Posting Memos at Councilman's Corner

I'll be posting memos that I send regarding various Town topics here at Councilman's Corner in an effort to keep residents informed about what their Councilman is working on. As always - please e-mail with questions to councilmancurtleng@yahoo.com.

Zoning Problems in the 6th

This is a memo that I sent to the Planning and Zoning Office this week. I will keep you posted on our progress !

Legislative Council Memorandum

Date: 12/15/2007

To: Leslie Creane, Town Planner, Dan Kops, Assistant Town Planner

From: Curt Balzano Leng, Councilman, 6^th District

Cc: Mayor Craig Henrici, Scott Jackson, CAO, Al Gorman, President, Carol Noble, Chair, Planning & Development, Matt Fitch, Vice-Chair, Planning & Development, Joseph McDonagh, P&Z Chairman

RE: Formal Zoning Requests – State Street Area

Conditions of several businesses have been deteriorating in the State Street corridor and surrounding neighborhood. In addition, new potential zoning violations appear to be presenting themselves at a somewhat alarming pace. As a revitalizing area, we must use the full strength of the Planning & Zoning Department’s enforcement arm to address the issues before they become more of a problem.

The following is a list of concerns that I would like to formally request your inspection of:

1) Auto Exchange (Across from 1825 State Street): The business certainly appears to have dozens more cars than would normally be allowed for a business of this size. The overflow of inventory creates safety problems because customers don’t have anywhere to park except for busy State Street. The “sidewalk” right of way is also always blocked. In addition, a commercial car transport is often parked on the street, also a safety hazard, because there isn’t room on the business property. Cars are also parked on the grass, an environmental and zoning concern, and on property that is not even owned by this business. A-frame signs are also used regularly. Overall this is a serious safety concern, as well as an eyesore. Can you please identify what is approved in their P&Z Site Plan and schedule an inspection to ensure full compliance.

2) 2259 State Street – Video Liquidators: This adult video establishment has added at least two new light-backed signs to the exterior of their business. This makes for at least three separate signs now for this one small business. In addition, they have added a flashing sign to the interior of the window and numerous other decal-style signage/lettering in the windows and on the building. A-frame signs are also used here from time to time. This is a serious concern to the neighborhood. Can you please see what signage is approved for this business and order the illegal signage removed as soon as possible.

3) 110 Webb Street – Electrified Discounters: This business has allowed its land to fall into disrepair with graffiti and overgrowth. Can you please schedule an inspection?

4) A general tour of the neighborhood between State Street and Welton Street, Jean St., Webb St., Cook St., Benton St., Atlas St., Armstrong St., State and Welton, to proactively review some blighted conditions would be appreciated.

Thank you for your prompt attention to these requests. Please send me copies of all correspondence regarding the aforementioned as action is taken, both formal and informal.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at councilmancurtleng@yahoo.com.

December 17th Council Committee Meetings

Hello friends,

First regular set of committee meetings scheduled for tomorrow night for the new 2007-2009 Hamden Legislative Council.

Some items of interest:

Appointment of new Police and Fire Commission Members;
Approval of the 2008-2011 Hamden Education Association Teacher's Contract;
Two grants related to enhancements to the Town Center Park;
A number of overtime transfers (of which we'll be looking closely at) and
A Resolution authorizing the Department of Economic & Community Development to apply for additional grant funds for Housing Rehabilitation.

Following Committee meetings, a special meeting of the Council has been called to approve time-sensitive items.

Feel free to e-mail me at councilmancurtleng@yahoo.com with any questions. Hope to see you at the meeting.

Obama Making a Run !

Huckaboom and Hillabust

The surprising falls and unexpected gains ahead of Iowa's caucuses

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton listens during a fund-raiser on December 11, 2007. View related photos

Video Huckabee's gift rap Dec. 11: As former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is surging in the polls, his unusual pattern of accepting gifts is getting increased scrutiny. NBC's Lisa Myers reports. Nightly News

Interactive

Rate candidates' positions Visit msnbc.com's Candidates + Issues Matrix to rate the 2008 presidential candidates on their ideas about the key issues.

Huck on 'theology' degree Closing time for Giuliani Clinton talks endorsement, E-word

Interactive

The Contenders MSNBC’s scouting report on candidates in the fight for the White House.

