Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra has said he’s running for a second term in office.
The lawyer and social worker turned city councilman first came to the mayoralty somewhat reluctantly, finishing out the term of then Mayor Eddie Perez – who resigned his office. Then in 2011, Segarra ran for the office and won. Four years later, he wants another shot. And he has a message for those who are already lining up to challenge him: What have you done for the city lately?
"That's the measure by which people are going to be judged. What have you done for our city? Where have you been in terms of our city in the past? What can you produce?" Segarra said. "And, I think, on all of those grounds, I'm very confident that the answer is that Pedro Segarra is the best suited to have another four years at Hartford City Hall."
It hasn't always been an easy ride for the mayor. In the past four years, his departments of fire and public works have faced leadership challenges, his use of a city credit card to pay for an expensive New Year's Eve party came under fire, his initial rollout of a plan to build a baseball stadium in Hartford was flawed at best, and his chief of staff resigned, and was later arrested, for misusing city resources. City Hall also faced a barrage of criticism on election day as voters were turned away from the polls.
Also, as federal agents investigated hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost insurance premiums at city hall, Treasurer Adam Cloud said the mayor was "desperate" in his attempt to divert attention from the administration's problems. Cloud said Segarra had used him as a scapegoat.
Segarra conceded that any administration has its bumps, including his own. But, drawing a contrast with Perez, Segarra says he has made it easy for people in his administration to disagree with him, and he's made it easy for people to participate. He also looks at what he says are low violent crime rates and high graduation rates.
"The way I look at it, if we had increases in crime and a further exodus of corporations and residents, guess who would have taken the blame?" Segarra said. "I think it's only fair that, because I've been an important ingredient in terms of making these things happen, and these things are happening, that I continue that momentum."
There's also his much discussed plan to build a minor league stadium to the capital city. The deal isn't yet finalized, but construction needs to begin next month in order to play ball in April 2016.
"When I became mayor, everyone was pessimistic about Hartford," he said. "Given what we went through as a city, given the fact that jobs, given the fact that there was no interest, really, per se, in the city. There was no ambition of any one person of really wanting to be the mayor. There certainly wasn't a line of people wanting to be mayor, and I think that has changed drastically."
Now there is something of a line. Several people have said they want to explore a run for the office -- including Luke Bronin, former legal counsel to Gov. Dannel Malloy. Segarra said he welcomes all challengers.
"I think that it not only takes intelligence," Segarra said. "It takes someone who has a special human rapport with individuals to be able to make things happen."
