Civics Statements from Casual Conversations - City Council Address May 18, 2026 (John Marshall Lee)

As we celebrate the attention of the State of CT administration, our state legislators, and local Council and Board of Education members and citizen supporters for the dollars available to the school system for the coming year, let us keep the youth in mind. They are shaped by the success or failure of adults today in securing rights and teaching public service responsibilities.

When elected leaders fail to address their most basic statutory duties, they must rely on oversight to point that out. I am referring to the residency reporting Ordinance 202.080 annually for elected and appointed officials to sign in January with the Town Clerk. At previous meetings of the Council, I have made several reminders of the overdue status of City Council members. Yet tonight there are six Council members still reluctant or indifferent to this duty. Included are Council members: Boyd, Hodges, Lyons, Nieves, Smith, and Spell. New folks on the Council have dealt with the responsibility once informed.

That might be a routine duty of a City Council President, but it seems not. Town Clerk and City Clerk have signed, as have both Voter Registrars, and Mayor Ganim as of mid-May. But there are no reminders from the administration’s community relations office where candidates for Boards and Commissions are developed. There is no training program for folks who wish to participate more fully in City governance, either. Civics is the study of citizen rights and responsibilities. Local schools had to eliminate that subject matter from curriculum leadership in recent years. Only two Education Board members signed the Town Clerk register. Missing are: Daniels, Grajales, Jennings, Jimenez, Perez, Traber, and Woodson.

There are approximately 100 or more Board and Commission members who are failing this responsibility. But not the Library Board whose leadership believes in following the rules. When will Mayor Ganim specifically assign the duties of educating, informing, and oversight of citizen participants seeking positions on boards and commissions? Will it assist in finding qualified and motivated candidates?

Time will tell.