FirstPerson: You and the campaign trail

Have you captured a candidate on camera? We want to see it. Click here to send us your pictures and videos, and we'll post the best on MSNBC.com.

By Howard Fineman

MSNBC

updated 3:17 p.m. ET, Wed., Dec. 12, 2007

Howard Fineman • E-mail

WASHINGTON - Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign is teetering on the brink, no matter what the meaningless national horserace numbers say. The notion that she has a post-Iowa “firewall” in New Hampshire is a fantasy, and she is in danger of losing all four early contests, including Nevada and South Carolina – probably to Sen. Barack Obama, who is now, in momentum terms, the Democratic frontrunner.

On the Republican side, meanwhile, the race is shaping up in an even more unexpected way: a contest between two former Northern moderates (Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney) for the right to take on a Southern Baptist preacher, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who believes in the inerrancy of Scripture but not in Darwinian evolution.

This week is the last chance the candidates will gather en masse to confront each other, and in a neutral setting. They are wending their way through ice storms to Iowa, where the Des Moines Register and Iowa Public Television are hosting back-to-back debates.

Story continues below ↓

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Here’s where things stand for the major candidates with the most to gain and lose in the debates, in Iowa, and in the early going. Take a good look at the rest of the field. They won’t be around for long.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA

National polls still give Hillary a double-digit lead. Those polls mean nothing. What matters now is not the number but the direction, and Obama is movin’ on up at a rapid pace. Little pieces of evidence matter. In Manchester, N.H., the other day, Democratic Gov. John Lynch showed up at the Obama-Oprah rally, ostensibly to introduce Oprah, but, really to cover his bets politically. The newest polls in the state show why: Obama is tied with Hillary, and people are literally exchanging her lawn signs for his. If he can win Iowa – and it remains a big if – Hillary’s campaign could collapse. New Hampshire would almost surely go his way. The Culinary Workers in Nevada might well endorse him, as could influential South Carolina Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn. Black Democrats have complained for years that Iowa and New Hampshire are “too white.” But the irony is, South Carolina African-Americans I talked to last weekend want to see if Obama can win white votes before they commit to him. There is no better way of doing that than in Iowa and New Hampshire. And don’t forget something else: he has 150,000 online contributors. He can raise cash fast.

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON

If she is going to argue that Obama is unelectable in the fall – if she is going to argue that the Democrats cannot afford to take the risk on a Southside Chicago street organizer – she had better get to it in the debate this week. But it is a tricky proposition. In a way, Hillary is trapped by her own do-it-yourself feminist ethos. She should have surrogates out there pounding away at Obama. I haven’t seen them. And her husband, evidently, won’t do it. Why should Bill Clinton tarnish his image as “America’s first black president” by attacking the man who might be the real deal? His circle is beginning to complain, loudly, about how Hillary is running her campaign. That kind of circular firing squad chatter is the first sign of a campaign headed into oblivion.

JOHN EDWARDS

Quite simply, this Iowa debate (and Iowa itself) is his first and last chance. He has placed all his money and bets for years on Iowa, where he is practically a local at this point. He absolutely HAS to win to get the media attention he needs to leverage his effort here into national momentum. He has the best, most cogent and inspiring stump speech, and a good, loyal organization. He could get pummeled by media dynamics. There will be exit polls on caucus night, but they will not be an accurate reflection of the final tallies of caucus delegates – the legally meaningful number – until later. Also, he is strongest in the small western towns, whose disproportionate influence in the delegate tallies (don’t ask) won’t show up in the exits. In other words, he could win but not get credit for it by the time the winners are declared.

New revenue = Good News

New Revenue for the Town is Good News

Kudos to the Town for making arrangements to help Connex Credit Union rent space at Memorial Town Hall.

Connex invested in fixing up the former Town Clerk’s office and it looks terrific. The move not only helped a local business, but it generates 4,000 per month of needed revenue for the Town.

This outside of the box thought process inside the confines of our traditional town government square will no doubt help to increase revenue from non-tax sources. The more revenue we can generate from unusual places, the less we’ll have to ask from our residents in the next budget process.

