http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-munger4oct20,0,16204.story?coll=stam-news-local-headlines
By Zach Lowe
Staff Writer
October 19, 2005
STAMFORD -- A candidates forum in front of the police union last night turned into a debate about whether Mayor Dannel Malloy has done enough to keep the city safe and equip the police department.
The forum ended without an endorsement from the union, and saw Republican Christopher Munger question Malloy's commitment to public safety while Malloy called Munger's promise of revamping the police department while cutting taxes "a fable."
The forum, which included Green Party candidate Darek Shapiro after a last-minute invitation, comes after a year of strained relations between Malloy and the police union.
The two sides have been unable to negotiate a new contract since July. Public rifts about anti-terror training, failing equipment and pay scales for detectives have broken the bond between the union and the candidate it endorsed a decade ago.
Malloy said the department will get specialty teams, new equipment and a raise for officers in the detective bureau once the contract is finished. He said the last 10 years, when crime rates dropped and the number of officers increased, have proven how much he cares about the department.
"I have a body of work as your mayor," Malloy said in his concluding remarks. "I thought that stood for something, but maybe in this day and age it doesn't."
Munger, a former FBI agent, said Malloy has not spent enough on the city's radio system and has not prepared officers for a terror attack or a school shooting. He said he would cut "luxury items" for the budget, including a proposed ice rink, and focus on the essentials.
"The buck stops at the mayor's desk," Munger said. "There is no excuse. You get it done. That's all I have to say."
Shapiro echoed many of Munger's criticisms, and said he would "hire Chris Munger" to train hostage negotiators and other specialty teams. But he also suggested the city look at the deeper causes of crime, including racism and the segregation of minorities into "barrios and ghettoes."
Munger said he would finish the new $16 million radio system by next year, not 2009 as planned, and purchase better cars, in-car laptops and a bomb-sniffing dog.
He said he would spend more time planning for an evacuation of the city and its schools.
Malloy said criticism that he has neglected homeland security is misleading. He said since September 2003 the city has paid for 209 officers to attend 426 courses, including many on fighting terrorism and responding to emergencies.
He said the department would have more chemical suits if not for delays in the state's distribution of federal homeland security money.
Malloy said many of Munger's other pledges are unrealistic.
"Be careful of people who make you promises when all of their other literature is about cutting taxes," Malloy told the union. "Either they're not telling you the truth or they're not telling the rest of the city the truth."
Malloy repeated the phrase three times, leading Munger to quip, "It's called redundancy. That's three times now."
Malloy snapped back minutes later.
"I'm sorry if repeating myself is an annoyance," the mayor said. "But be careful about promises you make to people when you're desperate to get their endorsement."
The police union has complained for years about "dead spots" around the city where officers get shaky reception from the city's two radio towers. During the last six months, the city's main radio tower atop the Government Center has shut down several times.
Malloy has committed about $4 million in city money and grants in this year's budget to start building a new system.
The system will use at least four towers, experts have said. The city put out an application for bidders interested in building the system last week, Malloy said.
"I want you to have the tools you need," Malloy said. "I have fought for 10 years to give you the best training and equipment we could afford."
Officer Michael Merenda, the union president, said the union would endorse one of the candidates in the next few days.
Copyright © 2005, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.