Aguila Blanca
Staff
For those who have been paying any attention to Connecticut, you may already be aware that the governor wasn't satisfied with the draconian, backroom, anti-gun package he rammed through the legislature in 2013. He followed up by appointing a "blue ribbon" panel (does a governor ever appoint any other color ribbon panel, or a panel with no ribbons?) to study the [alleged] "problem" and make further recommendations for more new laws. The panel spent two years, and released their final report just a few weeks ago. The panel was chaired by the mayor of Hamden, Connecticut, a small-ish town adjacent to New haven.
What a surprise it wasn't when the New Haven Register announced today that Mayor Scott Jackson has just been appointed by the governor to a newly created position as the Undersecretary for Intergovernmental Policy.
http://www.nhregister.com/governmen...-mayor-scott-jackson-to-resign-for-state-post
The stench probably reaches all the way to San Diego. The only thing good about this is that the politics of the payoff are abundantly transparent. The governor appointed a hatchet man to guide the commission to a pre-ordained conclusion. With the job accomplished, Mayor Jackson is being suitably rewarded. What a great reward it is, too. Hamden's elections are approaching, so who knows if hizzoner would be reelected. Since the new job isn't the head of a department, it's likely immune to political recall if Governor Malloy loses the next election. We can probably rest assured that the title of "Undersecretary" carries with it an appropriately grandiose salary.
And what does an "Undersecretary of Intergovernmental Policy" actually do? There's certainly no job description for the position, so Mayor Jackson can't possibly screw it up. It's a sinecure, his payoff for delivering the goods on the commission report.
BTW, when the final draft of the report was shared with the press, some journalist asked Mayor Jackson if the committee's recommendations were constitutional. His answer was that they didn't have time to look into that. Really? Two YEARS of work, and they couldn't find the time to consider whether or not the new laws they were recommending are constitutional?
What a crock. I'm pretty cynical about government, but this is so blatant that even I am shocked. Not shocked that it happened, but shocked by just how brazenly it was done.
What a surprise it wasn't when the New Haven Register announced today that Mayor Scott Jackson has just been appointed by the governor to a newly created position as the Undersecretary for Intergovernmental Policy.
http://www.nhregister.com/governmen...-mayor-scott-jackson-to-resign-for-state-post
The stench probably reaches all the way to San Diego. The only thing good about this is that the politics of the payoff are abundantly transparent. The governor appointed a hatchet man to guide the commission to a pre-ordained conclusion. With the job accomplished, Mayor Jackson is being suitably rewarded. What a great reward it is, too. Hamden's elections are approaching, so who knows if hizzoner would be reelected. Since the new job isn't the head of a department, it's likely immune to political recall if Governor Malloy loses the next election. We can probably rest assured that the title of "Undersecretary" carries with it an appropriately grandiose salary.
And what does an "Undersecretary of Intergovernmental Policy" actually do? There's certainly no job description for the position, so Mayor Jackson can't possibly screw it up. It's a sinecure, his payoff for delivering the goods on the commission report.
BTW, when the final draft of the report was shared with the press, some journalist asked Mayor Jackson if the committee's recommendations were constitutional. His answer was that they didn't have time to look into that. Really? Two YEARS of work, and they couldn't find the time to consider whether or not the new laws they were recommending are constitutional?
What a crock. I'm pretty cynical about government, but this is so blatant that even I am shocked. Not shocked that it happened, but shocked by just how brazenly it was done.