Segarra accused Bronin of attempting to use the problem of violence for his own purposes.
A debate Wednesday between Hartford’s mayoral candidates stuck to familiar themes, with incumbent Pedro Segarra accusing his challenger of inexperience. Luke Bronin, who’s been endorsed by city Democrats ahead of Segarra, said citizens are waiting for action on high crime levels, unemployment and failing schools.
Bronin raised the issue of recent fatal shootings in Hartford, accusing Segarra of failing to lead, and failing to meet with victims families.
“There is no more important issue in the city of Hartford today than public safety,” said Bronin. “This year we saw a dramatic and a tragic rise in gun violence, and for months, as it was apparent, you did nothing.”
Bronin held a community meeting just this week to discuss the violence. He refuted Segarra’s contention that rising gun crime is a national trend.
"We’re an outlier in New England," Bronin said. "We now have the highest level of homicide of any city in New England, including the city of Boston, which is five times our size. This is not just a trend. Something is happening here that’s different, and something is happening here that demands active leadership -- not just advocacy, but action."
Segarra accused Bronin of attempting to use the problem of violence for his own purposes.
“To politicize the deaths of those young men and women who have been killed, for political purposes, is really, really the lowest I have seen in politics,” Segarra said.
And Segarra derided Bronin’s actions this week. “When you need to call a political meeting to get ideas about what you are going to do about crime, that really shows how ill-prepared you are to be the mayor of this city,” he said.
The mayor touted his own initiatives on economic development projects in the North End, and in pursuing more state money for neighborhood schools. He told Bronin he has no record of service to the city.
"You’re disconnected -- you’re disconnected from the grand majority of the people of this city who probably never knew who you were until you knocked on their door," Segarra said. "That’s the bottom line. You do not have the connections to this community, or above all you do not have the experience which is so necessary to make each one of those relationships with our residents meaningful ones."
The two will face off in a Democratic primary on September 16.
