HEAD: City told to limit racial disparity in promotional tests
William Kaempffer , Register Staff
03/13/2004
NEW HAVEN - Three experts asked to review two contested promotional tests said it's not
unusual that white firefighters would have scored higher on the examinations than minority
counterparts.
The best the city can do is find ways to minimize any disparate impact.
"Since 1896, we've always found a disparity between black and white and Hispanics and whites,"
said Dr. Janet E. Helms, a professor of psychology and director of The Institute for the Study and
Promotion of Race and Culture at Boston College. "We can almost tell you what your disparity
will be before" a test is administered.
Dr. Chris Hornick, who runs a test consulting business in Colorado, agreed that "normally whites
out-perform ethnic minorities" on exams.
But he also noted that the racial disparity in the two recent civil service tests in New Haven was
more significant than usual.
"I'm a little surprised by how much adverse impact we have," he said, prefacing that his firm is a
direct competitor of the company that created the New Haven tests. "It's somewhat worse than
what we've typically seen."
But if the city's Civil Service Commission was hoping the experts would provide a clear
roadmap on how to proceed, none came.
Vincent Lewis, a retired firefighter and current employee of the U.S. Department of Homeland
Security, provided this advice: Look at the facts, decide what's best for the city and then do it.
"I think that was helpful for us just to listen to what they had to say," said James Segaloff, the
chairman of the Civil Service Commission. "I was really impressed with a lot of what each one
of them had to say and their particular views.
The outside experts were summoned on the city's dime to help the commission decide whether to
certify or throw out results from recent promotional tests for fire captain and lieutenant.
A city attorney has said the that the city could face legal problems over the tests because 14 of
the top 15 scorers were white.
Indeed, separate groups of white and black firefighters already have hired attorneys and
threatened to sue.
The experts recommended the city might revamp civil service regulations or use different testing
practices.
Hornick said the tests he reviewed were "reasonably good" but added that he believed there were
"much better alternatives" to the tests' formats.
Lewis, who retired after 23 years as a firefighter, said the two tests were similar to exams he had
taken during his career.
"Do you feel that the lieutenant exam and the captain exam were fair in the questions that they
asked?" asked Caplan.
"I thought the questions were relevant for both exams, and I would be comfortable taking them,"
Lewis said.
Helms, who wrote a number of books including "A Race Is a Nice Thing to Have: A Guide to
Being A White Person or Understanding the White Persons in Your Life," acknowledged there
was no easy answer on why minorities didn't score as well.
"There's very little information why people of color perform more poorly than their white
counterparts," she said.
Maybe for some English is a second language. And others, knowing historically minorities don't
do as well, impose crippling pressure on themselves to succeed.
Perhaps minorities are excluded from the "informal mentoring" that goes on at firehouses, which
hurts them come test time.
"Women and men of color have to earn their way into the brotherhood of white firefighters," she
said.
----------------------------------NAACP livid over poem found at city firehouse
William Kaempffer , Register Staff
03/09/2004
NEW HAVEN - A satirical poem tacked on a Fire Department bulletin board over the weekend
has the local NAACP burned up.
The 18-line verse took aim at a group of African-American firefighters who want results thrown
out for two civil service promotional tests.
"We're totally outraged," said Scot X. Esdaile, the president of the Greater New Haven branch of
the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. "There needs to be a tone and
a climate set in the Fire Department where there is a zero tolerance for this type of behavior. This
thing is starting to take a very nasty turn."
The poem appeared Saturday at the Goffe Street firehouse in the Dixwell neighborhood. By
Monday, copies were at the mayor's office, the office of the Fire Chief and the NAACP.
The poem sets to rhyme a sentiment held by many white firefighters: That African-American
firefighters didn't score as well on the two recent promotional exams because they didn't study as
hard.
A group of black firefighters, meanwhile, have said that some white firefighters had advance
knowledge of what would be on the test.
"When others studied and took classes/ they lay back upon their asses/ never opening the book/
just depending on their `hooks,' " the poem read.
The term "hooks" is a reference to political connections.
"I just think it's outrageous," said Karen DuBois-Walton, the city's chief administrative officer. "I
have no idea who wrote it. Discipline would certainly follow if we could figure out who wrote
it."
Esdaile said he thought the person or persons should be fired.
The verse made specific reference to Lt. Gary Tinney and Lt. Herschel Wadley, both black fire
officers.
"Gary Tinney failed to place/ In the latest captain's race/ So, along with Herschel and the rest/ He
proceeded to blame the test."
Tinney wrote a memorandum to Fire Chief Michael Grant on Saturday after the poem was
pointed out to him.
"I just think you have a lot of people on this department that need some diversity training,"
Tinney said Monday. "It not only offended me, but it offended all the guys on my shift."
The thorny issue surrounds promotional tests for fire captain and lieutenant. When preliminary
scores were released, 14 of 15 top scorers were white prompting the city to explore the
possibility of scuttling the test.
To a degree, opinions on whether the test should stand fall along racial lines.
Frank Ricci, a white firefighter who wants the tests to stand, said the poem was
"counterproductive to the good name of the department."
But he added that "as immature as that may be, that's firehouse banter."
After he spoke in front of the Civil Service Commission last month, there was a doctored
Chinese restaurant menu poking fun at him, he said.
"It's immaturity, but it goes both ways."
----------------------------------Commission to call in experts to review fire tests
William Kaempffer , Register Staff
03/05/2004
NEW HAVEN - The city's civil service commission agreed Thursday on three outside experts to
review two contested promotional exams in the fire department.
Commissioners also said they hope to make a decision before the end of the month about
whether to accept or reject the test results.
After a brief discussion, the commission directed the city to contact Dr. Chris W. Hornick, a
Colorado-based expert on fire service testing, selection, and promotion; Dr. Sara Sparrow, a
professor of psychology at Yale University; and Dr. Vincent Lewis of Maryland who has an
"extensive background in fire fighting," according to one commissioner.
The three would be asked sign confidentiality agreements before reviewing the two tests.
Tina Burgett, the city's director of human resources, said it wasn't clear how much the panel of
experts would cost.
Meanwhile, a white fire lieutenant denied accusations he knew how people scored on the test.
The city has not released scores.
"I would like to know my accusers," said Lt. John Vendetto.
A group of minority firefighters told city officials that Vendetto received a phone call at the
firehouse after which Vendetto claimed he knew the top scores on one of the tests.
After some discussion, Chief Administrative Officer Karen DuBois-Walton identified the
accusers as Lts. Herschel Wadley, Jeff Baskin, Gary Tinney, Kyle Daniels and Firefighter Rene
Cordova. All are minorities.
"Out of all the names she mentioned, I work with none of them on my shift so this is third-hand
information," Vendetto said. "They're not even in the same firehouse."
The controversy surrounds how minority firefighters scored on the two civil service tests. With
the existing scores, 14 of 15 people in line for promotion to captain and lieutenant would be
white.
No African American firefighters scored well enough to be promoted on either test.
The result has been catastrophic as far as race relations in the department.
White firefighters have said they scored better because they studied harder, while some black
firefighters counter that some white colleagues had advanced knowledge of the contents of the
test.
They also have said blacks often get fewer training opportunities on the department.
City officials, meanwhile, have implored anyone with specific accusations to come forward and,
to date, have found no evidence of cheating.
The Greater New Haven NAACP started its own investigation as well.
The tests for fire lieutenant and captain were given in late 2003 and the city received the
preliminary scores in January
----------------------------------Access to city fire tests limited
William Kaempffer , Register Staff
03/04/2004
NEW HAVEN - Some politicians want to view two disputed Fire Department promotional tests
that city officials fear were unfair to minorities.
But the aldermanic Public Safety Committee heard a common refrain.
"It's not a public document," said Corporation Counsel Thomas Ude Jr., later noting that the
panel could not see the exams "at this point."
Indeed, the exams have created racial tension and widespread hard feelings both inside and out
of the department, but precious few people in the city have seen them.
Access to the tests for fire captain and lieutenant is guarded. Ude, the city's top attorney, said he
hasn't seen it, although he could if he wanted to. Karen DuBois-Walton, the city's chief
administrative officer, hasn't either.
And to date, only one member of the Civil Service Commission, which must decide whether to
certify or scuttle the test results, has viewed the documents, and only after signing a
confidentiality agreement.
"Can we see the test or not?" asked Alderwoman Shirley Ellis-West, exasperated.
For hours Wednesday night, the Public Safety Committee questioned city officials about what
went wrong with the tests that made minorities score so poorly. Fourteen of the 15 people in line
for promotions are white.
Fewer than a dozen firefighters attended the sparsely attended meeting Wednesday.
The aldermanic committee scheduled the hearing after city officials raised questions about
throwing out the results because of an adverse impact on minorities on the job. Since then, the
situation turned from tense to testy, with racial tensions reaching uncomfortable levels and barbs
flying in both directions.
Many white firefighters say they scored better on the tests simply because they studied harder.
Last week, a group of black firefighters raised the prospect of cheating, but white firefighters say
that's hogwash.
Ude implored anyone with specific accusations about cheating to contact his office or some other
city officials and pledged allegations would be investigated.
While the aldermen have no authority over the Civil Service Commission, the panel said it still
wanted its voice heard.
At the meeting, several aldermen said their "constituents" brought concerns that some firefighters
had advance knowledge about what would be on the exams.
Questions about the tests first emerged in January when city officials received the raw scores.
DuBois-Walton said the results for the tests "raise significant concerns about discriminatory
promotional practices. Minorities, in some cases failed the tests at roughly nearly twice the rate
of white firefighters
The Civil Service Commission is scheduled to meet tonight to discuss the situation, although no
decision is immediately expected
Meanwhile, both sides have hired attorneys, so the city likely will be sued whichever decision is
made.
