New Haven Independent: Is Cheryl About to Defect?

Is Cheryl About to Defect?

by Marcia Chambers | January 24, 2007 3:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (17)

Is Cheryl Morris about to give the boot to the Branford Dems? And, if so, can her hub, Bruce Morris, Mr. Democrat himself, be far behind?

This possible scenario was announced by Bruce Morris himself, perhaps in a moment of pique (of which there were several) at a divisive, blood-letting meeting of the Democratic Town Committee (DTC) last week. If true, it could signal a dramatic turn of events in town politics, making the November 2007 First Selectman’s election a three-way race among the Democrats, the Republicans and Mrs. Morris running as an Independent.

Observing that a faction of the Democratic Party had offended his wife, Morris said in a loud voice: “If people keep pissing her off, she’ll run as an Independent”“I’ll tell you that. That will do something to the Democratic Party! And I resent that. I don’t think we should go there. We need a unified Democratic Party; we need to stop throwing knives at one another.”

Now one could take that one line threat as an off-hand comment made in a moment of anger. Or one might recall Joe Lieberman’s recent race for U.S. Senate. Having lost the Democratic primary to Ned Lamont, Lieberman ran and won last fall as an Independent.

Mrs. Morris did nothing to temper her husband’s announcement. If she were trying to court DTC support in a race that will undoubtedly include Anthony “Unk” DaRos, she certainly didn’t act that way. In what appeared to be a combination hissy-fit and melt down, she practically renounced her affiliation with the Democratic Party. She declared:

“I have not deserved the treatment that I have gotten from this party. I won and won the election. I am the first selectman and whether anybody likes it or not, that is who is in office right now. In the future somebody else will have the opportunity. But I resent all the accusations and all the slanderous things that have been said about me since I have been in office”¦”

She believes that “from the day I got elected people have been making horrible and untrue statements about me.” But she failed to cite examples of such statements. She actually seemed not to understand why her actions might have provoked discord within the DTC, when the DTC itself directed her to fire town attorney Ed Marcus last May. The DTC said Ed Marcus had abused his power and violated the trust of the party when he asked the police to investigate DaRos. She refused.

In a letter to Mrs. Morris last May in which he explained the DTC resolution, Frank Carrano, the chair of the DTC, pointed out that Marcus took “unilateral action” without the First Selectwoman’s “permission or knowledge.”

Moshe Gai, an outspoken critic of the Morris Administration, is a man whose very presence irks Bruce Morris. At the end of the meeting, Gai asked: “Do I hear right? Is this something like a threat? That I am going to go Independent.”

Bruce Morris, who is no longer the chair of the DTC, was so upset by Gai’s interruptions that he moved to adjourn the meeting, saying his motion was not debatable. He thought nothing of usurping the role of Chairman Carrano, who had not yet completed the agenda items. Instead, Morris scooped up his minions “”his wife, along with Scott Thayer and Ralph Coppola, Jr. both RTM members, and out they walked.

Over the course of the evening, Bruce Morris’s conduct alternated between street talk and sweet reason. First he asked for reason, saying the DTC had to come together, despite their animosity, in order to get a Democrat elected to the First Selectman’s job this November. He noted that the conduct of the Branford DTC was now on the state’s radar screen. He should know. He is one of two delegates in the 12th District to serve on the State’s Central Democratic Committee. He is also a former Democratic State Senator.

Still he couldn’t resist calling the DTC members from District 3 in Short
Beach, a “gang,” a description that drew the ire of member Eve Perkins. “Why do you insist on calling us a gang? She asked. Why not address us as members of District 3?”

The District 3 primary last year was a watershed moment because the Save Branford slate won all 10 seats by an overwhelming vote, ousting key Democrats, including John Smith, the Democratic Majority Leader of the RTM, and Shelley Marcus, Town Attorney # 2 and Ed’s daughter. The letter writing campaign against the “Save Branford” slate was nasty and included letters signed by Dan Baughman, former DTC chair and RTM members Lisa Avitable and Coppola, Jr. Mike Milici, former DTC Chair, served as treasurer for the losing slate and sent out material using his name and address.

At the DTC meeting last week, it was difficult for Bruce Morris to rein in his anger, to be the emissary that a State Rep ought to be. For example, at one point he shouted at Gai, a former commando in the Israeli army: “You want to take me on? I don’t like disrespect. And I am not going to put up with it!”

