The war of words between the two principle candidates in the Sept. 12 primary had another back-and-forth this week, as Mayor Edward O’Brien accused challenger Nancy Rossi of inaccuracies in a recent story in the Voice. The two sparred last week over Rossi’s decision to not only go after the mayor in the primary, but to register as a third party for the November general election under “A Better Way Party moniker.
In the process, Rossi gave her reasons for opting to go the third-party route, alleging past history in primaries, one that is wrought will irregularities, gives her good reasons to believe there might be problems this year.
Mayor O’Brien and his re-election campaign are “offering corrections” for multiple statements made by Rossi and members of her campaign.
“Nancy and her team made a variety of statements and accusations last week that West Haven residents should know the truth about,” O’Brien said.
The foremost allegation concerned irregularities in the 2012 primary vote. In that ballot, the number of absentee ballots, she alleged couldn’t be reconciled. O’Brien took the opportunity to slam the candidate running with Rossi, saying she was the Registrar of Voters at the time.
“With the Regarding Nancy’s allegations of misconduct in the Registrar’s office, I think Nancy is forgetting that in September 2013 and during last year’s election for Registrar, Patty Horvath was the Democratic Registrar of Voters who is now running on Nancy’s ticket. If she thinks something unethical happened during those elections maybe she should ask the woman sitting in her campaign headquarters about it.”
Rossi also claimed that Mayor O’Brien accepted the nomination of the “A Better Future” Party in 2011 which the mayor called “simply false.”
“I did not accept that party’s nomination in 2011 and I have never run as a third-party candidate in an election,” said O’Brien, “I have been a proud Democrat my entire life and not being successful in an election would not change that.”
With regards to the election in 2013, Mayor O’Brien won the primary against John Picard and said had things been different, he would have accepted the defeat.
“If I hadn’t won the primary, I would not have switched parties and run in the general anyway. I respect my party and West Haven residents too much to put them through that.”
Finally, Nancy’s campaign manager Mike Last alleged in last week’s Voice that O’Brien uses his position to hire friends and family on a regular basis.
“I would love to see him prove that,” O’Brien said. “I have never hired someone just because he or she is family or a personal friend. I hire individuals who are qualified for the jobs we need them to do, plain and simple. I have heard that talking point for a while now and would love to see someone actually prove it.”
O’Brien then hit his opponent broadside for making allegations that are demonstrably false.
“I don’t know if I’ve ever seen so much false information come from a candidate in a single article before. It is unfortunate that Nancy has to resort to conspiracy theories and fabrications to try to get people on her side. The fact is I’m fighting to move West Haven forward while Nancy is stuck staring in the rearview mirror; once again she got it wrong again.”
In response, Rossi made a point-by-point rebuttal to O’Brien.
“The statements made in the West Haven Voice last week were true and accurate. Mayor O’Brien and his administration are not accustomed to true and accurate information. They do not like when people catch them and call them out when they are wrong. The O’Brien team are at a point where they actually believe the inaccuracies they are saying” said Nancy Rossi.
Regarding the allegations of irregularities in 2012, Rossi said O’Brien should review the record and disputes his rendition of the events.
“One problem was the absentee ballots were not able to be reconciled during the recount in September, 2013 and the second problem was during the Registrar of Voters democratic primary last year. Both issues were with absentee ballots. Patty Horvath was a candidate and won all 10 voting districts and lost the primary when the absentee ballots were counted. The absentee ballots are handled in the City Clerk’s Office. I did not use the term “unethical.” The Registrar’s office does not handle absentee ballots until the day before the primary or election when they are turned over to the Registrar. I hope Mayor O’Brien actually knows who handles the absentee ballot process during an election,” said Nancy Rossi.
Rossi then responded to his denial concerning accepting an endorsement from the A Better Future Party in 2011.
“Mayor O’Brien again gets his facts wrong. O’Brien, was a petitioning candidate in the September 2011 Primary, and also had secured a cross-endorsement from the ‘A Better Future Party’ (New Haven Register, Amanda Pinto, Sept. 9, 2011,” she said. “After losing his council seat in the Democratic primary in 2011 he did indeed accept the nomination for the “A Better Future” party. However, he later did withdraw his name from the “A Better Future” line when it was pretty clear he would not be successful in the general election.”
Regarding the 2013 election, Rossi believes her slate of candidates was not given the same courtesies the O’Brien campaign was given.
“In 2013, as Mayor O’Brien previously pointed out, Patty Horvath was the Democratic Registrar and her office verified (his) team’s petitions as soon as they were dropped off to the Registrar, as was the historical practice. (Our) petitions sat, untouched, in the Registrar’s Office for almost a week. This prompted her team to take steps to ensure it was protected
“We were concerned, because of this delay. We might fall short with the signatures and therefore took the action to have the team certified for the November Election. I believe our concerns had merit, because since our petition process ended, it has now come to light that the Democratic Registrar incorrectly certified a candidate that was later deemed ineligible. We too, respect the Democratic Party; however, the leadership needs to be changed, so it will include all Democrats, not just a small group. We are proud Democrats and look forward to winning the Democratic Primary,” she said.
Regarding the hiring of political friends and cronies, former City Councilman and Rossi’s candidate for City Treasurer Michael Last, offered a response, citing specific examples.
“I think most everyone that has resided in West Haven for some time knows that Mayor O’Brien has hired many friends, and family of friends on the city payroll. The hiring was in City Hall, the Water Pollution Plant, Housing Authority and the Board of Education.
He then chided the mayor to offer a complete list of hires.
“I request that Mayor O’Brien provide me with a complete list of all promotions and new hires since he has been in office. It would be my absolute pleasure to create the O’Brien family and friends hiring tree. It would be an eye opener for the residents of West Haven to know how bad the nepotism really is under the O’Brien administration,” Last said.
Finally, regarding O’Brien’s allegation Rossi is resorting to “conspiracy theories, she offered a direct response.
“People that know me respect the fact that I am very straight forward and do not fabricate anything nor do I give false information. As a Certified Public Accountant I am held to a very high ethical standard and take my oath and responsibility very seriously. I would not jeopardize my personal or professional reputation,” she concluded.