Speaker of the House J. Brendan Sharkey this morning appointed state Rep. Auden Grogins, D-Bridgeport to be the chairwoman of a new Blight Task Force that was the result of legislation earlier this year. The first meeting of the panel will be on Wednesday at 1 p.m. in Room 2-D of the Legislative Office Building.
“I am honored to be named chair of the Blight Task Force,” Grogins said in a statement this morning. “Cracking down on blight in our cities and towns is a major priority for me. I will now be able to continue working on this issue by leading this task force. The task force will focus on implementing ordinances that attack urban blight, which continues to be a significant issue here in Bridgeport.” In recent years Grogins led efforts to make it easier for cities and law enforcement officials to close down illegal massage parlors and other examples of blight.
The Blight Task Force will research problems in attacking blight in cities and towns, with an eye toward drafting model municipal blight ordinances and proposing legislation to help municipalities address blight more effectively when the General Assembly meets again in February.