There are, in fact, good political reasons why Cheryl Morris might decide to run as an independent. If DaRos decides to run, and he is currently a DTC vice-chairman, he, rather than Cheryl, is expected to get the endorsement of the DTC. In that case, Morris might want to avoid a Democratic primary against a popular former First Selectman.

She certainly appeared to be cutting her ties to her own party. She denounced her opponents, accusing them over and over of making slanderous remarks in the local newspapers. She gave no facts, no examples, no specifics, and no issues “”not even to this audience—her fellow democrats.

Mrs. Morris seemed livid at Pam Roy, who with Eliza Cleveland signed a letter that led to the formal RTM granite-gate investigation. Ms. Roy had told the group how it important it is for elected officials to have integrity and character

It was that statement that set Mrs. Morris off. Her eyes never left Roy’s face. “You want to talk about character. Look at some of the people in this room, if you want to talk about character,” Morris said. “Because I am honest, I have been truthful and I don’t make up stories about people and try to slander them in the paper .You have no respect whatsoever. I don’t care who you like or who you don’t like, but to put out garbage about the selectmen in the paper, you are absolutely disgraceful and you have been a disgrace to this party.”

Mrs. Morris continued to repeat the words of slander and the use of slanderous material in newspapers, and she sounded a lot like Ed Marcus’s prior threats to the townspeople on the same subject.

She ended by citing a controversial letter that was delivered to the RTM right before the January meeting. The letter, signed by Baughman and Milici, the two former DTC chairs, targeted RTM members Lonnie Reed, Sandra Reiners, Gail Chapman-Carbone and Hilary Kiskaddon. Kiskaddon, who at 26 is the youngest RTM member, is expected to resign from the DTC and the RTM because she is moving out of state. The letter writers accused her of living in New Haven. The letter seems to indicate that she and another RTM member may have been followed.

Mrs. Morris observed dryly that “now that factual things have come out about conduct that has been done, and oh, all of a sudden, everybody thinks it is terrible. Well, that’s too bad, because you know what? I’ve been taking it for a year. And I’m sorry that other people are starting to get upset. Not for things that have been made up, but for things that are the absolute truth.”

Reed won election to the RTM from the 5th District but soon after moved to the 2nd District because she was unable to find a place to rent in her district, she said. She offered to resign from the RTM, but Bruce Morris, who also serves as chair of the 5th district, urged her not to resign. He told her then and he confirmed at the DTC meeting, that she could use his and Cheryl’s address at 135 Pawson Park to pick up her mail. At the time Ms. Reed lived across the street. Ed Marcus also told Reed that she did not have to give up her seat as long as she continued to live in Branford. The Branford Charter says an RTM member who “shall move from the district from which he was elected may serve until the next meeting for the election of RTM members.”

Why are Milici, Baughman, Smith and Cheryl and Bruce Morris so upset about Reed some 14 months after the election? One reason is that she has publicly denounced their tactics in newspaper interviews in recent weeks. Another reason is she is likely to have a significant role in the campaign to return Unk DaRos to office.

Before the RTM could even discuss what to do with the letter, Moderator Jim Bruno sent it to the State’s Elections Enforcement Commission, which may or may not view the accusation as credible, coming fourteen months after the 2005 election.

The split within the party continues. Not surprisingly, Carrano had no idea what Milici and Baughman were doing behind his back.

He told the DTC members he was upset about their letter, which he called “totally inappropriate”. Citing district election issues regarding Reed and Chapman-Carbone and Reiners, Carrano said “this was our business “¦and it was inappropriate for committee members to take it to the RTM, especially since we had discussed it and reached consensus.” He also said “it was counter productive to the best interests of the Democratic Party.

“I just want all of you to know,” he said, his voice rising, “that I do not, I do not support this kind of behavior. I think that it is going to hurt us at a time when the party is trying to recruit new members.” But he did not ask for more, for censure or for dismissal.

Baughman had already left the meeting. Milici never showed up.

###

Comments

Posted by: roger | January 24, 2007 9:04 PM

It must be tough to be queen when the peasants are revolting(not to be confused with revolting peasants)What happened to the old days of Branford politics when edicts carved in granite rolled down from high on the hill to the town hall front door?Now the edicts come in plastic,are sailed in thru a window like frisbees often going in one window and out the other.In the words of the "Who" "We won't get fooled again."