I do wish that the Hamden Municipal Credit Union had the chance to establish permanent location at the Memorial Town Hall. A previous Administration made it difficult for them to stay at Town Hall and they had to move across the street into Hamden Center office building. Perhaps when Connex Credit Union moves back to their location when it’s fixed, the Hamden Credit Union can have discussions about the space, should it make sense in their business planning.

Special thanks to Mayor Craig Henrici and Economic & Community Development Director Dale Kroop for their work in making this deal happen.

If any residents have ideas for “outside of the box” revenue that you think could help our town, please e-mail me at councilmancurtleng@yahoo.com - I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Hamden News !

Hamden Community Development Program Receives Positive Rating from HUD

HAMDEN – Mayor Craig B. Henrici announced today that the Town of Hamden's Community Development Program received a positive rating from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) following an annual assessment of last year's activities.

“Each year the Town receives a grant from HUD to benefit the people and neighborhoods that need the most help. We are happy that, even in these days where more and more families find themselves coming to the Town for help, our community development program has been able to remain both flexible and reliable in providing a helping hand to residents and businesses,” said Mayor Henrici.

In Fiscal Year 2006, the Town received a Community Development Block Grant of nearly $520,000. The nine-member Community Development Advisory Commission made up of Hamden residents helps the Town's Department of Economic and Community Development establish a budget for these funds and oversees the program operations. The funds are available for programs ranging from housing rehabilitation to business sign grants to sidewalk repair. Approximately half of last year's allocation went toward the rehabilitation of housing in the Newhall, Highwood, and State Street target areas.

Residents with questions about the Community Development program can contact the office at (203) 776-5978 or visit its website at www.hamdencommunitydevelopment.com.

Council Committee Assignments

Committee assignments have been made and I wanted to report what I will be focused on for the new term. I was very pleased to be named Finance Committee Chairman for the 3rd straight term. Looking forward to working on some real tax relief for seniors, veterans and perhaps our public safety officials.

Here are my assignments for 2007-2009:

Chairman, Finance Committee
Vice-Chairman, Administration Committee
Vice-Chairman, Technology Committee
Member, Planning & Development
Member, Public Works & Engineering


If you have any questions or would like to reach me for any reason, please feel free to e-mail me at councilmancurtleng@yahoo.com.

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

Fool

Today former Republican Mayoral candidate Ron Gambardella decided to spend an entire column of his "Ron's Rant" in the Hamden Daily News attacking me for the use of my middle name,.

I am responding to his ignorant column in a letter I will post here over the weekend.

I thought I had seen everything in Hamden politics. I was wrong.

First Meeting

Hello friends,

Tonight was the first official meeting of the 2007-2009 Legislative Council. The first meeting is an organizational one, where we elect the Council leadership, set our schedule and vote on the standing rules.

Tonight the Council elected:

Al Gorman - President
Carol Noble - President Pro Tem

The Democratic Caucus selected:

Matt Fitch - Majority Leader
Betty Wetmore - Minority Leader

Finally, the new Majority and Minority leaders selected "Whips", who act as assistants to the Majority and Minority Leaders. Those members selected were:

Jim Pascarella - Majority Whip
Craig Cesare - Minority Whip

The schedule and standing rules stayed the same.

We get down to business next Monday with our first regular meeting. I will be asking for agendas electronically and if I can get them I will post them here regularly.

As always, feel free to e-mail with questions or concerns anytime to councilmancurtleng@yahoo.com.

Best,

Curt

Election Day Results & A Special Thank You

A very special thank you to all of the 6th District residents that came out and supported me yesterday. It was great to see so many friends at the polls and to spend a some time talking about the important issues facing Hamden.

I do not have the final results, but the estimated totals for 6th District Council was:

Leng:
1010

Reilly:
534

I am humbled by the result and promise to do my best to represent our District and to fight for our Town over the coming term and beyond.

Please e-mail me at councilmancurtleng@yahoo.com to talk about any issue. I look forward to talking to you.

Lawn Signs Are In !

Lawn signs have arrived and are slowly, but surely, being placed throughout the 6th. If you are willing to put up a sign, please e-mail me at councilmancurtleng@yahoo.com. Thanks so much for your support, as always.

Special Thanks !