-----------------------------------
HEAD: Whites cheated on promotion test, black firefighters' civil rights lawyer says
William Kaempffer , Register Staff
02/27/2004
NEW HAVEN - A group of black city firefighters believe that some white co-workers had
advanced knowledge of the contents of two recent promotional tests.
While the specter of cheating has been whispered around firehouses for weeks, a civil rights
lawyer hired by the group put it on the table Thursday.
"We have witnesses who can confirm that some people were given advance information - these
are going to be the texts, these are going to be the issues," said New Haven attorney John
Williams. "Apparently, some people - certain people - decided who would get promoted."
Williams would not elaborate or say who those people were.
A top city official said she'd heard rumors of alleged cheating and urged anyone with
information to tell the city.
"I don't know that to be true. I would encourage if people want to come forward with that, that
they come forward," said city Chief Administrative Officer Karen DuBois-Walton. "At this
point, that's not been brought to me in any form.
"That alone would be a reason to question the results" of the examinations, she said.
The contested civil service tests were for fire lieutenant and captain. No African-Americans
scored well enough to be promoted, prompting the city to consider throwing out the results or
some other remedy. If promotions were made on the existing scores, at least 13 of 15 candidates
would be white.
A group of mostly white firefighters hired attorney Karen Torre earlier this month and have said
they will sue if the tests are voided.
The city has refused to release individual scores so no one in the department knows precisely
how they did.
At a press conference Thursday with the NAACP, minority firefighters said racial tensions in the
firehouses had reached epidemic levels since the controversy broke.
They bristled at comments reported in the New Haven Register articles and letters to the editor
asserting that African-Americans didn't score as well because they didn't study as hard.
"Every indication has been made that we didn't apply ourselves," said Lt. Hershel Wadley, who
took the captain exam. "I studied every day for eight hours a day. We're not looking for special
treatment or handouts."
And they said that after a decade of progress in racial equality in the department, there seems to
be a sudden regression.
Wadley said the current fire administration made a series of transfers that seemed to affect
mainly minority employees out of the fire academy and the fire marshal's office. There are next
to no blacks on the department's two squads, where firefighters get specialized training in skills
like vehicle extrication and confined space rescue.
And the fire union has not done enough to address the needs of its African-American members,
they claimed.
"The union fights very hard to ensure that the contractual rights of all its members are protected,"
said firefighter Patrick Egan, president of the fire union."
DuBois-Walton said that Chief Michael Grant made the transfers to stem skyrocketing overtime
costs.
"He inherited a department that was a fiscal mess. He had to make some difficult decisions. It's
wholly unfair to the chief to cast it as a racially motivated kind of a move."
A message was left for Grant Thursday.
----------------------------------HEAD: Designer defends promotion tests
William Kaempffer , Register Staff
02/17/2004
NEW HAVEN - A consultant defended two disputed Fire Department promotional exams,
saying his firm took great care to ensure the tests were unbiased.
Chad C. Legel, the vice president of Illinois-based I/O Solutions, assured the Civil Service
Commission that every question was checked and rechecked for even the most subtle racial
bend.
"The process was racially neutral," Legel told the commission last week "I will stand by ... the
examinations."
The commission must decide whether to throw out the results of the recent tests for fire
lieutenant and captain. The city has said the results had a disparate impact because too few
minorities scored well enough for promotion.
At the meeting, Legel offered no theory for minorities not scoring as well, but he said it wasn't
because the tests had any hidden bias.
"We have a lot of experience developing those things," he explained. On the written portion, all
questions came straight from reading material firefighters were told to purchase.
"Every question, you can go directly back to a page, a paragraph, a sentence to verify the answer
is correct," he said.
"The exam can only be biased as much as the texts are biased," he added.
Regarding the oral section, Legel said the firm made sure the panels that graded the firefighters
were racially balanced. All but one of the panels comprised a black, a Caucasian and a Latino, he
said.
In the weeks since the commission was informed of possible problems with the tests, no
members had seen the actual exams. They last week agreed to sign a confidentiality agreement in
order to review the exams.
Meanwhile, the members received a list of outside experts, who also would need to sign
confidentiality agreements, who might critique the tests.
After I/O Solutions was hired, representatives visited firehouses, interviewing officers on what
skills and qualities they viewed as important for the New Haven department. The company also
created a questionnaire for them.
Candidates seeking promotion received a syllabus of required reading and some members of the
department complained that the text didn't relate well to New Haven.
When Civil Service Commission Chairman James Segaloff asked Legel why some of the exam
seemed questionable, the consultant explained that "the test development process is by no means
perfect."
But if they conclude that a question was improper, Legel said, they would throw it out and give
everyone credit.
So far, a group of mainly white firefighters has hired a lawyer and is threatening to sue if the test
is thrown out.
Some minority firefighters have threatened to sue if it is not.
The price for the two tests was just shy of $100,000.
----------------------------------HEAD: Fire Department sure to be sued over exams
William Kaempffer , Register Staff
02/06/2004
NEW HAVEN - A prominent black minister Thursday warned a city commission against being
the "judge and jury" of whether two Fire Department promotional tests should be thrown out
because too few minorities scored well.
During a public hearing, the Rev. Boise Kimber, who also serves as a fire commissioner,
cautioned the Civil Service Commission.
"I look at this panel," he said. "Three whites. One Hispanic. No blacks. I would hope that you
would not put yourself in this position."
The latest controversy over Fire Department promotions drew dozens of firefighters, politicians
and civil rights advocates to the public meeting.
"You're telling me because we have four white faces that we cannot make a decision?"
commission member Francine Caplan asked, incredulously.
The Civil Service Commission has been charged with deciding whether to accept results from
tests for fire captain and lieutenant. City officials are concerned because no black and, at most,
two Hispanic firefighters would be in line for promotion.
The local branch of the NAACP has already pledged to investigate the situation and chapter
President Scot X. Esdaile said he had "grave concerns" about certifying tests that would result in
no promotions of blacks.
A group of 11 mostly white firefighters have already hired an attorney to fight any efforts to
throw out the tests.
"If you discard these results, you will be sued," said attorney Karen Lee Torre. "For those who
scored high . you are about to consider a provocative act that would deny them their due."
But representatives from the International Association of Black Professional Fire Fighters said
the city could find itself in the same position if it doesn't throw out the tests.
Donald Day, a retired Bridgeport firefighter, said the tests were "inherently unfair." He pointed
to previous tests in the city in which blacks scored much better.
"Either the blacks and Latinos on the New Haven Fire Department got a lot dumber or the whites
got a lot smarter," Day said.
The fire union has been careful not to take a position on the controversy, which affects members
of all colors.
Firefighter Patrick Egan, the president of the fire union, asked that the city hire a third party to
conduct a validation study to determine whether the test was fair.
City Corporation Counsel Thomas Ude dismissed accusations that the controversy was sparked
by political pandering, calling the city's position "principles over politics."
"My parents raised me, and my life experience has confirmed, that no racial or ethnic group, nor
either gender, has cornered the market on intelligence, talent and ability," he said.
Ude has said it would be "insane" to use the test.
The Fire Department has a history of promotional controversies. In the early 1990s, a Superior
Court Judge ordered a group of white firefighters demoted after a lawsuit filed by a group of
minority firefighters.
Fire Lt. John Ryan was among them.
"I really feel we've made such great strides," said Ryan, a 25-year veteran who wants the tests
approved. "I have never seen race relations better on this job. We went through this before and
it's not pleasant."
----------------------------------HEAD: City fire tests have no easy, cheap fix
William Kaempffer and Angela Carter , Register Staff
02/02/2004
NEW HAVEN - City officials have argued behind closed doors. Firefighters have attended union
meetings. Lawyers have been contacted.
But just over a week after the city suggested that two Fire Department promotional tests might be
thrown out because too few minorities scored well, the controversy has created a racial divide.
City officials have scheduled a second public hearing on the issue for Thursday in the Hall of
Records.
"The rift and the division in the department was very clear at the first hearing," said Karen
DuBois-Walton, the city's chief administrative officer.
"The one thing that all groups can probably agree on is we don't ever want to be in this situation
again," she said.
In November and December, the city gave civil service tests for fire lieutenant and captain
positions. When exam results came back, all but one or two of the 15 people in line for
promotion were white.
Last week, some Board of Aldermen officers were briefed on the situation.
"I would not want to certify this test. We will not be able to promote any African-Americans to
captain or lieutenant. I don't want the city to appear discriminatory," said Alderwoman Shirley
Ellis-West, D-12.
Aldermanic President Jorge Perez, D-5, did not take a position on certifying the test, but said the
debacle has caused "a disservice" to taxpayers, firefighters and anyone else who potentially
could be impacted.
"I'm more interested in how we got into this mess in the first place," he said. "Instead of a joyous
occasion where people are being promoted, we have a department that's in turmoil and split
along racial lines."
The two exams, administered by a testing consultant, cost nearly $100,000. The city most likely
will be sued no matter what course it chooses.
One civil lawyer in New Haven believes throwing out the tests would be "a colossal mistake."
"They're taking steps that are going to cost (New Haven) a great deal of money," said Norman
Pattis, who recently won a multimillion dollar reverse discrimination lawsuit filed by white
Hartford firefighters. "I don't know if the mayor has his eyes on Hartford and the governor's
office and forgot that he had to uphold the law here in New Haven."
Legal scholars, however, said any discrimination lawsuit by white firefighters against the city is
no slam-dunk.
Ian Ayres, a professor at Yale Law School, said white firefighters could argue that the city is "in
a sense showing a preference of minorities" if it throws out the test. But he said that wouldn't
necessarily mean a victory in the courtroom.