Posted by: Moshe Gai | January 25, 2007 9:20 AM

Amidst all the shouts and tears we managed to upset Branford Royal Family, Bruce and Cheryl Morris, and they divulged the secret plan for Cheryl to run as an Independent against the candidate of the Democratic party. How good to hear the plan so early in the game. From here forth Cheryl must be considered the nemesis of the Democratic party since soon she will use the entire Marcus machinery to defame all Democratic candidates running for office, not only the candidate for the first selectman position. It is time for Cheryl cronies to do some soul searching: are you going to defect the Democratic party with Cheryl and most likely be left in shame when she will lose. Thou Shalt Not Forget The Tax Payers Party. Moshe Gai.

Posted by: scjerry | January 25, 2007 10:27 AM

Itâ€™s not often that I have the opportunity to see the best and the worst sides of both politics and civility in one evening. But I had this chance at last Thursdayâ€™s Democratic Town Committee meeting.

The best of our democratic process was exemplified by a presentation by Dr. Dianne Kaplan deVries, Project Director for he Connecticut Coalition for Justice in Education Funding (CCJEF). A spirited debate and question-answer session culminated in one of the most important endorsements by the DTC in the past year -- a resolution to support a statewide tax restructuring and education funding reform movement.

But bad behavior by our politicians (and others) makes the headlines to the exclusion of the good that happened that night. Rancorous, rude, disrespectful and disruptive behavior should not be tolerated by anyone, and I think there was plenty of blame to go around last Thursday.

Of course, what is good news is that Cheryl may run as an independent.

What a way of announcing it!

Posted by: Pam Knapp | January 25, 2007 10:33 AM

Great piece! How unfortunate that I could not attend the last DTC meeting - this one was full of revelations.

I find it disturbing (to say the least) that the very same people who assured Lonnie Reed that it was appropriate to stay on the Democratic ticket would suddenly now turn against her and attack her for wrongdoing.
The timing of this turn is not coincidental, and all too familiar.

Should I and other members of the 3rd District DTC cite Bruce Morris for referring to us as a "gang?" Talk about gang mentality! We campaigned on issues that were real and pressing, and the people in this district responded. Time and again, voters expressed their distaste and repulsion for the nasty letters and ugly attacks our opponents delivered. They were also greatly concerned about the direction in which our town was headed.

Like it or not, we do represent the more than 600 Dems in the 3rd district and we will continue to do so. I am proud to be a member of this so-called "gang" that will continue to
demand accountability and ethical behavior of its elected officials.

Posted by: Tyrone Speaks T.E. | January 25, 2007 12:19 PM

Well, Well, Well, Let's take a high level view of what's realing happening here boys and girls. Unk is coming back to run again and Bruce is threatening to run his wife as an independent. Oh-ya and Bruce is mad at everyone too!

Unk is a heck of nice guy and has had Branford's best interest in mind. But make no mistake about it there were skeletons in Unk's closet too when he was in office. Remember the the Fire Chief Buonome buy out scandel? The Branford Review covered this story very well. One week Unk was requesting the Fire Chief be terminated and the following week Unk made a closed door cash settlement of over $250K for him to resigne. Why? did Bounome know somthing?

As a taxpayer, and in my humble opinion the Democartic party is incapable of leading the town effectivly, not to mention honestly! Even if Unk wins the in-fighting will still continue.
Say what you will about John Opie, he was a good leader and an honest one as well. I pray that he runs again.

Posted by: gardenR | January 25, 2007 6:42 PM

The factual error in an interesting article is that this person is running as a capital I Independent. They would be running as petitioning candidates, I would imagine, as it is my understanding did Joe Lieberman.

John Mertens ran as the senatorial candidate of the Independent Party CT. http://www.mertens2006.com/jm2006/

IF she's truly running on the Independent Party's ticket, then clarification would be welcome since so many major news sources even fail to make this distinction.

