I have obtained a copy of the statement Alex Knopp, former mayor, read to the investigative panel held last week.
Norwalk: Alex Knopp’s Statement To Investigative Panel
by turfgrrl
March 31st, 2007 · 17 Comments
17 Responses so far ↓ “Norwalk: Alex Knopp’s Statement To Investigative Panel”
-
Interesting statement. Looks more like a self promoting campaign plug! What else didn’t he read and what else are we going to have to be embarrased about that he did/didn’t do while in office? And ok, all you Alex supporters out there need to look and listen because we are and you just might be on the outside looking in if you continue the way you are going. As a taxpayer and resident I am appalled by the way in which Alex and friends conducted themselves and you should be too. Can you tell me why we have so much baggage left over and the local democrats can’t even get along long enough to sort some of this out but instead continuously blame others for their short comings? You better wake up all or the outcome of the next election could leave you way out of the race. Maybe you should start looking at who’s leading you and make some changes.
-
I liked Alex when he was mayor. I thought then that he tried to do his best and looked out for the city. Unfortunately my opinion has changed over time. I’m not saying he was a bad mayor, but it does seem that Alex’s main action was to stick his finger in the wind, create a committee, or avoid making a quick decision. I think the city is moving forward now. I don’t like all the partisan rah-rah and grandstanding that is happening now. If you have higher political ambitions then act on them. If you care about the city then act like it.
-
This is disgusting. It takes Cover Up Knopp 17 paragraphs to get to what he didn’t do as a Mayor and to address his malfeasance in this situation.
Were the relevant documents in the 40 plus boxes that he “took” without authorization from city hall. Maybe he took all 4 years of unread mail home with him.
Good riddance, Cover UP Knopp!!!!
Hopefully, there will be a governmental or criminal investigation into what you did in the summer jobs scandal.
-
Anonymous number 2, why do you say the city is moving forward now. Nothing has moved forward. Any initiative you see acted upon orginated with Alex. Give the man his due.
-
Dem4life-i thought alex was a good choice for Mayor in the beginning, I heard from his campaigning all the wonderful things he was going to do for Norwalk, so like many others, I voted for him. Not once, but 2x not a 3rd I can assure you. leaky roofs, deteriorating infrastructure, education were all on his agenda, so what happened? a haphazard job at fixing the roofs and thats about all. Alex was known for his committees to oversee committees and take credit for what others have done. Most of the projects he took credit for were started under the Esposito Admin.(take alook at where most of the projects originated) He left the city in debt and turmoil and now we are paying for it I’ll give him credit when I find something positive that he has done. he alienated everyone and caused dissent amoungst everyone in his path. He hired cronies like McCarthy who wasn’t the chief of choice(was a consultant for the matrix prior to his employment), he approved a drop plan which will cost the city in years to come and turned his back on the firefighters. Now we are facing arbitrations because the city cannot afford the same drop plan and cannot give these departments what they ask for. The cost of his mistakes will be around for a good long time. The only reason you defend him is because you wish the town to be completely run by democrats. thankfully the people in this town don’t feel the same as you.
-
indythinker, I appreciate your response, however, let’s look at things. Alex put in place the first city wide school renovation program. The end result is that we modernized our school buildings and introduced computer labs and technology where none was before. You say the leaky roofs were still a problem. But there was over a dozen schools that had leaky roofs and to say that one or two required additional work to fix is not that unusual at such a scale.
Alex also brought in neighborhood associations as part of the master plan process, and when you look at what’s been accomplished, there’s a cohesive vision of what Norwalk can be. That didn’t happen before. And let’s correct the record, Alex did not leave the city in debt, he kept the spending budgets down earning the AAA bond rating. So, no, not everything that Alex did was bad.
It is unfair to say that Alex didn’t do some good things as mayor.
-
Ok, I’ll give him credit for a few things but he did not get the original AAA bonding for the city, Esposito did that and on that you can check the facts.