"If they're setting these aside and putting forth another color-blind test, that would be harder to
sue on," he said. "It's unlikely that you get a winnable suit for whites on the basis of that."
Quinnipiac University law professor Robert Farrell said the city's case could be bolstered by a
recent federal ruling in the Midwest.
In December, a federal appeals court ruled that Chicago was justified in increasing some black
police officers' scores on a sergeant's test in the 1980s.
"The standard is that when you are making race-conscious decisions, then you have to show that
your decision was narrowly tailored to achieve a compelling interest," Farrell said. "I'm
presuming they have a compelling interest in having a diverse fire department."
Ayres said the city has several options, short of throwing out the tests.
Since firefighters balked about certain questions, the city could conduct a validation study on
both tests.
If some questions were deemed invalid, they could be thrown out without scuttling entire exams.
It is not certain adjusted scores would change the racial makeup in the top ranks.
----------------------------------HEAD: Fire exams pose problems, city lawyer says
William Kaempffer , Register Staff
01/23/2004
NEW HAVEN - The three police officers stationed at the meeting were a strong indication that
city officials expected some tension.
And tension there was.
It was palpable, as scores of firefighters listened to a city attorney explain there were big
problems with tests recently administered for department promotions.
"We have zero African-Americans who can be considered for promotion to captain," said City
Corporation Counsel Thomas Ude Jr. As for fire lieutenant, Ude said, "They will all be white.
They will all be male.
"There is a very disparate impact," Ude said.
After weeks of silence, City Hall explained to the Civil Service Commission and the public what
the holdup was on making two sets of promotions in the Fire Department.
Earlier this month, when the city first received raw scores from promotional tests for fire captain
and lieutenant, it became clear that few minorities scored well enough to get promoted.
The commission must certify the promotional list before it is official and Ude and other top
administrators briefed the board Thursday night on the situation.
"It would be insane to say that you have to certify a list and wait to get sued," Ude told the board.
He later added that he "would anticipate a lawsuit," if the lists were approved.
But from the tenor of the meeting, it appeared likely that the city would face a lawsuit either
way, with the tests threatening to create a deeper rift in the department.
"I would hope that we do not divide this department any more than we are now based on racial
lines," said the Rev. Boise Kimber, a fire commissioner. But he also went on to note that there
are too few minorities in supervisory positions.
Nothing was decided Thursday and the Civil Service Commission planned to hold a public
hearing.
Ude and Tina Burgett, the city's director of human resources, stressed the potential exposure to a
lawsuit.
And while their preference to kill the tests appeared clear, neither Ude nor Burgett made an
official recommendation.
"At present, we do not have a position. We are not making a recommendation," Ude said.
He said the board had some options: throw both lists out and conduct new tests, certify the
current lists or find some other remedy.
"I don't want to get into what the remedies might be," Ude said.
With the current scores, if promotions were made tomorrow, five and possibly six of the new
captains would be white and one or two would be Hispanic.
As for promotions to lieutenant, all eight would be white firefighters.
A number of firefighters of all races already have said the tests contained some irrelevant and
misleading questions.
"I think the test was unfair," said firefighter James Watkins, an African-American who echoed
the sentiments of many others in the department. He said some of the questions were misleading
and outdated and related to tactics in New York, not here.
"I fight fires here in New Haven, Connecticut."
Firefighter Frank Ricci, who is white, said everyone received the same books and the same time
to study. He said he often spent eight to 13 hours a day studying and said he expected that effort,
not his race, would determine how well he did.
Promotional tests in the Fire Department usually occur only twice a decade so the stakes are
high. Firefighters spent upward of $500 on books and many spent hundreds of hours studying.
Those who believed they scored well were vehemently opposed to the tests being stricken.
And Ude acknowledged that no matter what the Civil Service Commission decides, some people
will be unhappy.
Ricci said he planned to attend the upcoming public meeting and asked if his attorney could
speak on his behalf.
----------------------------------HEAD: City eyes voiding 2 fire exams
By: William Kaempffer
01/22/2004
Editor's note: Because of a production error, the following story was incomplete in some editions
Wednesday. Here is the story in its entirety.
NEW HAVEN - City Hall is considering scuttling two promotional examinations in the Fire
Department, leaving promotion-seeking firefighters in limbo.
The city received results for fire captain and lieutenant tests weeks ago and City Hall sources
confirm that the test scores are not to the administration's liking.
A special meeting for the Civil Service Commission has been scheduled for today to discuss the
situation and many in the department expect that the tests will be voided.
"I'm in no position to make a comment one way or another," said Tina Burgett, the city's director
of human resources. "We've invited the commission and we have a quorum."
Corporation Counsel Thomas Ude declined comment.
Some firefighters said they were told that not enough people passed the tests; others said not
enough minority firefighters did well, while more complained that the test was peppered with
irrelevant and outdated questions.
The city has not released the preliminary scores, so no one knows how well they did, but the
stakes are high.
Promotional examinations come approximately twice a decade. The last lieutenant's test was in
1999; the last test for captain was in 1998.
Firefighters shelled out hundreds of dollars for reading material and some spent even more to
prepare. Many took vacation or personal time in the weeks before the exams.
Across the board, people who took the tests noted some questions on the exams were not
pertinent or outdated.
In some cases, the topic seemed to relate more to New York City than New Haven with
references to uptown and downtown operations, firefighters said.
In another instance, a correct answer included an outdated position that the department has
eliminated.
Whether the test would be voided has been the talk at firehouses for weeks.
"Do I feel the test should be thrown out? That's not for me to decide," said Lt. Abraham Colon,
the department's EMS supervisor who took the captain's test. "Was the test relevant to our job?
No, it was not."
Lt. James Kottage, a union official who also took the examination, said he could only speak from
a personal perspective and not as a union representative. "I can't speculate what Civil Service is
going to do, but if they don't have two certified promotional lists, it shows me that the process is
broken and needs to be fixed."
If the tests are scuttled, some questions remain.
Will the city be out the money a private company charged to administer the exams, which
sources put at just shy of $100,000?
And are the firefighters out the $500 or more they paid for books and study guides? -30-----------------------------------FORUM
Race politics again threaten to harm city
Karen Lee Torre
02/05/2004
New Haven is poised again to stumble into a quagmire of race politics as it considers scrapping
the results of promotional examinations administered to fill vacancies in its Fire Department.
Compliance with the city charter mandates the filling of each vacancy from among the top three
scorers. That will result in few blacks being promoted in the first round to the ranks of captain
and lieutenant.
The problem for New Haven lies in attempting to square a desire for "diversity" with fidelity to
its charter, which not only requires that promotions be based on merit as determined by
competitive examination but which expressly prohibits favoring any candidate because of race.
The "rule of three" provision has been violated consistently by the city, which has come up
wanting in court time and again, with judges dismissing the city's excuses as "absurd."
Rebuffed by the courts, the city proposed a charter revision that would have gutted the rule of
three, but voters rejected the measure.
City Hall, however, is stubborn, and these losses have not weakened its resolve to hire and
promote based on what is perceived as politically correct or, for the mayor, politically profitable.
The city now pitches the suggestion of "disparate impact," a legal term, as a potential cover to
discard the scoring results. But the concept is freighted with faulty logic and gives rise to
inferences that are racist but sidestepped by liberals and academics in their result-oriented
approach, which in the end does nothing to advance the interests of blacks without whites
dictating the time, place and manner.
Instead of launching an attack on the test, which cannot fairly be deemed racially biased, public
officials should consider the social harms of a "diversity at any cost" policy they clumsily try to
inject into a strictly competitive merit system.
The rule of three is a prophylactic against the ills that plagued and will always threaten the civil
service system - cronyism, nepotism, horse-trading and outright graft.
The merit system is not perfect but is the best system available. Diversity is a desirable aim, but
achieving it by artifice only infects the system with ills that are especially pernicious in quasimilitary organizations such as police and fire services where morale and respect for superiors is
critical.
In the Police Department, the city's persistent disregard of the charter has led to fractious
relations, cynicism and contempt for authority as officers who studied hard and built excellent
records saw promotions doled out along racial lines, often to low-scoring candidates with
horrible work records.
Until enjoined by court order, former Police Chief Melvin Wearing was bent on illegally
promoting a black officer whose behavioral problems generated controversy. Passing over a
white recipient of the department's highest medal, Wearing promoted another black to lieutenant
whose horrific work record culminated in her arrest on drug charges.
Wearing, given a green light by City Hall, made a mockery of the merit system. The hiring of
Wearing's son as a police officer despite his spotty history shows the spoils system is not the
province of whites.
In reality, the divisions that impede the functioning of these departments have nothing to do with
race. In military and quasi-military outfits, no one respects a commanding officer who is
perceived to have risen without merit.
I have never known a white officer who did not display high regard for a black superior who
gained promotion by good work and a competitive score. I have known white officers who have
low regard for a white superior promoted because of political connections.
This is because commanding others in dangerous work requires knowledge, experience and
character, and race is of no matter.
In allowing its charter to be violated for years, the city has sent a clear message that performance
doesn't matter and race does. The effect of this on those preparing for exams cannot be
discounted but will no doubt be ignored by diversity proponents.
In the promotional lists at issue, there are many white firefighters whose scores placed them in
the middle and at the bottom of the list, below blacks. None of them should be promoted in
violation of the rule of three nor should any black who scored well be sacrificed by City Hall's
craven pandering to group interests.
All would be better served by a commitment to offer whatever aid and tutoring is necessary to all
those who need it and wish to compete and succeed on merit.
