Instinctively, one senses the domination of self-interest in reading the New Haven Register’s article about the four indicted East Haven Police officers compensation, which to be fair is to be expected. But the question it raises is the one that asks if the town’s interest was equally served when its attorneys, police commissioners and ultimately the mayor entered into that contractual agreement. Which brings to mind another so obvious it is almost embarrassing to ask, which is: When we elect our mayor and town council members, does their qualification and competence matter? And once they are elected and begin making appointments to boards and commissions, even chief of police or town’s attorneys, do their nominees’ competences matter more than political / family relationships?
In fact, when the decision to hire so-called minority police officers in an attempt to add color to the ranks, and give an appearance of equality and fairness in employment opportunities, did anyone ask whether the idea was more insulting to the community than agreeable? Whoever embraces hypocrisy or tokenism as being acceptable does not deserve to be publicly heard much less make decisions for the public good. Life experience has taught us that the color of one’s skin does not define a person’s character nor portend one’s immaturity. But what’s in their brain generally does.
Police officers are the only town employees who can bankrupt the community financially, for they are the only ones authorized to carry a gun and kill a human being. So the next time we vote, let's pause and seriously ask ourselves: who and why? Unfortunately that dictum is more honored in the breech than in the observance as evidenced by the ignominious reputation of East Haven, which its so-called leaders have bequeathed, which sadly continues, as illustrated in the incestuous nature of East Haven politics.
Oni Sioson
East Haven