Students Visit Hartford City Hall, Speak on Their Experiences

On April 13, a group of Trinity students attended a special function at City Hall arranged by Professor Clyde McKee. Students were given the opportunity to have a question and answer session with Mayor Eddie Perez and then sat in on a city council proceeding. Those that attended the council meeting were exposed to parliamentary procedure at the professional level. The beginning of the proceedings moved quickly and caused some confusion among us. One of the most interesting and intensely debated items on the agenda was about using emergency city funds to keep the Salvation Army shelter. Hartford City Councilman Larry Duetsch adamantly defended the proposal, as he believed it was the city's duty to keep the shelter open for those who need it. He even called out Council President Calixto Torees for not caring about the local homeless population. Torres was obviously offended by this, and cited his past efforts to improve their situation. He said that in these economic times, the money should be saved in case the city faced a bigger emergency. However, the proposal to use the funds for the shelter passed, allowing the shelter to stay open until the end of April. The experience was great and we were able to not only see the innerworkings of the city council, but also got to witness a heated debate during the proceedings.
-Mike O'Connor '10Trinity College may lack political enthusiasm and low turnouts during student elections, but those who chose to voice their opinions at the Hartford City Council were both motivated and enthusiastic. At one point, my classmates and I were able to see a particularly heated discussion between Councilman Duetsch and Council President Torres. Duetsch pushed to appropriate a portion of the new budget for a homeless shelter, but was promptly shut down by Torres. The discussion quickly gained momentum as Duetsch went on the offensive, calling Torres insensitive. Torres was quick to shut him down by explaining that he had already made a similar allocation earlier in the year.
This short conversation perfectly captured a politician politicking. The feeling in the room was that Duetsch was pushing for the money not because he cared, but because he was looking for an accomplishment to talk about during his reelection campaign. This made for a half-hearted and poorly research proposition by Duetsch.
-Angus Anderson '12

As a lifelong resident of Hartford, I've seen my fair share of mayors come and go, but none quite like Eddie Perez. Many people only know him because of the latest bribery in the news, and before meeting with him, I couldn't really say much about him, either. It's true that Mayor Perez may have made some questionable decisions in the past when it came to his personal life, but when it comes to Hartford, he seems to have the city's best interest in mind. Whether its through his home ownership or economic development initiatives, Perez really seems to want to change Hartford for the better. As the Chairman of the Board of Education-an unusual responsibility for the mayor to take on, I might add-Perez gives the impression that he cares about the education of Hartford youth. Instead of appointing an official to this position, like most mayors would, he's dealing with the issue one-on-one. If the outcomes of his initiatives enhance public schooling for the better, he'll receive the praise; if not, he'll take the blame. Either way, I commend the fact that he is willing to take on one of the biggest issues in the city of Hartford head-first. Like I mentioned before, I really didn't know much about Perez before this meeting, and I was even a bit skeptical about all of the good deeds he's done around the city. However, just hearing his goals and plans for improving the Hartford public education system makes me look at him in a new light. It just goes to show that you can't always make informed decisions only based off what you see in the news.
-Melissa Pierce '10

My experience visiting Eddie Perez and observing Hartford's City Hall was both an eye-opening and rewarding experience. At five o'clock, Perez took part in a brief period of question and answer for the Trinity students and Hartford residents in attendance. Perez then reviewed around a dozen proposals and placed his own votes. Following his participation, the members of City Hall then continued their decision-making regarding over 50 proposals. The fervor and passion in which members argued important issues, including homeless shelter funding and environmental protection, certainly confirmed how dedicated the City Hall is to the bettering of Hartford. All of the councilmen and councilwomen spoke extremely eloquently and were very direct in their opinions and final decisions. This trip gave me a first-hand look at active politics and the verbal skills it takes to succeed in the political field.
-Andrew Mortati '11