New Haven Independent

The party, deeply divided over a series of political tricks, not just the one centering on DaRos, took the extraordinary step after a two-hour meeting Tuesday night. Among the topics were some not often discussed in everyday political life: ethics, the breach of professional responsibility and abuse of power.
In what was clearly a watershed moment, the group voted 32 to 16 to call for immediately firing Marcus, the former state Democratic chairman. Fourteen members abstained. Marcus’s wife, Jill, a member of the committee, left before the vote took place.
Morris has not publicly spoken about the events that led Marcus to summon a police detective to her office in order to initiate an investigation into DaRos. Tuesday night she finally apologized to Unk “on behalf of the administration and the town of Branford. I also find what happened unacceptable,” she added.
In answer to a question later in the meeting she acknowledged that she was unaware that Marcus was investigating Da Ros and actually using her office to do it.
“And he was allowed to act independently in this situation?” asked Pamela Roy, who moved the resolution.
“Not in matters of this nature,” Morris said, barely audible.
“It has been a very difficult time for me and it is a very difficult situation for me. And it happened very quickly,” she said. Morris and her husband Bruce, a former state senator, and Marcus and his wife, Jill, are close friends. Bruce Morris and Jill Marcus are also business partners located at Marcus’s law firm in New Haven.
Morris asked for time to consult others before she made her decision about whether to follow the Town Committee’s advice. Frank Carrano, who in March defeated Morris and Marcus’s efforts to keep him from the chairmanship, seemed inclined to give her two weeks. But that didn’t go over well with the group. In the end, a weary looking Morris said she would act in a week.
Many in the room expressed their indignation at the events put in motion last month by Marcus and Michael Milici, his sidekick and former chair of this group. The resolution also said Milici abused his power and the trust of the party. He did not attend the meeting.
The event that triggered the resolution to fire Marcus occurred on April 28 when Marcus initiated an inquiry into a current contract between the town and the Stony Creek Granite Company. At issue was whether the town was getting its fair share of the royalties, the police report said. Milici hired a private investigator to take photos of the granite found at DaRos’s business. He is a stone mason.
Peter Jackson, of Short Beach, did not buy Morris’s request for further discussion with others. “With all due respect, Cheryl, is there going to be someone who is for it? We think that Ed Marcus is doing a great job harassing his political enemies. It can’t happen…. I think we have to come clean with the voters of the town. We are going to be hiding our heads if we don’t do this,” he said.
Several speakers spoke of Milici and Marcus’s conduct during the recent primary battle in Short Beach in which the Save Branford slate won all 10 seats by an overwhelming vote. The campaign was marked by Milici’s use of personal attacks against candidates. He sent sleazy literature to democrats in the district and to key politicians across the state. He created an organization called “Citizens for a Better Branford,” and made himself treasurer. It is not clear what organization footed the bills.
Finally the vote was called. Bruce Morris, who was in the room, asked for a roll call. That probably led to all the abstentions, but in the end, the resolution carried.
The final sentence denouncing the behavior of Marcus and Milici, condemned “any and all conduct that seeks to abuse the power” placed in the hands of those in elected or appointive positions.