In the wake of Sunday’s tragic explosion at the Middletown power plant, a co-worker of mine who had been watching the coverage wondered why Lt. Governor Michael Fedele of Stamford was on camera at press conferences and speaking with reporters instead of Governor M. Jodi Rell.
Here’s Fedele, standing behind Middletown Mayor Sebastian Giuliano.
Donna Tommelleo with Rell’s office told me the Governor visited the site “as soon as she heard about it” and remained for “several hours.”
“At that point Middletown had taken the lead in the investigation and the Governor wanted to leave that to Middletown and leave the press details and briefing to them,” Tommelleo said.
The Governor deferred to Middletown authorities in the statement she issued about the tragedy Sunday afternoon: “The scene in Middletown is still very active and dozens of state, local and other officials are working tirelessly. Their efforts are expected to continue through the rest of the day and night and into tomorrow. As details are confirmed, Middletown officials, who have control of the scene, will brief the community and the media.”
State Sen. Thomas Gaffey, D-Meriden, whose district includes Middletown, said he too was curious about Rell’s departure and Fedele’s appearance. I asked Gaffey about it when I noticed he was in another photo standing near Fedele during a press conference.
“The Governor was at the site earlier in the day and the Governor left. Then Fedele showed up,” Gaffey said. “It was nice to have Mike there. You want somebody representing the Governor. You just think it would be herself.”
Laura Fanelli, a spokesman for Fedele, said the Lt. Governor is a close friend of Giuliano’s and the mayor asked him to come to the city Sunday. But she said unlike Rell Fedele arrived at a resource center for families rather than the actual site of the explosion.
“That’s where the Governor spent her time. I had a few TV stations say ‘we never saw the Governor’. TV cameras weren’t allowed on the actual site,” Fanelli said. “The mayor invited him to attend the press conference so when the questions turned to state response it was natural to turn to the Lt. Governor.”
UPDATE: Dennis House, host of “Face the State,” shares his thoughts on his blog and writes he too was surprised to see Fedele and not Rell Sunday.
Brian,
Maybe I’m too cynical, however, I think the answer is pretty simple: Lt. Governor Fedele is running for office in 2010, and Jodi Rell is not.
The office of the Lt. Governor is one of the constitutionally weakest positions in state government, which makes it somewhat difficult to claim it as significant “executive experience,” or “leadership experience,” (you’re basically a glorified ribbon cutter) so showing up to play the face of the state for something like this helps in that regard. Between that and his low name recognition statewide, I’m sure that the Lt. Governor wasn’t too upset that he had to take point on this. Show me a politician who doesn’t jump at the chance to have his picture taken next to grim-faced firemen, and I’ll show you a bridge I’d like to sell you.
What purpose was really served by the presence of any of the politicians at the scene, Delauro and Courtney included? If I ever lose a loved one in something like this, the last person I want comforting me is some clown running for or trying to hold onto office. Unfortunately, it is a sad and ugly truth that tragedies like these provide both aspiring and entrenched politicians with a wonderful opportunity to get their mug on TV in connection with a sympathetic cause.
Comment by Fuzzy Dunlop — February 9th, 2010 @ 10:18 pm
I can’t understand where you’re trying to go with this post Brian… are you inferring that Jodi Rell is a lazy and uncaring governor, or are you saying that this was a calculated political move to allow Mike Fedele to look like a leader and raise his profile?
as a post script, my vote is with the latter. I especially like the BS explanation from Fedele’s PR hack (has Ken Dixon FOI’d what Laura Fanelli makes yet?) that the mayor of Middletown (who by the way, was included in Mike’s newest round of endorsements) just happened to “ask” good old Mike to come down to Middletown on Sunday and lend a hand, and that Mike then just stumbled upon a press conference. Does Mike have some kind of emergency response expertise that no one is aware of?
With all due respect to Mike Fedele, this move is about as transparent as they come.
Comment by Bob — February 10th, 2010 @ 12:30 am
Let’s not forget the issue at hand–FIVE people have passed away! That’s 5 families who will have an empty spot at the dinner tale forever. Lt. Governor, Gubernatorial candidates, or just a neighbor, I think it is necessary for everyone to come together to not only help the victims of this tragedy, but prevent further ones from happening. In that case, the Lt. Governor and Gubernatorial candidate should absolutely be involved since he would be an integral part in legislation and safety reform.
I think it’s a cheap shot to assume his only purpose for being there was to get on TV and I think we should all be asking much different questions like….what can I do to help?
