Letter: Despite Republican Control Of Mayor's Office And Aldermen, Crime On The Rise In Ansonia

ANSONIA — A recent letter to the editor by Ansonia GOP Chairman and Republican Alderman Tony Mammone distorts the record of State Representative Kara Rochelle. Claiming she does not support law enforcement is a flat-out lie. Unfortunately, the Ansonia GOP has a long history of spouting half-truths and conspiracy theories. Here are the facts about Rep. Rochelle’s strong support of law enforcement and crime prevention:


  • When shootings spiked this year, Rep. Rochelle met with Commissioner Rovella of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection to convey Ansonia’s needs, then connected him directly to Chief of Police Williams to collaborate.

  • She supported legislation which included $10M for youth service bureaus, juvenile review boards, youth violence prevention, and youth programming. Over $320,000 of this is coming straight to the 104th to support our youth, including opening a teen center. 

  • She supported the recent state budget that provided over $5M new dollars to support police task forces to address gun trafficking and car thefts. Republicans did not support this important police funding bill. Perhaps the Ansonia GOP should take issue with that. 

  • She supported a new law to address mental health in law enforcement that:
    • Extended employment protections for police officers who seek/receive mental health care services; and

    • Enhanced training on interacting with people with mental or physical disabilities.

  • She worked with the corrections union – including directly with a lieutenant from this district – to ensure the segregated housing (“solitary confinement”) bill was crafted with input and sign-off from all parties. She championed with moderate Democrats, labor unions, and agency officials to modify the bill with common sense solutions. The bill passed with bipartisan support, including Rep. Craig Fishbein, Conservative Caucus legislative member and co-chair of the Judiciary Committee. The Ansonia GOP’s criticism of this bill implies that they are more extremist than even the most conservative Republicans in Connecticut.

  • Regarding the Clean Slate” bill — it was carefully crafted, only applying to some misdemeanors or low-level felonies. Crimes involving guns, domestic violence, and sexual crimes were excluded. Convictions are only erased from a person’s record after 7 or 10 years without committing another crime. This law helps people get better jobs, housing, and earn an education — all of which are harder with offenses on record, even if years or decades old. Apparently, the Ansonia GOP doesn’t believe in second chances, even for minor offenses and with many years without re-offending. 

  • She supported a bipartisan law that reforms and streamlines juvenile crime procedures by:
    • Shortening the time before juveniles first appear in court;

    • Giving Superior Court judges the option to GPS monitor minors;

    • Broadening access to minors’ records;

    • Increasing juvenile detention time while awaiting a detention order;

    • Creating a new larceny offense to treat car thefts uniformly.

  • She also supported a new law that regulates catalytic converters and created new criminal offenses for improper trafficking. 

Rep. Rochelle’s support of law enforcement and crime prevention is strong. Instead of ineffectual attacks, fear-mongering and deflecting blame, Ansonia Republicans should look at their own record on crime. Ansonia has a Republican mayor, and a completely Republican Board of Aldermen — yet crime has been increasing the past several years on their watch. 

Having neglected this issue for years, maybe the Ansonia GOP should try actually addressing the concerns of our residents regarding crime.

John Feddern

Chairman

Ansonia Democratic Town Committee

Click here for The Valley Indy policy on letters to the editor.

Keep local reporting alive. Donate.ValleyIndy.org