Posted on 05/23/2006 4:19:25 AM PDT by FortRumbull
Capitol Press Conference Is Held as City Council's Deadline Nears
Hartford — Plaintiffs in the Fort Trumbull eminent domain case and some two dozen supporters stood on the steps of the state Capitol Monday and asked the governor to support them in their battle with the city of New London.
And they bashed state legislators for failing to take any significant action to address the issue of “eminent domain abuse,” the taking of private property for private development, in Connecticut.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell responded by expressing her sympathy for the homeowners and ... bashing the General Assembly.
“I regret that the General Assembly has been largely silent on the overall issue of eminent domain,” Rell said in a prepared statement, “despite the fact that they called a special session last fall and were in regular session for three months earlier this year.”
The impetus for Monday's press conference was not inaction by the legislature, but the May 31 deadline set by the New London City Council. The plaintiffs have been told they have until then to negotiate the transfer of their homes or face eviction and fees and back taxes of close to a million dollars.
“We are here today to thank Gov. Jodi Rell for her past support of the homeowners,” said Scott Bullock, senior attorney with the Institute for Justice, which represented the homeowners in their unsuccessful U.S. Supreme Court challenge to the city. “And we are here today ... to ask for her continued support of the Fort Trumbull homeowners, to make sure that they do not lose their homes. These people are American heroes that should be honored, not evicted.”
Rell responded by saying, in her statement, “This situation has gone on far too long — too long for the City of New London and too long for the remaining Fort Trumbull occupants.”
She added that while she believed the “development of the entire peninsula is critically important to the economic welfare of the city and the region,” she “remained sympathetic to the occupants.”
Bullock noted that two important dates are approaching: the June 23 anniversary of “the most universally despised Supreme Court decision in recent memory” and the May 31 deadline.
“There's more determination than ever to change the law in this country,” Bullock said. “Twenty state legislatures have already passed legislation that gives greater protection to home and small business owners. Unfortunately, Connecticut has not been one of those states so far.”
•••
Joining Bullock at the podium were lead plaintiff Susette Kelo, Michael Cristofaro and Susan Kniep, president of the Federation of Connecticut Taxpayer Organizations Inc., who did not hesitate to take her own dig at the General Assembly.
“Forty-seven states have introduced more than 325 measures to protect their constituents from eminent domain abuse,” Kniep said. “Yet, in Connecticut, our state legislature convened without enacting legislation to protect the property rights of Connecticut homeowners.”
Kelo, Kniep said, is “one of the greatest patriots of our time,” who “embodies the principles and convictions of our founding fathers who 230 years ago penned” the Declaration of Independence.
And she quoted John Adams: “Property must be sacred or liberty cannot exist.”
For her part, Kelo had her own quotation: “Mark Twain once wrote, 'Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone, you may still exist, but you have ceased to live.' My illusion has been, and continues to be, that my home is mine, this land is mine.”
Kelo also thanked Rell and excoriated the legislature.
“In September of 2005, when we received eviction notices, Gov. Rell intervened on our behalf, asking New London Development Corporation to rescind those notices and to declare a moratorium on eminent domain until the legislature had time to consider a bill that would protect homeowners and business owners in Connecticut,” Kelo said. “The legislature failed to do that.”
Kelo and Cristofaro said they wanted the city to return the deeds to their homes.
Rell did not address that question, but said, “I have directed the Department of Economic and Community Development and mediator Bob Albright to redouble their efforts to bring about a resolution, which is long overdue.”
Cristofaro criticized Albright.
“He did not look for solutions. He kept on trying to buy us out,” he said. “This is not a money issue. It is the right to live where you want. ... Just give back our titles. That's all we ask.”
Some of the supporters on the steps of the Capitol Monday were there to discuss their own experiences with eminent domain.
“I was with a family that had an eminent domain taking, and it was a horrible experience,” said Michael Dudko of Bristol. “I even had a father who was dying of cancer. I handed in notes to the city attorney. He made light of it. And they evicted us even while my father was dying.”
The city took his family's land for an industrial park, Dudko said.
“We eventually were thrown out ... with a court order. ... If we weren't out in one week, we would have been thrown out by marshals, and I didn't want my 78-year-old mother to be touched,” he said. “I don't want to see it happen to the people in New London.”
Bob Young of Wethersfield had his own story of family land taken by the town of Newington.
“The town came and took it away for open space ... with a $200,000 grant from the state of Connecticut, which is partly my money as well, and I resent that very strongly,” Young said. “Our rights as citizens and heirs were almost zero.”
k.robinson@theday.com
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