Ethics Complaint Filed
By Robin Vinci at December 20, 2023 | 4:54 pm | Print
Dwight Blint, chairman of the New Britain Republican Party, filed an ethics complaint against Mayor Timothy O’Brien Thursday “on the grounds that he misled the public and at least four members of the New Britain Common Council into believing that Briggitte Brown’s community organizer position was being funded through a HUD grant when in fact she was being paid from the city’s General Fund.”
“Everyone had been misled and if not for the New Britain City Journal we would not have known this,” said Blint. “Everyone thought it was fishy but no one knew what was going on.”
Blint contends that the Mayor “misled the public, the media and council members by knowingly providing false information, and additionally, by failing to correct erroneous information when it was repeated by others.”
His complaint continues that as “a result of the mayor’s impropriety, the council passed a budget based on false information; Alderman Rha-Sheen Brown unwittingly violated the city charter, Sec. 2-452 (procedure when discharge of duty affects member’s financial interest or may constitute impropriety or appearance of impropriety); and, Alderman David DeFronzo provided false information to the public during a Council Meeting.”
To support his claim, he provided the following to the Ethics Commission:
• Newspaper articles in which the mayor’s office described the position as grant funded to the media.
• Statements from at least four aldermen indicating that they were unaware that the position was being funded by the city.
• A video in which a council member describes the position as grant funded to the public and Council meeting attendees.
• A letter from HUD that shows the mayor allowed Brown’s position to be described as grant funded even after it had been decided to pay her salary through the general fund.
• Newspaper articles in which the mayor and his spokesperson described a city “hiring freeze,” although in reality they were using city funds to pay for this newly created position.
“I am confident if the Ethic Commission gives this matter a fair and honest review, it will find that the mayor acted in an improper and non-transparent manner that violated the public trust and the ethical standards expected of his office,” concluded Blint in the complaint.
“This is an ethics commission that he appointed so I don’t know what will happen,” Blint said. “I hope that this issue is aired publicly. It has been swept under the rug. I can handle whatever the outcome, but want a formal discussion.”
After the New Britain City Journal wrote a story Dec. 7 questioning if this was a conflict of interest, the mayor has still not admitted any wrong doing. Instead of addressing the issue, his office has claimed information to be inaccurate. O’Brien did not, however, address the issue that he gave misinformation to council members or the media.
“I said previously that I too feel the mayor and his office misled the council and the people of New Britain,” said Alderman Jamie Giantonio. “I look forward to the ethics commission taking an open and honest look at this.”
“In a time when we are laying off people, residents need to know why they are creating a new position at that salary and hid it,” said Blint. “He is saying he didn’t do anything wrong. Without an ethics commission no one will ask him why and someone needs to.”
Brown’s salary is $47,000.
