In a recent letter to the Valley Independent, political turncoat Gary Farrar passed his Republican party probationary period test by viciously attacking State Representative Kara Rochelle. He proved he can fit in perfectly with the Ansonia GOP, where personal insults and denigrations are the operating principles.
By attempting to tie Rochelle, without any evidence, to a terrible betrayal of public trust, Farrar proved that facts don’t matter to him nor his mud-splattering accomplices.
Had Farrar bothered to read what Rep. Rochelle said, instead of blindly charging ahead with his intellectually lazy smear campaign against her, he’d know she’s already provided a straightforward and satisfactory explanation to his “concerns.” As Rep. Rochelle stated months ago, she had no involvement in the financial mismanagement of West Haven, and was just as shocked as everyone else when that sad news broke.
A little research into Representative Rochelle’s record shows a far different story than presented in this political attack. While Farrar’s Republican party is working in Washington to raise taxes for working families and threatening their health care and Social Security, Kara Rochelle is working diligently for Ansonia citizens.
Since Rochelle took office, she has stood up to the health insurance companies to protect patients’ health coverage. She is working to deliver tax cuts targeted to working families in her district. Kara persevered throughout the worst of the pandemic to offer assistance to countless citizens who faced uncertainty and potentially life-threatening sickness. She responds to concerns from her constituents regularly.
While he fecklessly occupied the position of acting chair of the Democratic Party before he abandoned ship, Farrar demonstrated his allegiance to one idea: Do nothing.
He viewed his responsibility as consistently mimicking an inert object. At this, he succeeded.
However, he did emerge from his dormant state to pave the way for a no-opposition election for the incumbent Mayor. He denied denying a choice for the citizens of Ansonia. This was the first time in more than a century of active and vigorous political engagement in Ansonia that the Democratic Party, with a 2 – 1 registration advantage, failed to offer a candidate for Mayor.
Since Farrar suddenly seems so concerned with ethics and honesty in elected officials, one would think he’d raise questions with his new Republican accomplices about the number and frequency of no-bid contracts under the administration of Republican Mayor Cassetti.
His lack of interest in these serious fiscal transgressions in Ansonia’s government suggests a reversion to Farrar’s standard do-nothing ways. Yet, he suddenly wakes up and launches a baseless political smear. Which begs the question: Who wrote this nasty attack piece? Did Farrar have help? Did the help come from someone supposed to be working on city time? Did it get charged off to billable hours?
The people of Ansonia know that Kara Rochelle is on their side, and works honestly every day to represent their concerns in Hartford. Perhaps Gary Farrar should acknowledge this truth, and begin asking the needed questions of his newfound Republican friends in City Hall.
Jenna Kober
Ansonia Resident
