Commission Member Claims “Dirty Politics”
By David Huck | Correspondent at September 19, 2023 | 8:15 pm | Print
Two members of the Humane Commission have been removed from the board and reassigned, an ousting that one of the volunteers calls “dirty politics at its best.”
The two members of the board, which was formed earlier this year and has been marked by heated debates and disagreements among volunteers, are Barbara Fortin and Paula Poplawski.
The mayor’s spokesperson, Fernando Marroquin, said that the two members have been “assigned” to alternate commissions, the Board of Finance and Taxation and the Board of Health.
“There’s been a lot of obstruction in getting things done,” Commission Chairwoman Diane Smith said, adding that the way some commission have members acted towards others—including the public—has been “unprofessional.” Some issues, such as the development of a spay-neuter or euthanasia policies, have been road blocked by members.
On Wednesday, Sept. 18, the Humane Commission was set to meet, but the departure of Poplawski and Fortin, along with the absence of Officer Phil Caseria and Police Officer Steve Wells, left the commission without a quorum. One of the items on the agenda included a discussion about “rules of conduct.” The commission will meet next on the third Wednesday of October.
Fortin said she received a certified letter on Sept. 12 explaining that her seat on the board had been vacated, but said even though she volunteered for the board, she is angry over the removal, but is ready to move on.
“I have belonged to numerous groups and have been involved with many committees and boards as both a member and a chair and have never had an unpleasant an experience as the New Britain Humane Commission has been,” Fortin said in a recent interview.
The mayor formed the commission as a way to address issues related to geese, the dog pound, and stray animals. In June, O’Brien sent a letter to the commission asking them to look at four areas: a policy that would allow volunteers to be a part of the operation of the city’s dog pound, an update on the city’s euthanasia policy, and a recommendation about temperament-testing protocol. In order to cut down on the city’s stay dog population, the mayor also asked that the commission recommend a spay-neuter policy.
In that letter, O’Brien touched on the different opinions likely to be raised by the commission, saying: “I believe it is healthier for our community as a whole if the Humane Commission can be a place where these differing points of view are discussed and reconciled into policy.”
But from the beginning, Fortin says her time on the commission has been unpleasant.
“Early on, we were subjected to a speech where one commissioner complained that she had begged the mayor for months to put only animal professionals into the ‘seven sacred seats’ because only professionals had the knowledge and intelligence to deal with the issues, and she dismissed Paula Poplawski and myself as ‘just pet owners,’” Fortin explained.
She said that whenever an opposing viewpoint was brought up, comments were made about her not caring about the dogs. “If I ‘didn’t care’ about the dogs, why would I bother to volunteer for the commission in the first place?” Fortin said.
Fortin added: “This kind of behavior went on the entire time I was on the commission and added to the frustration of trying to get something accomplished, was very unpleasant.”
The last straw, Fortin said, was when commission member Cathy DeMarco called a private meeting to “seek a solution to petty bickering.” Fortin said the sole purpose of the meeting was to come up with a way of getting two members off the commission because they had differing opinions.
DeMarco said the meeting at a former grange hall in Berlin was “not secret,” as it was publically announced in a newspaper story and was attended by residents, including city leaders. DeMarco said she called the meeting because the commission was a “mess.”
“People were appointed to the commission that have no place being there,” DeMarco said, adding that some members had a “huge lack” of relevant experience or education.
Under the city’s charter, the mayor can remove a board or commission member only on the account of misconduct in the performance of duties, persistent absence, conviction of a felony, and a conviction of a misdemeanor which would undermine a member’s ability to perform the duties of office.
“The mayor may initiate proceeding under the Rules of Procedure set by Ordinance, which has not been done. The whole point of Article in the Charter is to prevent exactly what happened to us,” Fortin said.
In order to get around this legal technicality, he “promoted” Fortin and the other member to positions on other boards because the Charter also states one person cannot serve on two boards at the same time, Fortin believes.
Smith, the chairwoman, said, “The mayor makes the appointments and he can take them off with cause. He had enough cause.”
“This is dirty politics at its best. Imagine the implications if this becomes accepted practice,” Fortin said. “What citizen of New Britain would willingly serve on a Board or Commission knowing that they could be thrown off on a whim?”