If New Haven manipulates the rules and lowers the bar for the sake of diversity it will trade one
harm for many others, exacerbate racial tension, breed discontent, invite corruption and embrace
mediocrity as its highest aspiration. The public deserves a more responsible solution. -30Karen Lee Torre is a New Haven civil rights lawyer who has successfully represented police
officers and firefighters in suits against New Haven over promotions. Readers may write her in
care of the Register, 40 Sargent Drive, New Haven 06511.
----------------------------------LETTER
Those who `got beat' cause racial tension
Letter to the Editor
03/07/2004
Articles regarding the New Haven Fire Department promotional exams have been throwing out
accusations and pathetic excuses as to why certain groups didn't do well enough, from the
reading material was not relevant or too difficult, to the content of the test, to ridiculous
statements of people having the reading list early. Now it is whites cheated.
With the help of civil rights lawyer John Williams, a group of African-American firefighters is
setting out to stop the promotions of the firefighters who earned them. This group likes to paint a
picture of a biased and racist Fire Department and wants to blame everybody from the chief to
fellow firefighters for their short comings.
This group condemns Fire Chief Michael Grant for putting forth an unconventional reading list
consisting of nationally recognized books. I applaud Grant. While making for a very difficult
exam, these were extremely informative books.
This group continues to insult our chief and department by saying a recent series of transfers
were racially motivated. These positions were cut by the Board of Aldermen. The chief
eliminated the positions to have the least impact on public safety and the transfers were made
based on seniority.
The biggest argument they can come up with is people had the books. Did these people know the
chapters or even if that specific book would be on the exam? No. Certain people own a lot of
fire-service related books. They take a lot of courses on their own time at their own expense to
better serve this city and this is the thanks they get.
I have now been called a cheater and a Klansman by an African-American lieutenant. I take great
offense.
The bottom line is racial tension has been brought on by this small, radical group of minorities
who cannot deal with the fact that they got beat on a legitimate exam and are trying to blame
everybody else but themselves. -30-----------------------------------xxx
Michael R. Blatchley
North Haven
Editor's note: Michael R. Blatchley is a New Haven firefighter.
LETTER
City thumbs nose at courts on fire promotions issue
Letter to the Editor
02/23/2004
Congratulations to Karen Lee Torre on her Forum article blasting race politics in New Haven.
The "rule of three" is absolutely ridiculous and has been recognized as such by several judges.
The city has chosen to thumb its nose at the courts since there is no monetary, punitive action.
The rule of three has been used to pass over many qualified people to get to people who are
politically correct or have political connections. As a former New Haven officer it greatly
saddened me when I saw potentially good supervisors passed over for people less competent.
Some of the promotions were very bad and many officers knew this.
The real losers are the taxpayers, who do not get the quality of service they deserve. Promote
people based on their numerical score and their work record. A person who doesn't come to work
regularly and performs sloppy investigations certainly is not going to do any better because they
wear sergeant stripes or lieutenant bars.
Anthony Griego
Hamden
---------------------------LETTER
Insult by city's lawyer adds nothing to debate
Letter to the Editor
02/13/2004
In regard to the debate over whether New Haven should throw out promotional test results
because few black firefighters scored high, city Corporation Counsel Thomas Ude said "only a
bigot" would be opposed to his position.
Ude has urged the Civil Service Board to refuse to certify the results or keep the promotions in
limbo until another expert reviews the fairness of the test.
The city has already paid fire exam experts $100,000 to devise the test, which everyone thought
was fair until the results came out. Some rightfully suspect any expert hired by the city will be
prone to deliver the opinion Ude openly wants.
People have good faith disagreements on this issue. Ude's comment was unprofessional and
irresponsible. The Civil Service Board has yet to vote on the issue and Ude has made it
impossible for it to certify the results without the city's chief legal representative declaring them
bigots for doing so.
Insult is a poor man's argument and Ude's small-minded comment adds nothing to the debate.
Frank Ricci
Wallingford
Kevin Roxbee
Guilford
Greg Boivin
Shelton
Editor's note: Frank Ricci, Kevin Roxbee and Greg Boivin are New Haven firefighters.
----------------------------------FORUM
Promotions put brothers in conflict
Frank Harris III
02/09/2004
It came on a cold mid-January afternoon. It was a compelling scene: smoke, fire, a burning
building with New Haven firefighters scrambling, rolling, falling out windows and onto the roof,
gasping. Then one stands up, rushes to a window, kicks it in and pulls his brother firefighter to
safety.
Compelling. It made the front page of this newspaper. It became the lead story on WTNH. It
went national on "Good Morning America.''
Fires are compelling. It's hard not to stop and watch. Dramatic rescues are compelling. There is
something about the efforts people make to save other people. And when the rescued and the
rescuer are of different races, it becomes even more compelling.
The rescuer was black; the rescued was white, but I doubt that it mattered to anyone at the time.
In the smoke and flames and heat, normally noticeable things such as color take a hike.
As it was, firefighter Dawud Amin pulled a burnt but breathing Capt. Howard McCann out of the
fire. He saved his life. He was a hero. That is what brothers do. They become heroes for each
other.
And if the situation were reversed, there is little doubt McCann would have done the same for
Amin. He would have been his hero.
It's one of those beautiful, uplifting, heroic things about life and the human spirit: Those
moments when whatever differences that might distinguish or divide humans just up and fly
away.
It's when the danger fades that Americans, and perhaps all people, have trouble dealing with each
other.
This thought comes to mind when reading about the turmoil igniting around the civil service
exam that determines which city firefighters get promoted. The exam calls for promotions based
on the highest score. The majority of those with the highest scores were white - which means
different things to people.
For those scoring high, it means they believe they should be promoted. For the city, which wants
a diverse Fire Department on all levels, and for blacks and Hispanics who want to be promoted,
it means the status quo goes unchanged.
The challenge becomes how to be fair without being sued. If the exams are disregarded to ensure
black representation, whites will sue; if only whites are promoted, blacks will sue.
On the one hand, the sentiment of firefighters who score well is understandable. If one works
hard, scores well and the rules say those who score the highest get promoted, then certainly the
anger at a change is understandable. To have someone with a lesser score promoted would seem
unfair.
From the other perspective, to see one race overwhelmingly represented in promotions based on
a test leads to questions about the test. Those with the best scores on any form of test for any
coveted position are not necessarily the best persons for the job. There are people who may be
great test takers, great classroom performers, and know all the ins and outs but may not be the
best leaders, have the best demeanor, or command the best tools to relate to people and perform
when it counts.
There are always intangibles. A music student, for example, who scores well on a written exam
is not necessarily the best when the curtains rise. There is no guarantee that such a person will
create music to touch the soul better than the one who scored lower on the exam. Yet it would be
in that low scorer's best interest to score higher on the exam to remove doubt.
There should be more than one measure of one's worth for promotion. But at the same time, that
does not erase the obvious question: Why aren't blacks scoring higher on these tests?
If the rules call for the highest scores, then it's important that those who seek promotions work to
raise their scores.
The time spent waging a lawsuit to gain promotion might be better spent working to score higher
on the test to remove doubt as to who is deserving. As well, the time spent waging a lawsuit to
ensure exam results stand in an exam that makes it all but certain that promotions go to those
who are white might be better spent reviewing whether such exams are the sole measure of one's
qualifications.
The arguments are compelling for both sides. Compelling, if not antiheroic, for it pits brother
against brother as the life-affirming mid-January scene becomes a memory that fades like smoke
blowing in the wind.
That fire is out. A new, yet old fire smolders.
Sometimes the hardest fires to put out are those between brothers.
Frank Harris III of Hamden is chairman of the journalism department at Southern Connecticut
State University. Readers may write him at P.O. Box 185061, Hamden 06518, or e-mail him at
fh3ownword@rcn.com.
--------------------------LETTER
Consider costs to firefighters of taking exam
Letter to the Editor
01/29/2004
I am totally outraged at the outcome of the testing for firefighters. It is totally unfair and
unethical that the persons with the highest test scores are being ignored for their just promotions
because of the color of their skin. It is my belief that one should be promoted on the knowledge
and devotion to learning their job, not on whether or not they are minority.
Why do we even bother to spend the money and time to test? Not to mention the money and time
that the firefighters put into the test. The cost of the books, exam, and the time away from their
families to study should be a consideration as well as their scores before we throw out the results
because some individuals did not take the exam as seriously as others did.
Promote the firefighters who passed the test, do not lower the bar for those who cannot.
Laurie A. Anastasio
New Haven
--------------------------------LETTER
If unqualified cause harm, damage suits can be expected
Letter to the Editor
02/13/2004
I am extremely upset and outraged about New Haven attempting to throw out the results of the
Fire Department promotional exams for captain and lieutenant. I have lived in New Haven all my
life, and at this time live close to a Fair Haven firehouse.
Thomas Ude, the city corporation counsel, is concerned that the city will be sued by the
minorities who did not place well on the test if it certifies this list. If I should ever be in need of
the Fire Department and something happens to myself, my husband or my two children because
the city did not promote the most qualified candidates, doesn't he think he would see a lawsuit
then?
Everyone took the same test and everyone studied the same subject matter; so why did some
people not score as well as others? Because some people are more qualified and better suited for
a supervisory position than others.
Certify the results and promote officers in the order that they placed on the list. To do otherwise
is scandalous and wrong.
Phyllis Dabbraccio
New Haven
--------------------------------------LETTER
Don't sacrifice those who ae successful
Letter to the Editor
02/13/2004
As the neighbor of one of the firefighters who took the test New Haven may not approve because
of the lack of minorities, my reaction is dismay and disgust.
