Earth, Wind , and Fire tickets on sale for the IvesConcert Park.

Tickets go on sale at noon on Monday for the first show under the new Ives Concert Park Authority. The show is May 26th with Earth, Wind, and Fire. I have added a link to the concert park website in case you want tickets. We are trying out a new ticketing system so have some patience! See you at the show. Here is a link to the News-Times story.

The Governor, Darfur, and "The Promise".

Today I am spent this morning attending a ceremonial bill signing held by Governor Rell at Danbury High School. The Bill was the law passed last year that required the State of Connecticut to divest itself of any investments in the Darfur region of Africa.

As many of you are aware the Darfur region has experienced an intercine warfare which has resulted in the extermination of hundreds of thousands of people. In addition, millions more have been displaced from their homes and villages. Danbury High students led by Asst. Principal Tim Salem developed a short film called "The Promise" that has sparked a national debate about investments in Darfur. Our students have been all over the country sharing their film and telling the story of the horrors of Darfur.

I cannot tell how proud I am of them and how proud I am of being Mayor of our great city. Hat's off to Danbury High students. Let's remember the promise of Never Again.

All the Best,
Mayor Mark

Busy Day at City Hall.

Today was certainly a crazy day at City Hall. There has been a lot of media attention for the Danbury High School project on the Sex Offender Mailings. Teacher Lisa Freese has done an outstanding job with the Peer Leadership program on this project. So far the kids have been on Channel 8, Fox, WVIT 30, and tomorrow they will be followed around by MSNBC all day.

We have also gotten a lot of calls from residents that are not on the mailing list who would like a copy of the mailing.

We are also in the process of buttoning up the Common Council agenda for the month of April and I had a series of meetings regarding Homeland Security issues.

Wow, I am whipped. Time to watch some American Idol.

All the Best,
Mayor Mark

Naming a new Fire Chief.

On Monday afternoon I will announce the new Fire Chief for the City of Danbury. This will conclude a several month long search that included a rigorous three step interview process. I have to complement the Danbury Fire Department for the depth of in-house candidates that were presented.

We are down to two great candidates: Deputy Fire Marshall T.J. Weidl and Assistant Fire Chief Geoff Herald. Both of them should be proud of how far they got in this process. Tune in tomorrow afternoon as I will post my selection here at MayorMark.com as soon as it is announced to the public.

All the Best,
Mayor Mark

UPDATE:This afternoon I announced the appointment of Geoff Herald as the next Fire Chief for the City of Danbury. Geoff is a former Volunteer Firefighter and an Assistant Chief in the Danbury Fire Department. He brings years of experience and energy to the office. I will present him to the Common Council on April 3. Congratulations to Geoff and Mimi and also congratulations to T.J. Weidl. Both candidates were outstanding...

Just 4? is a good sign..

Just want to take moment to respond to today's editorial in the News-Times. In today's paper the editorial writer claims that the light turnout for the Public Hearing is somehow indicative of people not being engaged in the process.

I would disagree. Writing editorials means that you should do your homework,all too often the News-Times editorial page does not do its homework. Over the last six years we have had a total 6 public hearings on budgets. Guess what, this years turnout was the largest ever. In the past myself and the Council have sat in the Council Chambers with no one showing up. That's right, not one member of the public came to speak on the proposed budget.

Remember this is the administration that has hosted Town Hall forums, Saturday's with the Mayor, put all agenda's, minutes, and meeting notices online in 5 different languages. We are the most open in the history of this City. Yes, I have even agreed to putting meetings on T.V. All good things for the voters.

People approach me many times when they are concerned about an issue. I wonder if it occurred to the author of today's piece that people are generally happy with the budget, and if they were not, we would know about it.

Finally there is concern about public participation in the Ad-Hoc meetings. Ad-Hocs are sub-committees set up by the Mayor to look at various issues and address concerns raised at the Council meetings. Ad-Hoc meetings are for the Council, the process set up and run is determined by the Chairman. Over the years Chairmen have run meetings in a variety of different ways. This is always the discretion of the chair.

Sorry News-Times "just 4" is a good sign that people in this City are happy with their government. If they weren't, trust me, I would know it....

Ives Center planning its season.

Over the last several weeks, I have been working hard on ensuring the Ives Authority is getting organized and ready for another successful season at the Concert Park.

Working with Executive Director Liz Durkin, we are close to announcing our season. This year we have several new artists joining us here in Danbury and several familiar names.

