Collaboration is new finance board's aim | Election 2010

November 11, 2011 - The Stamford Advocate, Stamford, Conn.

By Kate King, The Stamford Advocate, Conn.

Nov. 10?STAMFORD ? The Board of Finance will convene Thursday for what will be the last regular board meeting for lame-duck Republican members Scott Mirkin and Bob Kolenberg.

The board?s political makeup will shift dramatically in December, when newly elected Democrats John Louizos and David Martin replace Mirkin and Kolenberg after a heated race that exposed deep divisions within the city?s GOP. Mirkin and Kolenberg were on opposite sides of the GOP divide and ended up fourth and fifth, respectively, out of seven candidates vying for three open Finance Board seats.

Martin and Louizos finished second and third in the election. They will join party members Mary Lou Rinaldi and Tim Abbazia on the Finance Board in December to form a 4-2 Democratic majority. Rinaldi, now the board?s vice chair, easily won re-election and garnered the most votes of seven candidates.

Tuesday?s election results mean the Board of Finance?s Republican membership will shrink from three to just one ? Chairman Jerry Bosak. Independent member Kathleen Murphy said Wednesday that while she welcomes Martin?s financial background and Louizos? legal experience, she is ?concerned? a Democratic super-majority could stifle discussion and make the board less transparent.

?The Democrats had the super-majority before and the discussions were always done in the back rooms,? Murphy said. ?With the divide between the Republicans and Democrats and I on the board, nobody knew how the vote would be until we came out and discussed it. But now they can just discuss in caucus how they want the vote to come out.?

Abbazia said he thinks the board?s ?six very qualified and capable members? will conduct transparent discussions on the issues.

?There will be time for everyone to have their say and ask their questions,? he said. ?I think everyone is willing to work with the mayor to do what?s best for Stamford residents. I think there will be more constructive dialogue and more actionable efforts go forward.?

Bosak, who supported Mirkin during the election, said he is not overly worried about his new status as the lone Republican on the board.

?I think we can have healthy discussions,? he said. ?I think every individual member has a responsibility to ask the questions and to have transparency.?

Rinaldi did not return calls for comment Wednesday. Republican Mayor Michael Pavia said he is looking forward to working with the new board and doesn?t believe party differences will prevent him from advancing his agenda.

?I think that when things are discussed, and things are evaluated on a local level, there?s less of a political agenda than what you might see in a state or certainly federal government,? Pavia said. ?Everyone has the understanding that the decisions that they make affect their community and the people they live with. You accomplish a lot more with collaboration than with confrontation. It?s not about my agenda or my interests; it?s what?s in the best interest of the citizens and taxpayers of Stamford.?

Pavia?s administration spent much of its first two years battling the Board of Finance, which was lead until February by Kolenberg and former Chairman Joe Tarzia, who lost a bid Tuesday to rejoin the board. Murphy and the board?s former leadership blocked several of the mayor?s requests, including overtime funding for snow removal and an appropriation to hire an attorney for the Board of Ethics? investigating panel.

?Good governance is here to stay, despite what you?ve seen in this last campaign,? Pavia said Tuesday after learning Kolenberg and Tarzia had not won election to the Finance Board. ?That is behind us now. They?re gone.?

Director of Administration Fred Flynn, who also clashed with Kolenberg and Tarzia over the last two years, said he is eager to work with the new board.

?I?m looking forward to working with the newly configured Board of Finance, especially since the recently elected members appear committed to a Board of Finance that works effectively,? he said Wednesday. ?Personally, I was disappointed that Mr. Mirkin wasn?t elected because I think he demonstrated his value on both the Board of Representatives? Fiscal Committee and more recently on the Board of Finance.?

Louizos and Martin said Wednesday they intend to approach Finance Board business in a collaborative, civil manner. Louizos, who served one term on the board before losing his seat in 2009, said he is ?optimistic? for his return to the Government Center.

?I think it?s going to be a board where people will be more respectful of one another,? he said. ?I?d like the board to send a message to all our Stamford department heads that our expectations of them have been and will continue to be high for the people we represent. But we respect them and they should respect the board. The animosity and the fear factor I think should be taken away, but the expectations will remain high.?

Martin, a former mayoral candidate and longtime president of the Board of Representatives, will be the only ?new blood? on the Finance Board in December. He said the board?s new membership is a ?profound opportunity? to advance the cause of Stamford taxpayers.

?In the past there?s been so much nonsense going on,? he said. ?I expect a higher standard than what we?ve seen in the past. We?re refocusing on the true mission of the Board of Finance.?

The new board will vote at its regular meeting next month to select a chairman and vice chairman.

Staff Writer Kate King can be reached at kate.king@scni.com or at 203-964-2263.

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(c)2011 The Stamford Advocate (Stamford, Conn.)

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Source: http://election2010.illumen.org/latest-news/collaboration-is-new-finance-boards-aim-2

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