Professor analyzes mayoral race

Written by James Simon
Thursday, 29 October 2009 12:05

Stratford Mayor James Miron is his own worst enemy, committing a series of highly publicized gaffes that have detracted from his very good fiscal record as Stratford mayor. He deserves a second term and will get it, not due to his considerable accomplishments but because of the three challengers who will split the anti-Miron vote next Tuesday and let him squeak back in for a second term.

Based on his fiscal record alone, Miron derives a second term. In these tough financial times, he has improved the town’s bond rating and saved on interest paid when the town borrows. It may have been an election year stunt to ask for a zero percent increase in the town budget this year, but most voters are all too happy to see the mill rate actually go down and property taxes dip a bit. He may have failed to get the two biggest public employee unions to forego a pay raise this year, but he did succeed in getting the four other unions to do so.

Beyond that, when Stratford residents look back at their first mayor, I believe they will see his biggest accomplishment was the protection of Long Beach West and the deal to sell the fragile area to the federal government. It took a lot of political skill to push this through, and Miron deserves the thanks of both this generation and generations come.

Three factors have prevented Miron from getting the praise he deserves.

One is the automatic, knee-jerk partisan bickering that comes from the Town Council, which is controlled by the opposition Republicans. I believe that Stratford residents approved the proposal for a mayor as a way of curbing the Keystone Kops-like antics of the council members. But the councilors aren’t happy about sharing power, especially with a Democrat in the mayor’s office, and they missed no opportunity to bicker about matters as trivial as renovations to Town Hall to create an office for the first mayor.

The second factor hurting Miron is his proclivity for shooting himself in the foot, committing gaffe after gaffe. His decision to apparently pack a gun while attending Town Council meetings made even his most ardent supporters doubt his judgment. He never steps away from a fight, seems to bully his way through arguments instead of winning through logic, and seems to change the leadership at town agencies due to whim rather than due to poor employee performance.

Miron’s other problem stems from one-dimensional coverage of Stratford in The Connecticut Post. It seems every story in the Post about Stratford is framed in terms of conflict, even when none exists. Voters haven’t been able to get an accurate picture of what Miron was like when he was forced to perform as Stratford’s first mayor without a playbook, often making it up as he went along.

Miron’s major challenger, Republican State Rep. John Harkins, has not offered much of a platform to Stratford voters, except to say that he is not Miron. He did not have a lot of name recognition in town before this election, and his campaign seems much more geared to the attack mode than in laying out an alternative vision for the town.

Every night, Miron should say a prayer that two independent challengers on the ballot, Dom Costello and George Mulligan, remain in good health and continue their vigorous campaigns for the mayor’s office. Costello, the unsuccessful Republican candidate four years ago, and Mulligan, a political gadfly, have small followings, but neither seems to be in a position to mount a serious challenge.

Without them in the race, the election would be referendum on the job Miron has done, and the bad press he has received would probably doom his candidacy. With them splitting the anti-Miron vote, the town’s pistol-packing first mayor should enjoy four more years in office.

James Simon, Ph.D., teaches political and government reporting at Fairfield University. He lives in the Putney section of Stratford.