So far we are close to getting the following to commit:

1. Earth, Wind, and Fire.
2. Harry Connick Jr.
3. Michael McDonald.
4. Paris Bennett of "American Idol".
5. The Black Crowes

These look solid and we are planning two more shows with a major children's act and several other bands. I will keep you posted as soon as the last several shows are finalized.

Here's to a great summer!

All the Best,
Mayor Mark

Budget Ad-Hoc Committees have completed their work.

Last night the Common Council finished their deliberations over the FY 07-08 budget. The Education Budget and the Grant Agencies Review Committees wrapped up their work, now the whole budget will be moved for adoption at our April 3rd meeting.

There were some minor modifications to the budget. Specifically,the changes are reflected in the grant to the Hispanic Cultural Center and an increase to Red Cross of Western Ct.

The Council opted to withhold the grant to the Hispanic Center pending their reorganization plan. The Red Cross made an appeal for more dollars for Senior transportation. Both actions have my support.

Now we must put pressure on the State Legislators to honor their promise to the children of Connecticut and fund education at the 50% level.

All the Best,
Mayor Mark

Common Council ratifies new Police Contract.

Tonight by a unanimous vote, the Common Council ratified the Police contract between the City and the Danbury Police Union. Congratulations to the team for making this happen.

We also had the public hearing for the City Budget which was attended by about 25 people. There were 4 speakers. Most of the concerns raised had to do with the grant agencies. This is a hot button issue with some people who argue that some organizations should not be funded. For a budget of almost 200 million, 4 speakers is not too bad.

All the Best,
Mayor Mark

Cold day for a parade.

Today is the annual St. Patrick's Day parade in the City of Danbury. The parade starts at 2:00 PM at Rogers Park and moves to the AOH on Main Street. It's a fun parade to do and the AOH does a great job organizing it.

I will also be performing a wedding ceremony at noon. I officiate approximately 50-75 weddings a year and enjoy helping people "tie the knot" I waive the fee and instead do it for fun. I have officiated weddings in my office, Tarrywile Park, Chapels, State Parks, The Amber Room, Ethan Allen, and homes.

Finally, later today, I will visit the Blue and Gold lunch for scouts.

As always, a busy day in Danbury, and this is just Sunday!

All the Best,
Mayor Mark

St. Patrick's Day storm clean up continues.

Our Public Works led by Antonio Iadarola are continuing the clean up from last night's storm. They are doing a terrific job under difficult circumstances. Plowing operations started yesterday around 7:30 AM and our guys have been working ever since. We should have the streets ready to go for tonight's St Patrick's Day celebrations.

At noon today we will be raising the flag of Ireland over City Hall and tomorrow we will be having a St. Patrick's Day parade at 2:00PM down Main Street.

Enjoy the day and be safe.

All the Best,
Mayor Mark

Major Storm expected today.

A major late winter storm is expected today and I have taken the precaution of closing City Hall. Generally, with just snow coming we will stay open. This storm is very complex and there is already some icing on the roads. I don't want any of our staff to get hurt on the way in. Schools are already closed here in Danbury..

Bridgewater is in. Ives begins planning.

Today I met with Bill Stuart, First Selectman of Bridgewater. Bill has agreed to include funds from Bridgewater to help in implementing the ten year plan to end homelessness. Bridgewater now joins Sherman, and New Milford (thanks Mayor Murphy and Town Council Members) in becoming strategic partners with Danbury to really attack this problem. My road show contniues later this week with meetings in Redding and Ridgefield.

Later this evening we had the first meeting of the new Charles Ives Authority, much work to do.

All the Best,
Mayor Mark

A regional approach to ending homelessness.

Over the last several days I have been spending a lot of time visiting with other communities trying to get people to buy in to our ten year plan. On Friday I recieved a committment from First Selectwoman Andrea O'Connor and tonight I got a positive endorsement from the New Milford Town Council. This is exciting to see the region pull together to help those who cannot help themselves...

Central to play Ohio State in Round 1 of NCAA's.

Looks like my Blue Devils will have their work cut out for them against Ohio State. But maybe, just maybe they will be the Cinderella at the Dance...

