Claims made by an aspiring statehouse candidate regarding a planned March 5 Department of Transportation information session have prompted one of the first local dust-ups of the 2018 political season. But the divergence of opinion on who actually initiated the DOT activity is between two candidates who are running for office in separate, albeit abutting, districts.The Newtown Bee received a press release from Second District Democratic statehouse challenger Raghib Allie-Brennan, along with a separate February 8 memo from DOT representative Richard Andreski. The Second District includes several western neighborhoods in Newtown, and directly abuts the 106th District, which is represented by Republican Mitch BolinskyBolinsky Documentation'Self-Serving Acts'Anyone unable to attend the DOT forum is invited to voice any related concerns to their legislator, who can be reached toll-free at 800-842-1423.

It all started when

The release touts Mr Allie-Brennan for recognizing that although the DOT plans to increase train fares on the Danbury rail line, along with taking other actions that could impact Newtown and Danbury area residents and commuters, the agency failed to schedule any type of public hearing or meeting for constituents to register concerns about any planned actions.

The Allie-Brennan release further states that, "On Thursday, February 1st, Allie-Brennan sent a formal request to Connecticut Department of Transportation (CTDOT) Commissioner James P. Redeker asking that he schedule an additional public hearing in Danbury."

By that time, the DOT had already finalized scheduling a series of public hearings and information sessions to receive input on "proposed bus and rail fare increases and service reductions," according to the memo from Mr Andreski. And none of them were close to the Danbury area. So Mr Allie-Brennan stated that he reached out to the DOT pointing this out, and requested an additional "public hearing" be scheduled in Danbury.

Mr Andreski's memo, in response, states that "The [DOT] has considered your request and will offer an informational meeting in Danbury to gather input from the residents of Danbury, Bethel, Redding, and the surrounding area ... on February 26."

The accompanying press release stated, "The decision to provide an additional public comment opportunity came in response to a written request from 2nd District State Assembly candidate Raghib Allie-Brennan," and goes on to "...thank the Department of Transportation for considering my request and for scheduling the additional hearing."

Upon publishing that information late in the afternoon on February 16, and the candidate's announcement that a "public hearing" would be held in Danbury on February 26, Rep Bolinsky and House Republican Press Secretary Rick Joslyn (representing Gail Lavielle, R-143), contacted The Newtown Bee stating that it was Rep Bolinsky who had originally called for the forum - and would be hosting it with Rep Lavielle and a bipartisan group of legislators on March 5.

"The State House candidate you credited with calling for the forum had no involvement in setting the … forum up and will not be a participant on the panel - although he is certainly welcome to attend and voice his opinion," Mr Joslyn wrote in an e-mail. "The headline is misleading as well as the assertion that the State House candidate put this together."

On February 19, Rep Bolinsky followed up with an e-mail referring to Mr Allie-Brennan's actions as "a political stunt perpetrated by a candidate for [Connecticut General Assembly] House District #2," and "that said candidate misrepresented himself to a DOT Section Chief, leading to the establishment of, without the knowledge of the CT DOT Commissioner's office, a duplicate and unsanctioned Public Information Meeting, represented as a 'Public Hearing,' regarding Transportation issues and the Danbury Rail Branch."

Rep Bolinsky included an "official e-mail chain" that documented correspondence between himself and CT DOT, following CT DOT's formal announcement about its planned series of info sessions and Hearings issued on Tuesday, January 30.

"I personally initiated contact with the Commissioner's office that same day [January 30], requesting a Danbury area hearing on behalf of my constituents and those of other area elected officials because our Danbury Branch was slated for fare increases and service cuts in the Governor's budget plan, yet was overlooked as a location in the hearing-planning process," Rep Bolinsky wrote. He also provided a dated copy of that same-day request.

Rep Bolinsky went on to say that DOT Commissioner James P. Redeker's assistant "relayed our concerns to him the next morning, January 31 and, although we could not properly notice a 'Public Hearing,' we were granted a 'Public Information Meeting' on a date of our choosing.'"

"Commissioner Redeker happily signed on to our meeting and committed to attend with his staff," Rep Bolinsky stated. "We settled on March 5 but did not immediately release the meeting information because we needed to get all area legislators on-board. A truly collaborative, constituent-focused, planned effort."

Rep Bolinsky additionally documented that "on February 1, two days after our request, candidate Allie-Brennan made contact with a DOT Section Chief, without the knowledge of the Commissioner's office, for singularly political reasons and a second meeting was errantly planned."

Then, Rep Bolinsky stated, "On February 8, upon discovery of the second, unsanctioned meeting, the Commissioner's office called me and asked why I was setting up a second session. When told there was only one in our plans, the one on March 5, they expressed embarrassment over its Section Chief having been used to hastily set up a second Danbury meeting on the misrepresentations of the candidate without their knowledge. They then canceled the candidate's meeting request. Upon the cancellation action, I thanked the Commissioner's assistant and told her that, the candidate was welcome to attend our March 5 Informational Session as a guest but would not be a co-host to the legislative event."

Rep Bolinsky closed his correspondence to the newspaper saying that, "with all due respect, above and attached is documentation of an individual's non-collaborative, selfish self-serving acts to create a campaign event."

While his documentation shows Rep Bolinsky initiated the request for a Danbury hearing two days before the candidate wrote his request to the DOT commissioner, it is clear that there will be no info session on February 26. As of press time for this week's print edition, Mr Allie-Brennan had not retracted his assertion to the contrary.

It is clear that on March 5, a DOT information session is scheduled in the Council Chambers of Danbury City Hall, 155 Deer Hill Avenue in Danbury. Commissioner Redeker is scheduled to attend, and the session is being hosted by Rep Bolinsky, incumbent Second District Representative Will Duff (R-2), Representatives Lavielle, Michael Ferguson (R-138), David Arconti (D-109), Fred Wilms (R-142), and Stephen Harding (R-107), and Senator Michael McLachlan (R-24). Newtown residents are encouraged to attend to provide input on proposed DOT bus and rail fare increases and service reductions.

According to a February 16 release from the House Republicans communications office, the DOT has proposed raising rail and bus fares 21.28 percent over the next three years, while significantly reducing rail service on the Danbury and Waterbury Lines. Additionally, the governor has reportedly canceled more than $4 billion in statewide transportation projects and introduced a proposal to bring tolls back to the state, raise the gas tax seven cents over four years, and implement a new "tire tax."