Posted by: E. Cleveland | January 25, 2007 8:14 PM

It is absolutely hilarious to think of Cheryl Morris running as anything or for anything after what she has accomplished in Branford. Her greatest legacy is that she has galvanized a huge segment of Branford citizens to become involved in the democratic process by attending town board and commission meetings and speaking up when they are unhappy with what is going on. This kind of involvement by Branford residents is wonderful, and can only make Branford a stronger town. These citizens are now highly engaged in watching what Cheryl and Ed and Shelly Marcus are doing. And in answer to Mr. Tyrone Speaks T.E., you need to understand that it is approximately 20 Democrats in the entire town who would support Cheryl Morris and Ed Marcus over Unk. Unk is a known leader who has already accomplished a huge amount for the town.

Posted by: scjerry | January 25, 2007 8:25 PM

Well, well, let's take a high level view, boys and girls, (how condescending) now that the players in the next foray into the never-never-land of local town politics are about to reveal themselves, lets all look at all of the facts.

Skeletal remains in closets? Indeed. Yea, the fire chief probably should not have gotten off, but because he had something on Unk? Give me a break.

Let me see, the Islander East guy, Ed Harney, got a town gift under Opie, because of opinions and pressures of the Town's liability insurance company lawyers, who wield a lot of influence over administrative decisions (including prospective law suits by disgruntled former employees).

John Opie is a respected member of our town, and has contributed much to influence a moderate approach to governing same. And I like the guy.

But to answer the critique posed by Tyrone Speaks, Cheryl will run as an independent, mark my words. And her record will haunt her and serve to defeat her.

Those Unk supporters left in the town Democratic Party (a significant majority) will prevail to divest the Democratic Town Committee of vestiges of Cheryl's influence. There will be no infighting.

The insinuation that Unk is incapable of an honest administration is a scurrilous charge, indeed.

We can then discuss sewer problems that originated during the Republican Gott's administration (when John was 2nd selectman) in further discussions.

Thank you Tyrone.

Posted by: TrueBlueCT | January 25, 2007 8:25 PM

This is why you never want to get in bed with Ed Marcus. At least not in a town like Branford, where there are obviously too many honest people!

Time after time Ms. Morris has failed to count her cards correctly, (the 3rd District battle, the DaRos investigation,...) Let's hope she wakes up in time to save herself the embarassment of losing this year's election, even if she runs as a non-Democrat.

Basically she blew it when sided with the Marcus law firm against the Branford activists. Her tragic blindness is nearly Shakespearean in scope.

Posted by: ctkeith | January 25, 2007 8:41 PM

OH THE IRONY,LMAO,

The Irony of Moshe Gai (a Joe Lieberman supporter even after he lost the primary) calling out the Marcus/ Morris Mafia (also Lieberman supporters even after his primary loss) on PARTY LOYALTY is just to sweet not to mention.

Oh what a tangled web we weave ......

It's over Bruce,Go quietly with the little dignity you have left.

To Tyrone,

I agree John Opie is an honest man but in order to win an election one must run a COMPETENT campaign.
The loss to Marcus/Morris was every bit as much John Opie and the Branford Republican Parties fault,maybe more,than it was the Branford Democratic parties fault. Ask any member of the Branford Republican Town Committee.

Posted by: Tyrone Speaks T.E. | January 26, 2007 10:59 AM

CTKEITH, I completely agree with you about a competent campaign and your correct the RTC would agree.

SCJERRY, My intention was not to be condescending to those of us frustrated with this administration and care about the future of our town. My remarks are intended however to be comedic sarcasm directed to those in office now and anyone that supports them. As far as giving you a break about skeletal remains? I will just say I knew people in the room.

Posted by: scjerry | January 26, 2007 9:03 PM

To Tyronne Speaks

"As far as giving you a break about skeletal remains? I will just say I knew people in the room."

I always view such assertions and accusations with a jaundiced eye, because if they truly carry the weight of the convictions of a body of persons of integrity, these accusations would see the light of legal scrutiny.

Posted by: Mojito. T.E. | January 27, 2007 10:25 PM

The truth hurts; doesn't it Cheryl. Your own party has decided enough is enough and well, I cannot blame them. You chose Ed Marcus as your town attorney, don't come crying to the public now that itâ€™s hitting the fan and people are fed up with your Administration's antics running Town Hall. You played dirty during your election, you were dirty with Granite Gate, you were dirty with Terry Elton, and in my opinion youâ€™re on the verge of being illegal in your actions with Rep Panaroni, and you have disgraced our town's government. It's your mess, so live with the public criticism. You chose those who would guide you in running this town, now face the consequences of that decision.

