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Leng: Cop union in his corner.
Hamden’s police union has made a first-ever mayoral endorsement, for the reelection of Incumbent Mayor Curt Leng.
The endorsement was announced in a press release issued Friday, four days before Leng seeks to hold onto his job in a three-way Democratic primary.
In the statement, the union lauded Leng for fighting “vigorously against the defunding of the Hamden Police Department” and celebrated his “instrumental” role “in restoring the police officer positions that were recently cut in budget deliberations.”
In response to the endorsement, Leng celebrated various crime-fighting measures the town has taken during his time in office including new community policing initiatives, increased patrols and police presence, violence prevention and intervention efforts, and the establishment of the Strengthening Police & Community Partnership Council.
“My administration and the Police Department have worked hand-in-hand to improve Hamden and make our neighborhoods safer. We’ve accomplished a lot,” Leng stated in the joint release with the police union. “I will always support a safe Hamden, a strong Hamden Police Department and Fire Department, the safety services that protect our residents.Our residents depend on these services, and they deserve a Mayor fighting to keep them strong.”
“I think my grandfather, former Sgt. Andrew Balzano, would have been very proud of this and it’s an honor that means a lot to my family and to our community. We need to all have each other’s backs and there’s never been a more important time for this to be what we don’t just say, but put into action,” he added.
Leng’s stance on policing has arguably been the clearest and most significant distinction between him and his two opponents in next Tuesday’s primary, Democratic Town Committee-endorsed Lauren Garrett and challenger Peter Cyr.
Both Cyr and Garrett have criticized a clause in Hamden’s current police contract, approved in the spring of this year, that bars layoffs of officers for three years.
They said the opposition does not come from a desire to cut positions; Cyr has said that he believes 100 officers is the right size for the department, which is also the minimum number guaranteed in that same contract. Rather, the candidates have suggested that prohibiting layoffs lowers officers’ sense of accountability and closes doors for further negotiations with the union.
Garrett said on Friday that “the endorsement was a foregone conclusion,” asserting that the police union has “Curt over a barrel when it comes to negotiations.”
She cast the issue in terms of fiscal management. For example, after the union contract was agreed upon, the Legislative Council learned about a $300,000 miscalculation in estimated concessions that were expected in exchange for a larger police force and that ban on layoffs. (Read about that controversy in this previous article in the New Haven Register.)
Garrett noted that she has been endorsed by the Western Connecticut Area Labor Federation, which she said includes “unions that represent police officers, social workers, and so many other professionals.”
Meanwhile, Peter Cyr replied that “despite their endorsement, I look forward to working with [the police union] in the future to find cost-effective and efficient ways to keep our town safe.”
Read more here about the various endorsements that Leng, Garrett, and Cyr have received so far.