Sam for Senate

News

Zoni's mailer draws ire of Caligiuri, others: 'Despicable' use of girl images in reference to Giordano blasted

Sunday, October 22, 2006

BY GENNADY SHEYNER

Negative ads may be a fixture of political campaigns, but Dave Zoni's latest mailer in his race against former Waterbury mayor Sam Caligiuri has critics both inside and outside politics saying the Southington Democrat has hit a new low.

The mailers, sent out in the past week, show a woman clutching a teddy bear next to headlines reading "A Shocking Crime" and "A Stunning Deal." On the inside of the ad, a girl wearing shorts and a T-shirt is shown in a fetal position, her head buried at her knees, and holding a stuffed animal.

A passage above her tells the reader that Caligiuri "cut a deal" that allowed former Waterbury Mayor Phil Giordano to keep his salary, benefits and title at the taxpayers' expense after Giordano was charged with sexually molesting children in 2001.

The ad also accuses Caligiuri, a Republican who then served as the president of the Waterbury Board of Aldermen, of "calling in political favors" to get the board to narrowly approve his decision not to impeach Giordano and shows Caligiuri's face above Giordano's police mug shots with the headline "Sam Caligiuri: His Friends Get Benefits."

"It's deplorable, it's low and I've never seen anything that bad," said Kelly Cronin, executive director of Waterbury Youth Services. "I've seen kids in this position, and for someone to use that image to gain a vote and to go after another man's integrity is despicable. He crossed the line."

Zoni said the point of the ad was only to inform readers of Caligiuri's position on Giordano's impeachment, which he called immoral. He said the images in the ad were stock photos that weren't meant to resemble any particular individual and should not be seen as the focus of the ad.

"My opponent is intent on running on his record and I believe the voters of the 16th District need to know what that record is," Zoni said. "What the people need to know is that the deal he made was morally wrong."

On Saturday, Caligiuri disputed Zoni's allegations that his opposition to Giordano's impeachment cost the taxpayers any money and characterized the ads as despicable acts of a desperate candidate.

"This is the most disgusting thing I've ever seen in politics," Caligiuri said. "As a father of two children, I am deeply, deeply offended by this. Dave Zoni is a dirty, desperate, despicable person for doing this."

Caligiuri said the reason he cut the deal, which allowed Giordano to keep his benefits and half of his salary, was to make sure Giordano, who was not yet convicted at that time, would never serve again. Caligiuri also pointed out that without the deal, Giordano would have received his full salary and would have remained mayor if released from prison.

The impeachment, furthermore, would have ensured that Giordano's crimes would have remained in media spotlight for months, Caligiuri said.

The decision not to proceed with the impeachment passed 8-7 along party lines.

Caligiuri also pointed out that when he was nominated to lead the Board of Aldermen in January 2001, wresting the position from fellow Republican Nicholas Augelli, he was widely regarded as the candidate who would make the board more independent of Giordano.

Chuck Stango, chairman of Waterbury's Republican Town Committee, said that ads like Zoni's make his job of recruiting qualified candidates all but impossible.

"My responsibility is to find qualified candidates," Stango said. "How is a town committee supposed to get anyone to run, and put the city ahead of their private life and their family life, when they see something like this happening?"

The 16th District includes Southington, Wolcott, Waterbury's East End and a small part of Cheshire.

<< Back to Main News Page