Honoring My Grandfather ... Whether Some Politicians Like it or Not

Letter to the Editor - December 8, 2007

Honoring My Grandfather … Whether Some Politicians Like it or Not

In a thank you letter to the editor last week, I printed a new middle name to sign off, “Balzano”. After it was published, a few local politicians felt the need to comment on my name, including former Republican Mayoral candidate Ronald Gambardella. In the column he insinuated that I had decided to start using the middle name Balzano for political purposes, as our Town and region is known to have an Italian heritage.

Balzano is the last name of my Grandfather, Sgt. Andrew Balzano, a retired Hamden Police Sergeant. My Grandfather has been my number one supporter and advisor from my first days in Hamden politics over a decade ago now. We lost this great man as he passed away earlier this year. To honor him for being the patriarch of our family, for touching so many who knew him and for being the person that I would like to emulate in my life, I chose to take his name into my own.

This type of unsubstantiated and ignorant commenting is not uncommon for Ron – however, this time he has not only offended Italian Americans for assuming that a Hamden citizen is going to vote for a candidate simply because he or she is of Italian decent, but he has offended me and my family in a personal manner.

I plan on continuing to use Balzano as part of my name now and into the future – whether certain local politicians like it or not. Using my Grandfather’s name is about the honor and pride I feel for being a part of his family. It has been a true privilege for me to say that this man was my mentor in life and in politics.

For someone to write a letter to the editor and not only offend my family, but an entire cross-section of the population, without inquiring about fact is nothing short of ignorance.

Mr. Gambardella, you owe my family an apology.

Sincerely,

Curt Balzano Leng

Councilman, 6^th District