HARTFORD — The Hartford City Council returned from its winter hiatus Monday night to mark its first meeting with Mayor Arunan Arulampalam at the helm of the city, and the opportunity to select a new council president.
According to the agenda for the meeting, the council was expected to appoint Councilwoman Shirley Surgeon to president, replacing Councilwoman Maly Rosado, who will remain on council.
“I believe the tone I would like to set with the current council is that we’re doing all this together — being more involved in community outreach, being a partner with the mayor,” Surgeon said in an interview with CT Insider.
It is typical for the council to select new leadership after an election year. Surgeon has been on council since 2020 and is active in the Upper Albany Neighborhood Revitalization Zone. She is also a former board member of the Hartford Public Library.
This council, like the previous, is overwhelmingly Democratic, with three minority seats divided between the Working Families Party and the Hartford Party. There are mostly familiar faces, but Working Families Party member Alex Thomas and Democrat Kelly Bilodeau are new.
“I think that her vast knowledge will help us especially as the younger newcomers,” said Councilman Amilcar Hernandez, who took office in 2023 and is hoping to chair the committee on Operations, Management, Budget & Government Accountability.
The priorities of the new council vary depending on who you ask. For Surgeon, it really depends on what members of the community have to say.
“Tomorrow we really start working really hard,” Surgeon said. “But I think once we start going out into communities and listening to the residents that will certainly help drive what policies that we put on the table.”
However, she has a few ideas already. She said she’d like to have a local high school or middle school student sit on council to learn more about the governing process and provide a student’s perspective. Additionally, an hour before each council meeting she’d like to hold a meeting with the public and members of council staff to discuss what is on the agenda.
“People will start really knowing what items are on the agenda, what are the policies we’re passing, what are the policies the mayor’s recommending,” Surgeon said.
Both Surgeon and Hernandez said they are confident in the council’s ability to work with the Democratic mayor. The Democratic slate of council candidates campaigned alongside Arulampalam ahead of Election Day.
In Hartford, where there are no Republicans on the council, there is the Working Families Party. Josh Michtom, who represents the party on council alongside Thomas, shared a wide-ranging list of priorities for the new council as well as cautious optimism for the new president and the new mayor.
Hartford City Councilman Josh Michtom of the Working Families Party is hopeful about the new council leadership and new mayor.
Emily DiSalvo/ Hearst Connecticut MediaMichtom said he is hoping the tone of the new council is one that is independent from the mayor, rather than a “rubber stamp” on his priorities. While he said he worked closely with Bronin on a variety of initiatives, he said they didn’t always see eye to eye. He believes Arulampalam may be more likely to embrace to the ideas of the Working Families Party.
“I think there comes a point when we should first worry about housing and employing the people who live here and not worry so much about getting other people to come live here or to come spend a little bit of money here,” Michtom said. “And I think that was Bronin’s focus.”
Among the most prominent Working Families Party priorities is improving conditions for tenants. In Hartford about three-fourths of all residents are tenants. Michtom wants to consolidate various city functions that involve rental conditions and inspections, such as public works, housing inspections, and fire inspections to streamline the process for renters and crack down on slumlords.
“The city has for years been giving grace periods to landlords to fix things and pay fines,” Michtom said.
Other priorities come straight from the agendas of the previous council filled with resolutions that have since died from inaction. These include conducting a study on the feasibility of a city-owned grocery store and requiring the mayor to answer questions on the budget before council.
While Michtom is hoping Arulampalam will merely come before council to answer questions without a resolution imploring him to do so, Surgeon said she doesn’t support the measure at all.
“We have a Management and Budget Committee, who was going to work with the administration before the actual budget comes up,” Surgeon said. “So we have some input so I never really see a reasoning for that to happen.”
However, she did say she is confident in her ability to work with members of the minority parties.
“I think everyone, to be very honest with you, loves Hartford,” Surgeon said. “It’s how we show our love for Hartford. There’s different avenues you can take.”
