happen. Imagine if he allowed Waterford to break a city ordinance and Unite here starting running with that story. It would be a nightmare none of us want.

I'll admit that it is troubling that corporations are looking elsewhere due to the union labor stipulations attached to getting city and state aid and tax breaks for development in the city. I just don't know what the practical solution is, not just telling the unions to fcku off!