Comment by Jessi — February 10th, 2010 @ 7:52 am
OK, maybe Fedele exploited a situation to look like a leader, but why aren’t you people equally attacking the likes of Rosa DeLauro (who is also running for office)? Not showing all sides of an issue makes journalists less of a journalist and more of a partisan. Fair, unbiased reporting is woefully lacking far too often.
Comment by independent soul — February 10th, 2010 @ 9:00 am
Independent Soul,
Thanks for commenting. But please don’t confuse my blog post with some of the critical comments posted here.
The post wasn’t about whether or not the politicians present in Middletown were trying to exploit a situation.
It began, as I wrote, with an observation by a colleague that they did not notice the Governor in the news footage/photos. This person thought it was odd, considering the scope of the tragedy, and wondered why Fedele was in attendance instead.
I’m just trying to explain the situation in case others were wondering. But I didn’t draw any biased conclusions.
Comment by Brian Lockhart — February 10th, 2010 @ 9:45 am
Bob, you can answer your question about Laura Fanelli using the new ctsunlight.org.
According to the site, Fedele’s spokeswoman made $79,204 flacking for Fedele in 2007, and then received, ready, a TEN PERCENT bump in 2008 to make $87,116. There’s no data for 2009, so we can’t tell how much of an increase she received last year, or how much she’s making this year. I also assume that she’s receiving the same wonderful benefits package that most state employees receive.
Brian, next time you talk to the Laura Fanelli you might want to ask her whether ten percent annual pay increases for PR staff represents the kind of keen business sense that Fedele plans to bring to the Governor’s office.
Comment by Fuzzy Dunlop — February 10th, 2010 @ 12:17 pm
Fuzzy,
If anything, you are the one who is injecting politics into this tragedy. You need to realize that there is a fine line between “government” and “politics.”
Correct me if I am wrong, but part of the Lt. Governor’s responsibility is to fill in for the Governor during her absense – right? Both state and municipal agencies had responded to the unfortunate situation that occurred on Sunday. Mayor Guiliano was representing the municipality’s role in the response, and had the Lt Governor not been at the press conference, who would’ve spoken on behalf of the state agencies? I would certainly hope that there was someone there to speak on behalf of the multiple state agencies that were taking part.
As someone who has participated in CT’s political blogosphere, regardless of the issue you are always the first one to blast Fedele. The sad and ugly truth to this situation is the fact that bloggers, like yourself, take opportunities like this to twist reality and exploit the actual purpose of one’s official capacity for the sole purpose of furthering their own political agenda.
So to finish, in light of this tragedy and with respect for those who were affected, I’d leave your partisan comments out of this.
Comment by Dr. Hull — February 10th, 2010 @ 5:59 pm
Dr. Hull,
If you read what I wrote, my comments weren’t really partisan at all… I was also disgusted by Rosa Delauro (D) making sure she was strategically standing behind reporters as they were reporting from the scene. Further, if I appear to always be the first to “blast” Fedele, I would add that I’m also typically one of the first to “blast” Susan Bysiewicz, even before everyone else started piling on.
Yes, I am cynical of politicians. However, I am particularly wary of ones who present themselves as anything other than a politician. Mike tries very hard to present himself as some businessman/Cincinnattus come in from the fields to save us. I don’t buy it.
Also, you asked me to correct you if you were wrong… you are wrong. Constitutionally, the lieutenant governor’s role is as follows: “In case of the death, resignation, refusal to serve or removal from office of the governor, the lieutenant-governor shall, upon taking the oath of office of governor, be governor of the state until another is chosen at the next regular election for governor and is duly qualified. In case of the inability of the governor to exercise the powers and perform the duties of his office, or in case of his impeachment or of his absence from the state, the lieutenant-governor shall exercise the powers and authority and perform the duties appertaining to the office of governor until the disability is removed or, if the governor has been impeached, he is acquitted or, if absent, he has returned.”
As far as I know, there has been no inability of Jodi Rell to “exercise the powers and perform the duties of [her] office” and she is not absent from the state. Her simple absence at a given geographic area or silence on a particular issue does not mean the lt. gov. needs to step in.
Maybe I’ve been in politics too long and question politicians motivations too readily. That being said, I was probably a bit too harsh here. Obviously, there are far bigger issues that need to be confronted regarding this tragedy than nitpicking over something like this.
Then again, I didn’t raise the question.
Comment by Fuzzy Dunlop — February 10th, 2010 @ 8:20 pm