🔒Cannon says one-party rule hurting Hartford

1 of 2

Theodore Cannon is running for mayor of Hartford to give city government what he thinks it lacks — more ideas and accountability.

Cannon is a Republican in a city that for years has elected Democrats to the mayor's office and to a majority on the City Council.

“The performance of that one-party government is inadequate,” Cannon said. “My job is to convince voters to be more informed and open minded to issues confronting the city and look at the performance of the Democrat-dominated mayor's office and City Council.”

Cannon is the only Republican running for mayor so far. Republican Town Committee Chairman Ken Lerman expects the party to endorse Cannon at the Republican town committee meeting in July. Cannon believes a Republican in the mayor's office will change Hartford.

“There will be checks and balances that do not exist now,” Cannon said. “No party has an exclusive on good ideas. By sharing ideas from both sides of the aisle, we will arrive at the proper solution to Hartford's problems.

Cannon, 60, has lived in Hartford since 1999 and served two terms on the board of Hartford's West End Civic Association. He has four children and worked in the municipal finance industry from 1976 to 2013 advising towns, cities and states across the country on public finance, debt payment and the marketing and pricing of municipal bonds for investors. He is a former senior vice president at Webster Bank.

Cannon now works at The Kerin Agency in Newington counseling clients on bond and insurance services. Finance is at the core of Hartford's problem, according to Cannon, and he believes his finance experience differentiates him from other candidates.

How would you assess Hartford's current economy?

The economy in the surrounding neighborhoods to downtown is lacking with a high unemployment rate. It's wonderful that we are building all these apartments downtown, but the majority of that is state-funded through the Capital Region Development Authority. There isn't much in the way of, with the exception of the baseball stadium, economic development that is city sponsored. There are some signs of improvement, but it's nowhere near significant enough to take Hartford to the next level.

What are your top two economic development initiatives to improve the city?

First is successful completion of the Downtown North project. It is imperative that it is completed as a complement to the baseball stadium. The stadium left alone will not result in the economic success it was originally designed for.

Second, I would create an economic development task force comprised of city officials, members of the private sector, and business leaders — a group such as the MetroHartford Alliance — along with significant input from resident representatives. Their job would be to identify and develop a specific strategy for economic development in the city in the form of job creating industry. The city has a lot of land, a lot of buildings that it owns sitting there off the tax rolls that could be utilized for private development. We need manufacturing. We need a distribution center in Hartford. We need call centers in Hartford. We need permanent, full-time, market-rate jobs.

What can be done to reduce the 74.29 mill property tax rate that businesses are subjected to?

The tax code has to be revised. There must be, over a period of time, an incremental decrease in the assessment ratio on commercial property, which may result in incremental increases in the assessment ratio on residential property. The result should make the tax code more attractive for commercial property investors coming into the city, which would increase commercial property values and increase our grand list. As the grand list increases in value, we can begin to lower the mill rate.

With multiple transportation projects in various stages of completion, what is your long-term plan for how people will move to, from and around Hartford?

The number of commuters coming into the city will increase as economic development and job opportunities increase. My hope is that commuters take advantage of these transportation options and reduce automobile traffic coming in and out of the city. The traffic issue within the city proper is a discouragement to people visiting the city. The more people using public transportation, the lower that congestion will be and hopefully make it more attractive for people to visit Hartford.

Anyone who wants to move a business into the city or build a new facility to expand an existing industry will want to know that the infrastructure can support that company's objectives. It's not just a function of commuter transportation options, but also freight and distribution transportation facilities that are important to industries considering moving to Hartford.

Making public transportation affordable and convenient are the two best ways for people to use public transportation. CTfastrak, the jury is still out on it, but I believe over time it will become a major transportation feature for people working in Hartford.

The Capital Region Development Authority has taken a lead role in the city's economic development. How would you assess CRDA's work so far, and how would you work with CRDA to further improve the city?

The Capital Region Development Authority has devoted $60 million to housing development in downtown Hartford. It's estimated that a thousand units will be coming online within the next six months to a year. The litmus test will be the rate at which these new housing units will be rented out. I am not making any predictions, but it won't do the city much good if the majority of units sit vacant. As opposed to concentrating all the CRDA funding for new apartments in just downtown, perhaps a portion of that money could be used for housing development in other parts of the city.

How will you grow the momentum in downtown brought by the new housing developments and projects like Front Street?

The University of Connecticut project [will add to the momentum because] eventually they will have 2,500 students and hundreds of faculty members coming into the city every day. I want to change the perception that Hartford is an unsafe nonvibrant city. Perception is reality. If people think that if they drive into the city at night their car will be broken into or stolen or they could be mugged, that's not good for business. We need to change the image of the city of Hartford, particularly given the recent spate in violent crime and the seemingly endless incidents of controversy centered around city hall. We need to change the image of the city by doing a better job, getting a better handle on city departments, specifically the fire department and public works. We need to be more aggressive on crime and give the police department the resources it needs to prevent crime and not just react to it after the fact.

What's your opinion on the Downtown North development, including the new baseball stadium? How would you improve or leverage the development?

It will definitely increase the entertainment and cultural options the city has to offer. It will create jobs. It will ultimately increase property values in the surrounding areas. The most important part is that the project be completed in a timely fashion within the budget and is operated and maintained in a professional manner.

What must Hartford do to attract more businesses?

The tax code needs to be revised. The city's image and perception need to be improved. Crime must be abated or brought under control, and the city needs to take a proactive approach, such as the economic development task force I would commission, to solicit businesses to move into the city.

What should happen with the XL Center?

The Capital Region Development Authority spent $35 million renovating the XL Center. It would be best to identify a new location and build a brand new facility. I realize that is more expensive than the proposed renovation and expansion of the existing facility. We would be penny wise and dollar foolish to spend half of what a new facility would cost on the existing facility, knowing that it will become obsolete and we will have to build a new facility at some point anyway. 

Return to Hartford Mayoral Race 2015 landing page