I'm dismayed because the guidelines regarding the exams were clearly defined and clearly
communicated in advance. All test takers were given the same course material, had the same
time to study, and took the same test, which the city ensured contained appropriate content and
no racial bias. Everyone was given a fair and equal opportunity. Now that the results do not meet
the desired end, the city wants to unjustly penalize those who achieved success.
City residents deserve the best-qualified officers, not captains and lieutenants selected because of
their ethnicity, color or sex. The city is exhibiting discrimination by denying a promotion based
purely on race.
Clearly it is in the best interest of the city to have a fully diverse Fire Department. Options such
as mentoring programs and other initiatives should be researched and implemented as quickly as
possible to achieve that goal. But the best-qualified individuals should not be sacrificed in the
interest of diversity.
Denis Daly
Branford
-------------------------------LETTER
Fire promotion test fulfilled purpose exactly
Letter to the Editor
01/29/2004
I think the citizens of New Haven should be appalled that the city is considering scrapping the
Fire Department promotional exams for captain and lieutenant, which cost the taxpayers a
minimum of $100,000 to administer.
And the reason they want to scrap it? Not enough minorities scored well and they are not happy
with the results.
Excuse me, but the results are the results. They show exactly what they were intended to show:
which candidates are the most qualified for the promotions.
What is the city going to do, spend another $100,000 on another test? And then what happens if
minorities don't do well again? Scrap it and do it again? Why bother to give a test at all?
Elaine Raucci
Branford
Whites cheated on promotion test, black firefighters' civil rights lawyer says
William Kaempffer , Register Staff
02/27/2004
NEW HAVEN - A group of black city firefighters believe that some white co-workers had
advanced knowledge of the contents of two recent promotional tests.
While the specter of cheating has been whispered around firehouses for weeks, a civil rights
lawyer hired by the group put it on the table Thursday.
"We have witnesses who can confirm that some people were given advance information - these
are going to be the texts, these are going to be the issues," said New Haven attorney John
Williams. "Apparently, some people - certain people - decided who would get promoted."
Williams would not elaborate or say who those people were.
A top city official said she'd heard rumors of alleged cheating and urged anyone with
information to tell the city.
"I don't know that to be true. I would encourage if people want to come forward with that, that
they come forward," said city Chief Administrative Officer Karen DuBois-Walton. "At this
point, that's not been brought to me in any form.
"That alone would be a reason to question the results" of the examinations, she said.
The contested civil service tests were for fire lieutenant and captain. No African-Americans
scored well enough to be promoted, prompting the city to consider throwing out the results or
some other remedy. If promotions were made on the existing scores, at least 13 of 15 candidates
would be white.
A group of mostly white firefighters hired attorney Karen Torre earlier this month and have said
they will sue if the tests are voided.
The city has refused to release individual scores so no one in the department knows precisely
how they did.
At a press conference Thursday with the NAACP, minority firefighters said racial tensions in the
firehouses had reached epidemic levels since the controversy broke.
They bristled at comments reported in the New Haven Register articles and letters to the editor
asserting that African-Americans didn't score as well because they didn't study as hard.
"Every indication has been made that we didn't apply ourselves," said Lt. Hershel Wadley, who
took the captain exam. "I studied every day for eight hours a day. We're not looking for special
treatment or handouts."
And they said that after a decade of progress in racial equality in the department, there seems to
be a sudden regression.
Wadley said the current fire administration made a series of transfers that seemed to affect
mainly minority employees out of the fire academy and the fire marshal's office. There are next
to no blacks on the department's two squads, where firefighters get specialized training in skills
like vehicle extrication and confined space rescue.
And the fire union has not done enough to address the needs of its African-American members,
they claimed.
"The union fights very hard to ensure that the contractual rights of all its members are protected,"
said firefighter Patrick Egan, president of the fire union."
DuBois-Walton said that Chief Michael Grant made the transfers to stem skyrocketing overtime
costs.
"He inherited a department that was a fiscal mess. He had to make some difficult decisions. It's
wholly unfair to the chief to cast it as a racially motivated kind of a move."
A message was left for Grant Thursday.
--------------------------------Tie vote sinks city Fire Dept.test results
William Kaempffer , Register Staff
03/19/2004
NEW HAVEN - Two contested promotional exams in the Fire Department were thrown out
Thursday, in a vote that confused and confounded many firefighters who had come to learn their
fate.
For months, emotions were rubbed raw in anticipation of a dramatic vote by the Civil Service
Commission on whether to approve or scuttle the results from the two tests that divided the
department along racial lines.
The vote finally came Thursday night. The tally was a 2-2 tie.
"That's it? They don't break a tie?" one firefighter asked another.
"What happens now?"
Civil Service rules dictate a majority is needed to certify a test, so the exams were dead.
"This has been a divisive issue," Karen DuBois-Walton, the city's chief administrative officer,
said in a statement afterward. "But given the remarkable dedication of the men and women of the
New Haven Fire Department, we are confident that everyone will be able to work together to
strengthen our fire services."
City officials said they hoped to start healing the wounds at the department. But if the aftermath
of the meeting is a barometer, that healing process will be slow.
"It's clear that the mayor of the city got what the mayor of the city wanted," said an angry Patrick
Egan, fire union president.
"The only thing that was sure here was that politics won out over public safety and that's a direct
reflection of what Mayor John DeStefano feels about this city," said Firefighter Frank Ricci,
who, along with 15 other firefighters, retained a lawyer and pledged to sue if the tests were
thrown out.
Asked if they still planned to file suit, Ricci said "guaranteed."
When the meeting began, a string of city officials strongly urged the commission not to certify
the tests, which cost the city about $100,000. Last year, a consultant administered two
examinations for fire lieutenant and fire captain.
When the results came back, 14 of the top 15 people in line for promotion were white. City
Corporation Counsel Thomas Ude Jr. said that adverse impact on minorities would open the city
to litigation.
Addressing the commission, Ude and Human Resources Director Tina Burgett questioned
whether the current format of testing revealed the best qualified candidates.
Fire Department promotions have written and verbal components, weighed 60-40 respectively.
"This is a process that has been embraced by the city for over 20 years," said Egan. "I think their
actions were disgusting."
City officials maintain the results violated federal civil rights laws by creating discriminatory
work practices.
Promotions in the Fire Department are coveted, in part because the exams occur only two or
three times a decade.
Firefighters often spend hundreds of dollars on books and study for months.
Before the vote, Civil Service Commission members pressed the city to undertake civil service
reform before the same thing happens again.
"If the results are the same, are we going to throw out every exam?" asked Commissioner
Francine Caplan, who voted to certify the tests. "Civil service laws have become an obstacle
rather than a solution."
For Fire Lt. Matthew Marcarelli, blame for the mess was easy to place.
"We are trying to fix a problem that was flawed from the beginning," he told city officials. "You
fix the cart before you utilize it, not after you spill all your fruit.
"It's your fault. Hello!"
-------------------------------------Firefighters seek payment for test supplies
William Kaempffer, Register Staff
March 26, 2004
NEW HAVEN - The fire union wants the city to reimburse firefighters for money they spent
preparing for two scuttled promotional tests.
Union officials said members spent hundreds of dollars each to prepare for the examinations,
only to have the results later thrown out.
"We would be looking to recoup the expenses that the members of this union incurred," said
Firefighter Patrick Egan, the president of fire Local 825. "Look at the price of the books alone.
Why should our firefighters be on the hook for that?"
This week, the union began telling members to calculate how much they spent on books, study
guides and testing seminars, and provide receipts and a total. Firefighters estimated the books
alone cost upward of $500.
In the meantime, Egan said, the union was researching the best way to get the city to pay up.
Contacted this week, city officials said they couldn't discuss any potential claim against the city
because the union hadn't even broached the subject with them yet.
"I'm not about to respond, nor would I recommend anyone else in the city to respond, to a claim
that has not even been submitted," said Thomas Ude Jr., the city's corporation counsel.
"I did not know that the union has even approached the city on this," said Director of Personnel
Tina Burgett, who oversaw the examination process.
Last November and December, more than 100 firefighters took promotional examinations for
lieutenant and captain. Last week, the city's Civil Service Commission effectively threw out the
exams when it didn't certify the results. The tests were thrust under the microscope amid
concerns that too few minorities scored well enough for promotion.
City officials had voiced concerns that the test results could violate federal civil rights laws and
urged the commission to throw out the results.
If promotions had gone forward, 14 of the 15 people in line for promotion to lieutenant and
captain would have been white.
Ude said he didn't believe it was accurate to blame the city for the testing problems.
"I would not agree that it was the city's fault,' certainly not exclusively," Ude said.
Egan placed blame squarely on Burgett.
"Tina Burgett is in charge of testing. Tina Burgett approved the books. Tina Burgett approved
the testing company. Tina Burgett is in charge of overseeing the testing process," Egan said.
Egan maintains it is only fair that the city reimburse the firefighters for their expenses, since
Burgett, Ude and other officials pressed the commission to throw out the tests.
Burgett said she didn't want to get into a public exchange with the union. Rather, she said, it's
important to move forward to ensure this never happens again.
"I think it's very unfortunate. I think the real task in front us is to ensure the city never goes
through this type of process again," she said. "I think it's crucially important that the city rebuild
bridges.
Everyone I know is committed to moving forward in a positive way and do everything we can to
make sure this doesn't happen again."
There are no immediate plans to administer new examinations in the Fire Department.
-------------------------------------EDITORIAL
Low scores upend city's diversity goal
A New Haven Register Editorial
March 26, 2004
City Hall wants to promote well-qualified candidates who reflect the fire department's diversity.
For $100,000, it hired a consultant who designed a test and scoring method intended to be
racially neutral.