Central Connecticut won the Northeast Conference Championship to earn a berth into the NCAA Tournament

Blue Devils Dancing In Lexington, Face Ohio State on Thursday
#16 Central Connecticut Will Take on the Top-Seed Buckeyes in South Region
March 11, 2007

New Britain, CT - Northeast Conference champion Central Connecticut (22-11) will face Ohio State (30-3) in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The Blue Devils, seeded 16th in the South Region, will face the nation's number one team on Thursday, March 15 in Lexington, KY.


NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Bracket

GO BLUE DEVILS!!

Congratulations to the team and to the Danbury Police Union.

I said yesterday was going to be a historic day and it was. Congratulations to the negotiating team, Chief Baker, Union President Mike Farrell and everybody else that made this happen. The new Police contract will do a what people have talked about for the last 30 years-add more Officers to the streets. I am very excited and very proud because without an operational plan for the new building, we would still be ringing up big bills. This is how to get things done.

All the Best,
Mayor Mark

Tomorrow, could be a historic day for Danbury.

Remember when I posted that I had just completed something historic for Danbury? Well tomorrow is a big day to see if things come together. It could be a great day. I will keep you posted if things come to fruition like I hope. Stay tuned....

Cutting down the nets and on to the Big Dance.

Congratulations to the Central Connecticut State University Blue Devils on making their third NCAA appearance. Its just awesome baby!! Great game by all.

Go Blue Devils.

Forgot to mention that my alma mater, the Central Ct. St. University Blue Devils are playing for the league championship tonight(on ESPN2) and the right to go to the big dance! The NCAA tournament. Go Blue Devils!!

Budget Roll Out..

Last night I rolled our 2007-2008 budget for the City of Danbury. The spending plan is affordable with a tax increase of less than 1%. We are also adding more firefighters and more police officers.

I also thought it was important to give all of the Governor's ECS increase to the school system as that is where the money is intended for.

Finally, we have some energy assisstance for our Seniors who are experiencing an unprecedented increase in ultility costs. There will be no increase to sewer and water rates.

All in all a good package for the residents. Let me know what you think.

All the Best,

Mayor Mark

Danbury to do its part at reducing Co2 emmissions.

Last year I actually got to spend some private time with Senator John McCain (another one of my heroes) Senator McCain convinced me that global warming is real and that cities and towns, no matter how small, can make an impact on this issue. I did some research on my own and came to the same conclusion as the Senator.

Last Council meeting I announced a plan to purchase 20% clean power by 2010.
At the end of this month I will be announcing some modest steps that people in Danbury can do to help in the fight against global warming.

I know that some people think global warming is just a myth, but I believe that there are just too many indicators out there that say we need to make some changes in the way that we treat our environment. That said, I don't believe that doomsday is near, let's just clean up our collective acts...

After all, we should think globally and act locally.

All the Best,
Mayor Mark

Presenting Budget Tuesday Evening.

On Tuesday March 6th, 2007, I will present my spending plan for the 2007-08 fiscal year. The Director of Finance and myself have spent many hours developing the budget and we are ready to present it to the Council.

The local Democrats are opposing doing the budget in March. This is really no surprise and I expected they would oppose doing the budget in March instead of April.

Their opposition is not really based on any real issue, and since they generally don't vote for the budget to begin with it won't really matter. I am disappointed that they continue to take partisan positions on every issue instead of working on a bipartisan basis to get the job done for our residents.

I believe that it was former New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia (pictured above, one of my favorite heroes) who said that there is no Republican way to plow the streets and no Democratic way to plow the streets. Just plow the streets! I couldn't agree more with the "little flower".

All the Best,
Mayor Mark

Great job by Danbury students.

Today I was busy all day preparing our students for the battery of testing that they are about to undergo next week. I was at Mill Ridge School, King Street, and South Street School. These kids are bright and they are ready. I love going back to schools to visit, our staff is so dedicated and the kids are enthusiastic!

I also went to DHS and paid off on a bet I made with the Sophomore Class about their performance on the CAPT test. They did it, and I paid off with pizza from Stew Leonard's for 700 students..

Good day and fun.

All the Best,

Mayor Mark

PS, I finished the budget, we are ready to go on Tuesday evening.

Presidential Politics.

On Monday evening I attended a meet greet with former Gov. Mitt Romney in Greenwich. I have not committed to any particular candidate but I was interested in hearing what he had to say. It was interesting night and Romney is an attractive candidate. I will not committ to any candidate this early, but I am doing my homework. I was a little concerned that the Governor did not have specifics on Iraq, but I am sure as the campaign season goes on we will here more...

All the Best,
Mayor Mark