He takes credit for things that were started earlier than his being mayor and he shows distain even now for anyone who doesn’t agree with him. City workers hated being there while he was mayor, department heads said he was a tirant and there were more than one leaky roof after the haste to get them done, not to mention the lawsuit against the city for reneging on a contractor and the $2mil lawsuit from the BOE. No administration is perfect and Alex was one with many faults. I don’t see Moccia doing anything bad for the city(except perhaps he’s a bit arrogant) and much is being accomplished. This council is actually getting things done and mostly in a non pertisan way. Even putting aside some of the not so pleasant vocal outbursts on the council floor(shame on them), this is one of the best councils we’ve seen in quite a few years. If you are opposed to the cap on the budget, I for one am glad this council has the hudspa to finally do something right. We have a bad situation with the fire dept. that he so conveniently chose to ignore as well as the qualifications of a top notch fire chief by instead overruling the fire commission and hiring McCarthy as a favor to his friend from Westport. I’d say there are a few reasons to hope he doesn’t run again. -
dem4life really has to start doing some fact checking.
“Alex put in place the first city wide school renovation program.”
No, Alex CONTINUED the “Schools for the New Millenium Program” that was started by Esposito. Esposito’s administration hired Jeter, Cook & Jepson Architects to prepare a plan for complete revamping of the City’s schools. In fact, I did a search and located a memo on my computer tonight from my wife Liz (then a BoE member) to the BoE regarding her portion of a presentation on the Millenium plan to a joint meeting of the Common Council, BET and BoE held on November 28, 2000. Liz’s portion of the presentation covered about $43 million This was a full year before Alex took office. The Republican-controlled Common Council approved the initial Millenium appropriation of $3.7 million for Brien McMahon architectural work in April, 2001 (7 months before Alex took office). These are all matters of public record. Alex definitely continued the program, and came up with a better way of managing the projects. But he didn’t “put it in place”.
“Alex also brought in neighborhood associations as part of the master plan process, and when you look at what’s been accomplished, there’s a cohesive vision of what Norwalk can be. That didn’t happen before.”
The same kind of neighborhood participation in the Master Planning process happened in previous reviews in the 1980’s and 1990’s. Good planning practice says you should do this every decade or so. It’s happened twice before (once while I was on the Common Council in the 1980’s — I was Chairman of the Council Planning Committee and directly participated in the process.
“Alex did not leave the city in debt, he kept the spending budgets down earning the AAA bond rating.”
The City got its first ever AAA bond rating in the 1990’s during the Esposito administration. It was then renewed repeatedly before Alex took office (see, e.g., http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0EIN/is_2000_June_21/ai_62858942), a Fitch AAA rating renewed 17 months before Alex took office. Alex kept the AAA rating intact; but he didn’t “earn” it — Esposito did.
My point isn’t that Alex didn’t do these things. My point is simply that this incessant treatment of his actions as ‘the first time ever’ is simply wrong.
-
I agree with the speaker who said this was the best council the city has had in some time.
They held the line on the budget cap and the democrats and republicans should be praised for it.
They were more vocal than Moccia and Knopp during the process.
Thank you ten members of the council for holding the line on the budget.
Maybe some of you on both sides should run for mayor.
-
As to a master plan, Alex did not complete the 10 year master plan while he was in office. The city is overdue at this time and not in compliance with state law by being almost 5 years outdated.
Another great accomplishment of cover up knopp’s reign of terror.
-
Hey, kiddies. Like I’ve said before…the mayoral position simply requires a warm backside to fill that chair. Of course, opposable thumbs are preferable for shaking hands, cutting ribbons with scissors and manipulating a pasta fork at Chamber luncheons.
It boggles the mind why both sides are just so gad-burned protective of that chair. After all, no credentials are required to fill it and the pay isn’t exactly competitive with today’s job market. If the mayoral salary were to increase just a wee bit, we might find ourselves with quality individuals who are otherwise not scanning the Help Wanted ads in the classified section of the local newspaper.
Love ya, Turfie!
-
So watchdog, If the salary goes up then do you want the job? :0)
-
#12 - Naaaaaaaaaahhhh…not me. Frankly, I don’t think they can pay you enough for that job, which, sorta brings me back to the issue of noncompetitive pay. Hmm.
-
How about a list of Norwalk related web sites on the side for reference? Connecticut ones of course …
-
oops wrong window
-
Mike Lyons, As we see now with Dick Moccia in office, either a Mayor gets behind moving things through or passing the buck. Alex may have not originated the programs, but he implemented them. Moccia is in fact completing them. But where are the Dick Moccia programs?
-
dem4life — where were the Alex Knopp programs (other than Esposito initiatives Alex (to his credit) continued)?