But, based on the tests' scores, 14 of the 15 people to be promoted to lieutenant or captain would
be white. Outside experts who reviewed the test found no glaring fault. The racial disparity was
consistent with other test scores for decades.
With its goal of diversity unmet, City Hall opposed certification of the test. The test has now
been thrown out based on the Civil Service Commission's tie vote last week.
The city now can try to devise a test that emphasizes the physical demonstration of procedures
rather than writing. It should make sure there are ample training opportunities for everyone.
And, it can wait. The exams were given although there were not enough vacancies to allow, as in
the past, for the city to reach far enough down among those passing to ensure a diversified group
of promotions.
Although most firefighters have acted with restraint, a new test intended to deny promotion to
some who passed this test is certain to increase department tensions. At least one firefighters
group has said it will sue. Given the city's past record in court, the firefighters may prevail. The
city has no sure prospect that a new test will yield a different result.
--------------------------------------LETTER
Civil service ruling on fire promotions betrays pledge
Letter to the Editor
04/01/2004
I protest the New Haven Civil Service Commission's decision to invalidate the firefighters
promotional exam. The city charter is clear in its intent to use civil service exams as the means to
promote personnel in the Fire and Police departments. The latest test complied with the charter.
Click Here!
In its sensitivity to affirmative action, the city, to its credit, spent over $100,000 to have an
outside agency administer a racially unbiased test. Everything possible was done to make sure
the test was not skewed.
New Haven professes it is an equal opportunity employer that does not discriminate based on
race, religion, or ethnicity. However, the perfidious decision by the Civil Service Commission to
abort the test belies that noble pledge.
Mary Bronson
Cheshire
----------------------------------LETTER
Safety should be first priority
Letter to the Editor
04/09/2004
The lives of every firefighter and the public are at risk because of the blatant abuse of political
power blocking the promotions of qualified firefighters in New Haven.
Click Here!
As parents of three firefighters, we know the dangers of firefighting. Safety should be the
mayor's top priority.
How many lawsuits have to occur before our officials hire the qualified people to take a
command role in fighting a blaze or controlling some other disaster?
Our firefighters and the public have the right to be protected.
Nancy Ricci
Jim Ricci
Wallingford
------------------------------------Top Stories
Fire training module blasted
Angela Carter and William Kaempffer , Register Staff
04/14/2004
NEW HAVEN - Controversy over a training course built inside a city fire station has reopened
divisive wounds in the Fire Department.
Firefighters at Engine 8 on Whitney Avenue are dismantling a wooden structure designed to train
firefighters in anything from confined-space operations to basket rescues.
Click Here!
The project was brought to the attention of City Hall officials and members of the Board of
Aldermen over the last couple of months, while the city wrestled with whether to certify
promotional exams that would have resulted in 14 whites advancing, compared to one Hispanic
and no blacks.
Ultimately, the Civil Service Commission's vote was tied and the test was not certified.
Engine 8 firefighters - who built the training course inside the East Rock fire station rather than
at the training academy - are taking heat for their choice of location. The firefighters also were
chided for exceeding a spending cap when ordering construction materials and subsequently
asking the vendor to split invoices.
During a recent budget workshop held by the Board of Aldermen's Finance Committee, board
President Jorge Perez, D-5, of the Hill, grilled Fire Chief Michael Grant about the cost and why
firefighters started building the course without first securing a building permit, or an inspection
by the fire marshal.
During the workshop, Grant testified that the module was meant "to help everyone in the
department" and was structurally sound but he would have it inspected.
"Of all places, the fire department didn't go to the fire marshal?" Perez said. "You've got a
department here that appears to be out of control."
Controller Mark Pietrosimone on Jan. 27 issued a memo implementing an immediate $1,500
spending cap on purchases needed for daily operations for the city's six major departments,
including fire. The directive restricted spending on mechanical, carpentry, electrical and
plumbing items.
Subsequent to receipt of the memo, firefighters at Engine 8 ordered approximately $2,600 worth
of wood from West Haven Lumber.
Pietrosimone said that the figure is spread across five invoices and does violate procurement
policies.
However, Pietrosimone said he has met with Grant, who now "has a game plan to make sure his
people know the procedures."
Critics on the Board of Aldermen and inside the fire department renewed accusations that a
select group of favorite sons in the department get wide latitude to do whatever they want. They
also questioned whether the money was spent wisely.
Chief Administrative Officer Karen Dubois-Walton said firefighters contacted her after test
results were known, expressing concerns that the training course was yet another example of
preferential treatment for Squad One, a predominantly white specialty unit based at Engine 8.
Dubois-Walton said she requested that the structure be reassembled at the training academy.
"To have this built there was like pouring salt in the wounds of people who felt others were
getting special privileges," she said.
Grant did not return telephone calls seeking comment.
Other members of the department, however, argue the debate was fueled by politics and the
construction was not about favoritism.
Capt. William Gould, one of the architects of the training course, said some battalion chiefs
already were discussing rotating in engine crews so firefighters from other houses could use it.
"Politicians don't ever enter burning buildings. They don't have to worry about being blind and
disoriented in a structure fire," Gould said. "It was money well spent. That small sum of money
is well worth getting one guy out of a hairy situation."
------------------------------Racial tension flaring up at NHFD
Promotional tests are tinder for lawsuits
William Kaempffer , Register Staff
06/20/2004
NEW HAVEN - In his 31-year career, Fire Chief Mike Grant became an expert at stamping out
blazes, but the one that's burning inside his department right now might prove his most
challenging.
Racial tensions in the department again have flared up.
Different factions, largely divided along racial lines, are threatening lawsuits against each other
and the city. Claims of racism are being lobbed from both sides.
And after two aborted promotional exams sparked this whole firestorm, it seems unlikely that the
department will be holding widespread promotions anytime soon.
With all the biting animosity, questions are raised: Where does the department go from here?
Can the public trust the department to do its job?
In the last few months, the department and city have taken some small steps that they hope will
pay long-term dividends. Grant is creating a diversity committee to be comprised of firefighters
of all ranks and races. The city already has agreed to hire an outside diversity consultant once the
committee has outlined goals, but some wonder when the committee will be set.
"One of the things the city definitely needs to do is set up sensitivity training and racial dialogue
in the department. The chief said that would happen.
Where has that gone?" said Board of Aldermen President Jorge Perez, D-5.
"We cannot emotionally take another situation like this. It's not fair to the firefighters. At some
point, we have to fill those ranks," Perez said. "We have to do whatever we can to avoid finding
ourselves in this position in the future."
Grant did not return repeated telephone calls for comment.
Concerning open positions, the department will fill the drillmaster vacancy at the fire academy to
help increase ongoing training; line officers will be asked to place an increased emphasis on inhouse training.
And city officials are pushing a book club of sorts, an informal initiative to promote professional
development among all firefighters.
"We're trying to get away from this idea that just a select few have access" to training and
promotional opportunities, said Karen DuBois-Walton, the city's chief administrative officer.
But she acknowledged that there is no panacea to heal the divisiveness or any end to the rancor
in the immediate future.
"I don't see the light at the end of the tunnel yet," she said. "What keeps me going is that we have
a path charted."
Whether the city's path will be embraced or rejected by the firefighters remains to be seen.
Problems with race relations are nothing new to the city's fire service. Issues in the department and in a number of departments nationwide - are rooted in history, dating back decades when
cities first moved to diversify a profession that had always been dominated by whites.
For decades, minority firefighters complained that fire departments weren't hiring and
subsequently promoting enough minorities.
And in New Haven and beyond, minorities claimed that the departments continued to be run by a
"good old boy" network of white firefighters who took care of their own.
When minorities were promoted, many black firefighters complained that their white
counterparts assumed they advanced because of their color and not competency.
And as cities tried to hire and promote more minorities, many white firefighters felt they were
becoming victims of reverse discrimination.
In New Haven, white firefighters have believed for years that the oral component of promotional
tests were rigged to inflate the scores of minorities, who historically have scored lower on
written civil service exams than their white counterparts.
In 1988, the New Haven Firebird Society, an organization of minority firefighters, sued the city
over its promotional practices and won. Five years later, after years of legal wrangling, eight
white firefighters who advanced under the illegal practice were demoted.
In 1998, the Firebird Society filed another lawsuit and again won.
The state Supreme Court currently is deciding whether to nullify more promotions.
But for the most part, racial tensions have been subdued in recent years.
That ended in January, when the results came back from two promotional exams administered
last year. Fourteen of the top 15 candidates were white (the 15th was Hispanic) and the city
scuttled the tests after the Civil Service Commission tied in a 2-2 vote.
There are currently a combined 15 captain and lieutenant vacancies in the ranks.
Whites wanted the tests for fire captain and lieutenant certified. City Hall and some minorities in
the department wanted the tests - half-written, half oral and all with questions specific to fire
science - thrown out.
Firefighter Frank Ricci, one of the white firefighters who plans to sue the city, said the only way
for the department to move forward is to certify those tests.
"You want your leaders to be the most qualified," Ricci said. "When your life is on the line,
lowering the bar might not be good enough."
"The city gave the fuel to this whole fire," he said.
During the contentious fight, bickering between the two sides has gone unchecked, mainly
because there's no one in the city - either in City Hall or the fire department - that can act as a
mediator.
Lt. Gary Tinney, who has held press conferences and trumpeted the views of African-American
firefighters, has said test materials were changed in the last round and there are disparities over
who is selected for specialized training and professional development events.
"We're not going to conferences," Tinney said, referring to a recent one in San Francisco.
"Five or six (firefighters) went, but they were all white."
The white firefighters blame Mayor John DeStefano Jr. and his administration for manipulating
the system to ensure the tests would be thrown out. The black firefighters, somewhat, view Grant
and his command staff as part of the problem, not part of the solution.
