Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra supported Sara Bronin many times in the past, but now he's questioning her intentions as the race for mayor intensifies between Segarra and Bronin's husband.
Segarra supported Sara Bronin's service on the city's charter revision commission and her service with the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation.
The two discussed several times her interest in being appointed to the Hartford Planning and Zoning Commission, and eventually Segarra appointed her to the board and now she serves as its chair.
"Yes, we actually shared a lot of the same visions for the city in terms of where the city might go and the possibilities," Sara Bronin said during an interview Friday.
Back then, it didn't seem to matter to the mayor who Sara Bronin was married to.
Now, Segarra and his campaign say there are unanswered questions about whether Luke and Sara Bronin were plotting a mayoral run two years ago, and tried to use her appointment to the planning and zoning commission as a way to prepare for the race.
"Was Sara Bronin being transparent? That’s the question that needs to be asked," said Segarra's campaign manager, Michael Bland.
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While the campaign and the mayor don't accuse the Bronins of any kind of conspiracy, they do wonder what was discussed behind closed doors. Luke Bronin worked for Gov. Dan Malloy at the time of his wife's appointment.
"This just wasn’t something that Luke or maybe Sara woke up and the morning of and said, 'We’re going to run for mayor.' This is something that was thought out and the fact of the matter is that she knew what she knew," Bland said.
Luke Bronin said any such theory has no merit considering Segarra's record of supporting his wife in the past.
"My wife is a national expert on land-use and zoning. She volunteers an unbelievable amount of time," he said. "She’s deeply passionate about the issue of planning and zoning."
Sara Bronin said she thinks there may be a deeper tone of frustration coming from Segarra.
"For him to insinuate that I as a tenured professor at UConn that specializes in land-use issues, had originally joined the planning and zoning commission just to advance my husband’s political career was really offensive," she said.
Segarra's campaign won't stop questioning Luke or his wife's motives. They say in this case, a family member isn't off limits.
"If Luke were to be elected, would Sara resign from the planning and zoning board? I think that's something voters want to know," Bland asked.
