December 30, 2007

In Defense of ‘Balzano’ Leng

I would like to respond to Mr. Ron Gambardella’s recent articles in Hamden local print and online newspaper. In these articles, Mr. Gambardella accuses Curt Leng of changing his middle name to cater to the Italian vote in Hamden.

I have known Curt Leng for over 25 years. We have remained close friends despite the fact that I moved from Hamden nearly 10 years ago. He keeps me informed about his career as a councilman and the political goings-on in town. I rarely become directly involved in happenings in my hometown these days, but felt particularly compelled to respond to these recent articles.

Curt’s official name is Curtis Jude Leng. In grammar school, sometime around the fourth- or fifth-grade, as I can recall, he began to sign all of his schoolwork as Curtis Jude Balzano Leng. He continued this practice for several years, perhaps even in to high school. He did this because he always had a close relationship with his grandparents, whose last name was Balzano.

When Curt’s grandfather Andy Balzano passed away, Curt decided to take up the Balzano name again in honor of a man he cares for deeply. I was not surprised that he did so, knowing that he had used it frequently in the past.

While Mr. Gambardella did not originally have the history of the name to inform his opinion, he clearly was looking for a reason to demean Curt. Why not simply ask why he changed his middle name instead of splashing a sensational accusation across the front page of the local paper? Perhaps because Mr. Gambardella has continued aspirations for higher office and sees Mr. Leng as a threat?

Unless Mr. Gambardella thinks that Curt was trying to “court the Italian vote” in the fifth-grade, his column makes little sense and shows that he is willing to make sensationalistic claims not based in fact.

I find it even more shocking that Gambardella would continue to make such a ridiculous claim even after the reasoning for the middle name was explained by Curt throughout the local media. This demonstrates that Mr. Gambardella’s respect for other residents of Hamden and their families is easily cast aside for political gain.

That, in my opinion, is not the quality you want in a town leader.

George T. Mattei Jr.
Lithopolis, Ohio

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December 18, 2007

Iezzi, McDonagh Implore You

We are the chairs of the Hamden Republican Town Committee and the Hamden Democratic Town Committee. As many of your readers know, Connecticut will hold its presidential preference primaries on Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2008. This year, both the Republican Party and the Democratic Party will hold primaries to choose their presidential candidates. We have not held primaries in both political parties since 1992. In addition, this is the first time since 1952 that neither the incumbent president nor vice president is a candidate.

Your vote counts. But in Connecticut, you cannot vote if you are not registered or if you are registered as unaffiliated. Connecticut’s primaries are only for those who have registered with one of the two major political parties.

If you want to vote in the Feb. 5 presidential preference primary, and if you are not yet registered to vote, or if you are registered as unaffiliated, you have until noon on Monday, Feb. 4, 2008, to register or switch your registration. The Registrars’ Office will hold a special voter registration session on Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2008, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. The Registrars’ Office is on the first floor of Government Center, 2750 Dixwell Ave.

We look forward to seeing all of you, Republicans and Democrats, at the polls on Feb. 5.

Michael Iezzi
Republican Town Chair

Joseph P. McDonagh
Democratic Town Chair

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December 15-16, 2007

Charter Boo-Boos

I wanted to correct two errors in, and offer a quick comment about, your Dec. 12 article on the status of charter reform in Hamden.

The first error was my own. I stated that we should lower the petition signature threshold necessary to trigger a budget override referendum from 20 percent of registered voters to “not less than 5 percent.” I misspoke. What I intended to say was that we should lower the threshold to “not more than 5 percent.”

I also believe that Ms. Noble erred when she stated that the mayor selects members of a charter reform commission. In fact, state law provides that the commission should consist of five to 15 members appointed by the legislative council. No more than one-third of the members can be public officeholders, and only a “bare majority” can be from a single political party.

Finally, I found it shocking that Ms. Noble declared Hamden’s existing charter to be “as good as the Constitution of the United States.” I suppose it’s possible she intended that statement to be sarcastic -- and the joke’s on me -- but somehow I don’t think so.

Hamden’s charter is not even a well-crafted Connecticut town charter. It is poorly organized, overly wordy in spots and under-informative in others, and has not well served the interests of citizens over the last 25 years. To mention such a document in the same breath as a majestic one such as the U.S. Constitution is laughable -- or worse.

Mark D.G. Sanders
Carleton Street
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Good Credit

Kudos to the town for making arrangements to help Connex Credit Union rent space at Memorial Town Hall. Connex has fixed up the former Town Clerk’s Office and it looks terrific. The move not only helped a local business, but will generate $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 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 that credit union to stay at Town Hall, and it had to move across the street into Hamden Center office building. Perhaps when Connex Credit Union moves back to its location when it’s repaired after recent fire damage, the Hamden Credit Union can have discussions about the space, should it make sense in its business planning.

Special thanks to Mayor Craig Henrici and Economic and 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.

Curt Balzano Leng
Councilman, 6th District

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December 9, 2007

Honoring My Grandfather Whether Some Politicians Like it or Not

In a thank you letter to the editor, I printed a new middle name in my 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 his column he insinuated that I had started 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 No. 1 supporter and advisor from my first days in Hamden politics, over a decade ago now.
This great man 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 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 descent, but he has offended me and my family in a personal manner.

I plan to continue using 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 facts, is nothing short of ignorance.

Mr. Gambardella, you owe my family an apology.

Curt Balzano Leng
Councilman, 6th District

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December 7, 2007

November 27, 2007

November 11, 2007

November 5, 2007

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