Union President Patrick Egan claimed the city intentionally inflamed the discontent to deflect
attention from its own bungling of the tests.
"I'm sure the mayor likes to see the media diverting focus from him - the fact that all of this is the
product of the decisions of the mayor and his city administration," Egan said.
DeStefano, through a spokesman, declined comment.
The fire union, with its mainly white leadership, is embroiled in the middle of it, too. Local 825
has said it plans to sue the city over the tests and black firefighters have threatened to sue the
union if it does.
"Whenever they vote, it goes along racial lines," Tinney said of the union executive board that
brought the idea of a lawsuit to the full membership.
"We don't want to have to sue our own union," Tinney said moments before a joint meeting
between black firefighters, the local NAACP, clergymen and state AFL-CIO President John
Olsen.
"You're never going to have everybody agreeing on everything anytime. Never mind all the
time," Olsen said.
Beyond that, some city officials and minority firefighters have questioned whether the union
favors white members over blacks.
During contract negotiations several years ago, the union proposed throwing out the oral section
of promotional exams. City officials maintained that would only exacerbate the racial inequities
of testing.
Union officials said the proposal was made because questions had emerged about whether testing
security had been breached on the oral section. It was pulled off the table.
Tina Burgett, the city's director of human resources, said one thing that has been overshadowed
by all the rhetoric is the vast majority of firefighters who come into work every day, perform
their jobs admirably and try to keep their heads below the fray.
And Fire Lt. James Kottage, the secretary of the fire union, said as a whole, racial tensions in the
firehouses have been exaggerated.
People - white, black and Hispanic - still come to the firehouse and work together, live together
and eat together without any stress, he said.
"I'm sure there's a few pockets where people are very uncomfortable and I'm sure that's with
white guys and with black guys," Kottage said. At the same time, he added, "we're not fighting
amongst ourselves in the firehouses.
It's all happening through the media, through meetings and through attorneys."
To be certain, lawyers have emerged as a prominent, and vocal, supporting cast. Attorney John
Williams, who was hired by a group of predominantly black firefighters, lashed out at opponents
as "scum" and racists after suggestions that one of his clients was behind the assault of another
firefighter.
Karen Torre, who represents 20 mainly white firefighters, upbraided the mayor's administration
for "blatant lawlessness and political cowardice" for its position.
While the city is moving forward with the drillmaster exam, any new tests for fire lieutenant and
captain still could be years away. And DuBois-Walton acknowledged that they will be
accompanied by a fight.
"The next time we try to do lieutenant and captain, regardless of what we put out there, there's
going to be controversy," she said.
-------------------------------------------Some black New Haven firefighters consider seceding from union
Associated Press , Register Staff
06/20/2004
NEW HAVEN - Some African-American members of the New Haven Firebird Society, a
fraternity of minority firefighters, want to secede from Local 825, an AFL-CIO affiliate, in the
wake of two promotional exams that left a rift among black, white and Hispanic colleagues.
Scoring results indicated that about 15 whites, two Hispanics and no African Americans would
have advanced to captain or lieutenant. The Civil Service Commission did not certify the test and
a group of about 18 white firefighters plan to sue the city.
Only a third of the union members voted to sue the city and black firefighters have vowed to sue
the union, saying it should remain neutral and should not use resources contributed by members
who oppose such a lawsuit.
A Hispanic firefighter in the group that wants to sue the city claims he was the victim of a
racially motivated attack recently in a restaurant, a black firefighter says dirty gloves were left in
his boots and a racially offensive memo was posted at fire stations.
Scot X. Esdaile, president of the NAACP New Haven branch, plans to invite labor and civil
rights leaders to help mediate the strife before black firefighters leave the bargaining unit.
"We're hoping it doesn't get to that point," said Esdaile, who wants to bring in national AFL-CIO
President John Sweeney and AFSCME International Secretary William "Bill" Lucy, who worked
with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. during the Memphis sanitation workers strike before King's
assassination.
Firebird Society President Wayne Ricks said if blacks withdraw from Local 825 it would not be
to form a new union.
A spokeswoman for the state Department of Labor said municipal police and fire departments in
Connecticut may have only one bargaining unit.
Two black firefighters who did not want to publicize their names said pulling out of the union
would lessen, even if by a small amount, dues revenue that could be used for litigation they
oppose.
"You have people taking money from these African-American firefighters to sue the city against
their will," Esdaile said.
------------------------------------------This was printed last Sunday 10/10/04 (HARTFORD COURANT)...
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Sound Off: Second-generation Advantage?
October 10, 2004
I am responding to Frank Harris III's recent feature on race and the New Haven Fire Department
["The Color of Fire," Sept. 12].
I am a New Haven firefighter. One of the first statements by firefighter Amin to strike home for
me was the one concerning the advantages of second-generation firefighters on promotional
exams.
My father was a West Haven fire lieutenant who died in the line of duty after fighting the
Armstrong Rubber Co. fire in November 1974. I was 17, my sister 9, my brother 7. Was that the
day my "advantage" kicked in? The years you struggle without the guidance of your father in
your life cannot be measured in points on examinations, nor can they be replaced with so called
"patronage" promotions. I have never asked for, nor received, either.
I have taken two examinations on this job. The first exam was tossed because it was deemed
"inaccurate" for the job it was testing for. I finished third. In the end, a veteran black lieutenant
was appointed to the job by a black chief of the department, who was appointed by a black
mayor. All of these appointments were considered "historic" at the time. Rather than focus on the
racial aspects, I vowed to study harder next time.
On my only test for lieutenant, I finished 62 on a list where fractions of points separated the
entire list. This list was closed out with seven openings unfilled because the next two firefighters
on the list were deemed unworthy by the chief of the department at that time. For the record, the
chief, the next two candidates and myself were all white, Irish-American Catholics. I received a
72 on my written exam score, with the last promoted candidate scoring 84.
My bone of contention was not with my unacceptable written score, but with the scoring on the
oral examinations. Higher oral scores were given to lower-scoring minority candidates to move
them in front of higher-scoring white candidates. My feeling is not only was I unfit for
promotion due to what I felt was lack of "correct" preparation for that exam, but so were many of
the fast-tracked minority candidates. The city disrespected the efforts of upper level minority
candidates by flooding the list with lesser-prepared minorities and time has shown those secondlevel officers lag behind the stronger officers on all exams thereafter. The better prepared, upper
level minority candidates have continued to excel and rise through the ranks. At some point,
there is no replacement for knowledge, skill, experience and leadership.
The fact that I was a second-generation firefighter did nothing to help me prepare for that exam.
If I had been promoted with a written score of 72, my lack of knowledge and leadership skills
would have exposed me in a very short time. I was not prepared to lead firefighters into a lifeand-death situation and be able to say the work I did with them would keep them safe. You
cannot lower the bar when it comes to the safety of those who are supposed to be protecting the
public. People will die on both sides of the equation.
The other factor you lose in this scenario is confidence and respect in your officer. No firefighter
can blindly follow the orders of an officer without the confidence that they have experience in
tough fires, tough spots and tough decisions. One of the first things I was told by a veteran
firefighter when I was young on the job was about dark heat being the great equalizer on this job.
Paper lieutenants and captains may pass all the tests, but great officers will get you through those
tough basement, bedroom and attic fires where all you felt was dark heat and your first reaction
was to bail out, rather than focus on the job at hand. That job is to put out that fire, check for
possible trapped victims, and save these homes. The ability to lead firefighters through this
situation is learned through experience, not taught in books, and certainly not gained through
fast-track promotions.
I have worked for great and not-so-great officers of all colors in my career, and I certainly do not
want to see the lives of younger, inexperienced firefighters in the hands of someone who gained
all his skills as an officer working the polls for high-ranking politicians.
I also find it interesting that firefighters Ricks and Amin, and Lt. Gary Tinney and Lt. Robert
Ortiz all found fault with the test after the results came out, not the day after they sat down for
these tests. Firefighter Ricks also pointed out that he saw white firefighters studying materials
before they were designated as "study guides" for the exam. All these materials are used in dayto-day education for any firefighter looking to gain an edge on the opposition. Not other
firefighters, but fire itself. The science and chemistry of firefighting is changing year to year,
with materials being updated as experience and training is conducted on these theories.
Any firefighter who wishes to gain the edge on the fireground and on exams is seeking out these
publications, attending these seminars, and in many cases, trying to earn these degrees.
This is the real, post 9-11 Internet world, where the dangers are real and information is learned
and passed more openly than in any time before. Lead, follow, or get out of the way. Some
choose to lead. These are the ones you want in ranks where the decision to go into any building
on any alarm hinges on knowing all inherent dangers involved. I am not going to look at the
color of their skin before I follow them, but I will look them dead in the eye. That is where I will
see their conviction, their certainty, their confidence. That is where I will know that this is the
officer to follow into "battle."
Firefighter John F. Hines
New Haven Fire Dept.
----------------------------------Panel tosses firefighters' discrimination claim
William Kaempffer, Register Staff
11/06/2004
NEW HAVEN - The state's anti-discrimination commission has thrown out complaints made by
about 21 city firefighters who contend they weren't promoted because they are white.
The Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities recently ruled in favor of the city and
dismissed the complaints, filed in June after the city threw out two promotional tests because too
few minorities scored well.
"It validates the decision that was made last spring," said city Corporation Counsel Thomas Ude
Jr.
"The city was justified in not using those exams."
While the city welcomed the decision as good news, a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by the
same group is still pending. The CHRO decision is separate from the federal case.
Attorney Karen Torre, who represents the firefighters, said she was not surprised by the decision.