As far as the DTC, finding religion now is an amazing thing, you all supported the Morris/Sullivan ticket as party loyalist, knowing full well that Ed Marcus was going to call the shots and now that he is, you are trying to remove yourselves from responsibility for your mistake. Sorry, you are all to blame. Voters of Branford take note. Unk DaRos campaigned on Cheryl's behalf, Lonnie Reed, Gail Chapman, John Smith, Jim Bruno and all the elected D's campaigned on Morris' behalf. They put the town in the mess we are in today and they should not be given the ability to run this town ever again.

As far as comments from SCJERRY, CTKEITH and others regarding the last election and the Opie campaign, I have one comment. If it takes dirty politics to win Branford's vote, then count John Opie out; that's not his game. Opie ran a campaign on his record (which if folks took the time to understand was a good one). The public was lambasted with day before election mailers that were lies generated by the Morris/Marcus camp and well here we are. Reminder, Opie lost by less than 700 votes with a dismal showing at the polls, and I am betting today there is at least 701 people who wish they either voted or voted differently in the last election given the mess the town is in today.

Branford Voters, send the message next fall, send Morris, Sullivan, Marcus and the whole â€œMorris teamâ€ home next election, including her loyal puppets John Smith, Jim Bruno, et al. from the RTM. Let them know we don't want their kind of politics in our town.

Posted by: LOCALLAW | January 28, 2007 5:27 PM

MOJITO. T.E. YOU SO SPEAK THE TRUTH

Posted by: The People | February 1, 2007 8:33 AM

Question to Mojito: What were Opie's accomplishments? The word on the street is that he was the "do nothing" guy. I agree with you about sending the "whole Morris team" home including their "loyal puppets John Smith, Jim Bruno, et al. from the RTM." Let's add Jan Doyle, Scott Thayer, Lisa Avitable, Dottie Maynard, Margaret Bruno, and Bob Ables to that list. They all seem to LOVE Morris.

Posted by: roger | February 2, 2007 5:18 AM

Yes, Opie did do something he gave certain department heads large "merit" raises.Problem was he never bothered to set any standards for these "merit" raises.If I remember correctly he said he would do that next time.If there had been standards he might have been asking for money back instead.

Posted by: Mojito. T.E. | February 3, 2007 12:05 AM

The Opie Administration accomplishments while in office included (to name a few):

ï¶ Renegotiation of 7 bargaining unit contracts costing taxpayers less than 3% (Contracts that the town is financially benefiting from today)
ï¶ The highest tax collection rate in Town's History 98.45% (maybe if he was still in office we could have collected Rep Pararoni's taxes without him suing the town)
ï¶ 200+ acres of Open Space acquired and it was Opie's persistence that brought the Queach property from a stalemate to the eventual negotiation after he left office,
ï¶ Additional safety staff in the fire and police departments,
ï¶ Investment into Town Hall's infrastructure to enable the website and service that residents enjoy on-line today,
ï¶ An Animal Shelter inter-town agreement that lowered the taxpayer's cost by 24%,
ï¶ A Sewer Consent Decree project that was almost a $1M under budget when he left office (wonder where that project stands today).

Mr. Opie never promised to lower taxes, he promised to spend those dollars wisely and he did. Please note, with a 15-15 RTM in his last year the budget proposed passed without any major changes (guess the Dâ€™s thought the Opie Budget was fiscally sound that year). If you look at your tax bill it goes up every year, not a single selectman in my time in town has be able to lower taxes (including the Morris Administration), and given the increases with education costs, one never will. While these may not seem like blockbuster accomplishments, one has to consider the manner in which Mr. Opie made them happen. He was and is a gentleman through and through. He office door was always open and the atmosphere in Town Hall certainly reflected the attitude he brought to the job everyday.

Branford is a good town with good people, it deserves a leader like John Opie who cares not for a personal agenda, for popularity, for personal gain, for political payoffs, but cares for what is right for the Town of Branford. John Opie was that leader, quite as he may have been; he was good for the Town of Branford.

Oh, and with respect to department heads salary increases, look back to the DaRos Administration budgets that provided double digit increases to those folks in his years prior to leaving office; those were additional expenses the Opie Administration inherited in its first year.

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