I would like to extend a special thanks to everyone who assisted with, attended or contributed to my fundraiser last night at SOZO Cafe on State Street. It was a successful event and will help to move the campaign forward over the coming weeks. Thanks again to all!

As always, if you have any questions about the campaign or any other Town issue, please e-mail me at councilmancurtleng@yahoo.com. See you soon ...

Fall 2007

Sorry I haven't been able to post online in some time ... starting a new business and campaign season have made things very busy. I can promise that if I'm fortunate enough to return to the Legislative Council, I will make additional effort to keep online communication regular and post important information when I can.

If anyone has any questions about the campaign or any other aspect of Town government, please e-mail me at councilmancurtleng@yahoo.com. See you at the polls !

Leng for Hamden Committee Announced

Leng Announces 2007 Campaign Committee

Hamden – Councilman Curt Leng (D-6) is pleased to announce the “Leng for Hamden” campaign committee for the 2007 election. Leng is seeking re-election to the Legislative Council as the representative of the 6^th District.

Serving on the committee will be:

Brian Anderson
Kyle Blake
Mayor John Carusone
Gerard Considine
Peggy Craft
Franz Douskey
Elaine Dove
Shirley Farm
Scott Harris, Jr.
Seymor Hatkin
Dave Huston
Drew & Kathy Kaptain
John Keegan
Eliot Kerzner
George T. Mattei, Jr.
John Pernal
Sharon Regan
Sigrid Maria Rogowski
Len Tombank
Tom Rousseau
Gary Schark
Representative Brendan Sharkey
Mike Teitelbaum

Leng has a total of 12 years experience in Town Government. He has served three terms on the Council, two representing the 6^th district and another serving the entire Town as Councilman-At-Large. During this service, he has chaired several Council committees, including Finance, Finance & Administration, Education and the Town Audit Committees. In addition, Curt held high-level management positions in Town government for four years.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the supporters that have agreed to help me with my campaign. I want to thank them for being with me again in 2007.”

For more information on Leng’s campaign, please e-mail Curt a councilmancurtleng@yahoo.com or check his website at www.curtleng.com.

Campaign 2007

Please remember to go out and vote on Primary Day !

Come and visit www.curtleng.com to see campaign announcements throughout the fall.
This week we will be announcing our Campaign Committee.
Talk to you soon -

Best Regards,

Curt

Sincere Thanks

I would like to take this opportunity to offer my sincere thanks to the members of the Hamden Democratic Town Committee who put their faith in me by unanimously supporting me for re-election as 6th District Councilman. Throughout the coming months, I look forward to talking with all District residents as I walk door-to-door in our neighborhoods. If you have any questions or any issues that you need resolved, please feel free to e-mail me at councilmancurtleng@yahoo.com.

Sincerely,



Curt Leng
Councilman, 6th District
Chairman, Finance Committee

Election 2007

Hello friends,

Thanks for taking the time and making the click to visit my website. This site is a BLOG that I use to express opinions and/or inform constituents about current Town issues.

While I have not made a formal announcement that I will be seeking re-election to the Council as 6th District representative, I have very much enjoyed representing the District through the last two years and plan to run again this fall. As time goes on this site may adapt into more of a campaign styled website, but there will always be a link to this BLOG because I think it serves as more of a good tool of modern technology that allows us to have a conversation on a regular basis.

I look forward to talking and working with you.
Best,

Curt Leng

Coming Soon

Coming soon will be a new and improved BLOG that will serve as a manner of communication and debate about the important issues of the Town. Looking forward to talking again.

Curt

The End of a Rational Voice

Clear Channel’s the Bad Guy

Clear Channel's decision to end "The Voice" 1300 radio's format of providing Air America's progressive talk appears to be the end of rational radio in the New Haven area for a while.

1300 was a welcome change from the right-wing ranting of Rush and other conservative talking heads. Their programming, while more left in nature, presented a good variety of shows, with both Democratic and Republican listeners. I've enjoyed listening to and learning from over the last year.

Clear Channel, with their dismantling of all things local and anything different, is a perfect example of the corporate bully - more concerned with easy money than quality programming.

What a shame.

Councilman Curt Leng

Hamden, CT

203-887-4599