Danley
ANSONIA – A 16-year employee of the Ansonia Public Works Department is running for mayor on the November ballot as an unaffiliated candidate who says he can offer residents a better choice.
Harry ‘Hank’ Danley, Jr., 53, submitted his paperwork to the Connecticut Secretary of State’s office by the Aug. 9 deadline to get on the Nov. 7 municipal election ballot. Ansonia Town Clerk Beth Lynch confirmed that Danley qualified to run as a petitioning candidate for both mayor and Second Ward Alderman.
Danley’s name will appear on the third line of the ballot, along with incumbent Republican Mayor David Cassetti, who is seeking his sixth term, and Democratic mayoral candidate Tom Egan.
Who’s Harry?
Danley, a laborer/driver with Ansonia Public Works since 2007, also owns a landscaping business. He said he’s seeking the city’s top seat to make Ansonia better and to fulfill a promise to his late sister, who he lost to cancer 15 months ago.
“I couldn’t run for mayor when my sister was sick, but she told me to follow my dreams and follow my heart, and she was a big part of my decision to run,” Danley said. “My main reason for running is to provide all residents with a clean, safe and healthy city with prudent financial management and a thriving economy with integrity, equality and complete transparency to all City of Ansonia residents. Plus, honesty is the biggest thing. And I don’t think that is happening now.”
Danley said if he’s elected mayor, he would order a forensic audit of the city’s finances.
“As a city employee we know more about what’s going on than the average taxpayer sees, and we’re in trouble,” Danley said. “There are some jobs that the city public works can do and instead the city overlooks them and goes with outside contractors. We have a bunch of great guys and we can do a lot of the jobs, like catch basins, and save the taxpayers a lot of money. The city always seems to go with the highest price and uses the same contractors over and over. You can read between the lines on that.”
Danley said as mayor he wouldn’t rely on using the city’s rainy-day fund to keep taxes low. He claims when Cassetti was first elected in 2013, he inherited a $16 million fund balance, of which he alleged Cassetti’s been using each year since to not raise taxes.
“The city is going in the wrong direction financially because going into the new fiscal year on July 1, the general fund has been depleted to around $4 million,” Danley said. “Instead of using general fund money, we need to bring in more economic development.”
Mayor Responds
Cassetti said Danley is wrong on all counts.
Cassetti said there was $9.5 million in the fund balance when he first took office, and it’s now at $4.9 million. Cassetti said money was used to reduce debt and take care of infrastructure problems. As far as using public works employees, Cassetti said it would cost the city more.
“If we utilize public works to do catch basin work, they take their time and it would cost tens of thousands of dollars more than if a contractor did it. Contractors are there to make money and get the job done quicker. Plus, (public works employees) are not licensed.”
Danley said he’s known Cassetti for more than 40 years and said he’s a “great guy and a people person,” but he blames some in Cassetti’s administration for not making decisions in the city’s best interest.
“The SHW building – who’s buying a building like that with all contamination?” Danley said. “And now the city wants to bond $132 million. Residents have voted in past referendums and the city hasn’t even completed 100 percent of these projects yet and we want to go out and bond more? This administration pretty much does what they want. They don’t answer questions (at public meetings) and instead they want you to set up an appointment to meet with them behind closed doors.”
Regarding the proposed capital projects, Danley says he supports building a new middle school, upgrades to emergency vehicles and improvements to recreational facilities, but says the city doesn’t need to spend $1.1 million for a new animal shelter. CORRECTION: Danley said he supports a new animal shelter but that it can be completed for less money.
Nor can he support an artificial turf field for Nolan Field, saying natural grass is cheaper in the long run to maintain.
Top Priorities
Danley said his top priorities would focus on improving public safety, by hiring more police officers, providing more after school and recreational activities for city kids, improving city parks, including Colony Park, and concentrating on economic development outside Main Street..
“The city is more than just Main Street from Eagle Hose to Spector Furniture, it’s tunnel vision on this administration’s part, and we need to focus on the whole city, not just the downtown area,” Danley said.
Some of Danley’s other ideas include putting out a monthly statement of all the city’s expenses to ensure “100 percent transparency” in City Hall as well as rewarding emergency service personnel with $100 gift cards as an appreciation for their service. He said he’d fund those gift cards by saving money on high priced contractors.
Background
A 1989 graduate of Ansonia High School, Danley said running his landscape business for more than three decades has helped prepare him to lead the city.
“Running a city is like running a business,” he said. “I have good leadership skills, I feel like I’m a people’s person, believe in honesty first and feel I’m the right guy for the job.”
Danley, a stepdad to four sons, attended Gateway and Housatonic community colleges, and SCSU, but was unable to finish due to personal family issues. He waged an unsuccessful run for a Second Ward Alderman seat in 2017.
“I plan to be out campaigning seven days a week, because I want people to get to know me and I want to know how they feel about things,” Danley said. “I have the love and passion for the City of Ansonia, just as Mayor Cassetti does. I respect Mayor Cassetti, he’s my boss, but I don’t agree with some of the things he’s doing. I think it’s time to pass the baton.”