She filed with the CHRO primarily because the government requires it before filing a civil rights
action.
She said she's filed a number of complaints with CHRO and lost every one, including one for
two white New Haven police officers who were not promoted; they went on to win more than
$800,000 from a federal jury.
Torre said her experience has been that the CHRO, the state agency that hears discrimination
cases, is comprised mainly of affirmative action advocates.
"The agency is politically hostile to discrimination cases when the plaintiffs are white. The
agency was set up long ago to primarily grant relief to minorities and they don't have the political
stomach to enforce the law," she said.
Officials for the CHRO could not be reached Friday night.
The CHRO concluded there was disparate impact against minority firefighters in two civil
service exams for fire captain and lieutenant last year, and that a testing expert concluded there
were other testing options available that would have had less adverse impact.
Those are a legal litmus test in civil rights cases - that there was a negative impact and that there
were other options available that would have led to a better outcome.
Torre said the real fight will be in federal court.
"I was expecting the CHRO to dump the case," she said, calling the CHRO a "wasteful step."
Between January and March, the city held a series of heated public meeting after discovering that
14 of the top 15 scores on the two tests were held by white firefighters.
The tests were thrown out in March after the Civil Service Commission deadlocked on a vote
whether to certify the two tests.
------------------------------------Published Friday, February 27, 2004
Fire dept. faces charge of bias
Minority firefighters contest changes in captain's and lieutenant's examinations
BY WILL SULLIVAN
Staff Reporter
Ward 12 Alderwoman Shirley Ellis-West discusses allegations of racism within the New Haven
Fire Department Thursday. Ellis-West said the Board of Aldermen's Public Safety Committee
will hear charges the NHFD gave white firefighters advanced information about exams. (WILL
SULLIVAN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
New Haven firefighters, aldermen and community leaders alleged at a press conference
Thursday that the New Haven Fire Department has deliberately prevented minority firefighters
from receiving promotions.
The firefighters claim the department has eliminated a number of management positions that
minorities once held and have changed the captain's and lieutenant's exams to stop minority
promotion. The press conference was held at the headquarters for the greater New Haven chapter
of the NAACP at 192 Dixwell Ave.
"We've been having problems with this department for many years," Lt. Gary Tinney, an
organizer of the press conference, said. "We've made progress in the last 10 years. We're now
moving backwards."
Tinney blamed New Haven Fire Chief Michael Grant, who was appointed chief of the
department last year, for the souring of race relations. Grant did not return several phone calls to
his office Thursday.
The firefighters' major complaint concerns changes in the captain's and lieutenant's exams. In
1999, when the tests were last administered, a number of black firefighters did well and were
promoted, New Haven firefighter Octavius Dawson said. But for 2003, the department changed
the tests and the books required to study for them.
All of the top 12 scorers on the 2003 lieutenant's exam were white, Dawson said. Tinney said no
black firefighter scored in the top 15 on the captain's exam, and Hispanic firefighters scored no
higher than 7th.
"None of them will be promoted," Tinney said.
The group that took the 2003 lieutenant's exam included 47 white, 20 black, and 9 Hispanic
firefighters, Dawson said.
Tinney said the new tests included questions that were not relevant to New Haven and were
geared to New York City firefighters. He said some questions included terms such as "uptown"
and "midtown" which are not typically used to identify areas of New Haven.
Scot X. Esdaile, the president of the local NAACP chapter, claimed white firefighters were told
in advance which information to study in order to do well on the test.
"They had a head start of the test," Esdaile said.
The NAACP has started an investigation into the testing, he said. Minority firefighters are
planning on suing the department for the names of those who created, administered, and chose
the new test, Tinney said.
A number of New Haven aldermen attended the rally, including Rev. Drew King of Ward 22,
Charles Blango of Ward 20, and Ward 12 Alderwoman Shirley Ellis-West. Ellis-West said the
aldermanic board's public safety committee will hold a hearing about the controversy March 3.
"At this point there doesn't appear to be an equal playing field around the test," she said. "I think
this is an issue that could seriously divide our community and our fire services."
Tinney said the department has eliminated five minority-held management positions in the past
year. Those firefighters have now returned to work at local firehouses for lower pay, Tinney said.
The fire department currently employs 103 black and 208 white personnel, Tinney said.
--------------------------------------------Hit & Run
Kimmmm--BERRRRRR!: Why the mayor needs to ax the Rev.
by Paul Bass - June 13, 2002
Wanted: A black person.
Job: Do the mayor's dirty work in the fire department.
Qualifications: Must live in New Haven. Vote-gathering ability a plus. Non-felon preferred.
When New Haven's mayor, John DeStefano, needed a black guy to try to straighten out the fire
department, he found someone who fit most of the above job description. He found the Rev.
Boise Kimber, a longtime political backer. He named Kimber earlier this year to chair the city's
fire commission, which oversees the troubled department of hooks and ladders. Kimber's
mission: Shake up the department ... without causing any new racial bloodbaths by pitting the
white mayor against a black chief.
Kimber has shaken things up--and stirred clouds of racial dust.
Kimber's latest controversy--he joked that some new recruits have "too many vowels" in their
names--left people wondering: Why does the mayor, after clearing outdated styles from his
patronage closet, hold on to this political tie, which invariably chokes him?
Firefighters have rallied for Kimber's resignation. "There's no room in public service for officials
acting in official capacity making bigoted statements," says battalion chief Vincent Landisio, of
the department's Italian-American Society.
Some black leaders support Kimber. They don't want the mayor to sacrifice a prominent black
figure in a historically racist department.
DeStefano has waited to see how the Kimber controversy plays out before reacting. His
administration is conducting an investigation. He has met at his home with angry firefighters. He
enlisted respected white and black civic figures to head a group seeking understanding in
meetings with different factions.
Contrast DeStefano's waiting game with Gov. John Rowland's response last week to a remark by
an aide, New Haven's Nancy Ahern. Ahern was quoted blaming the AIDS crisis on predatory
"minority" males and gays who deliberately spread the disease. Ahern became Rowland's
"former" aide before the news cycle's first deadline.
DeStefano says the controversy is about more than just Kimber's "intolerant statement." He says
it's about how we react to it. "How does a community make a thoughtful judgment?"
Simply pushing Kimber to leave his post would produce "winners" and "losers" in a game that
pits ethnic groups against each other, he argues. That won't dampen ethnic tensions in the fire
department or in New Haven. It feeds the flames.
Better to engage everybody in a broader discussion, take some time to reflect, and "not have it go
to places where past angers and hurts get exercised," DeStefano says.
Plus, everyone deserves a second chance. Most of us have made remarks like Kimber's. Unlike,
say, West Haven's embattled former police chief, Kimber had the sense to apologize promptly.
But third chances? Fourth chances? Tenth chances?
At this point, if Kimber doesn't resign to save his mayoral patron, DeStefano should force the
issue.
He shouldn't have appointed Kimber in the first place. Too much baggage. Department members
who dislike commissioners' disclipinary actions can point out that Kimber is a convicted felon:
He stole an elderly woman's burial money while helping a jailed friend run a funeral home.
Again, one mistake shouldn't brand him--but Kimber has been involved in at least three other
financial scandals, two of them involving government money, in his career as white Democratic
mayors' black plantation sub-boss. (See the "City for Sale" archive in the news section of our
Web site, www.newhavenadvocate.com.)
Nor was his "too many vowels" comment out of character. He's known around city firehouses for
making disparaging comments. In the style of his mentor, the Rev. Al Sharpton, he plays the race
card in public--while privately sucking up to powerful whites who can give him money or
influence (City Hall, the Register, Yale-New Haven Hospital). In front of TV cameras, he
threatened a race riot during the murder trial of the black man arrested for killing white Yalie
Christian Prince. He continues to call whites racist if they question his actions.
Kimber bullies those under him. Newly appointed commissioner, he woke up firefighters in the
middle of the night, pulling an alarm, to show them who the new boss is.
DeStefano has made great strides the past few years in shedding patronage baggage. He cut ties
to a host of politicos who helped elect him in return for expected favors at public expense. It has
made him a better mayor. It has brightened his political future. It has made New Haven a better
city.
It's commendable that he shows loyalty to his friend Kimber. Kimber can be a charming, open
person.
But true friendship doesn't depend on continuous favors. DeStefano has a city to run. Surely,
among New Haven's 120,000 citizens, he can find another black person to fill his job description.
----------------------------------------Fire union says it has proof of collusion
William Kaempffer, Register Staff
05/14/2004
NEW HAVEN - The firefighters union has maintained for months that city administrators
colluded to get two promotional exams thrown out.
Now, union leaders say they have proof in the form of a private City Hall e-mail.
"The e-mail speaks for itself," said Firefighter Patrick Egan, the union president, "that they were
against certifying (the exams) and their agenda was to manipulate and steer this whole thing to
do that."
City officials, however, said the union's "smoking gun" is somewhat of a dud. Julio Gonzalez,
aide to New Haven Mayor John DeStefano Jr., seemed to be mystified that Egan would trumpet
this as damning evidence.
"This is certainly a smoking gun, but it's a smoking gun that points to the fact that we tried to
have a fair and deliberate process," he said.
When questions emerged about the two exams, city officials repeatedly said that they were not
taking a position on whether the Civil Service Commission should reject or certify the results. In
a March meeting, Corporation Counsel Thomas W. Ude Jr. took "offense" when a member of the
commission suggested that the city already had made clear its position.
However, fire union officials say the e-mail - dated six weeks earlier and sent by Gonzalez to
other top administrators, including Ude, in preparation for a meeting with aldermanic leaders shows otherwise.
"(L)et's remember, that these folks are not against certification yet. So we can't go in and tell
them that is our position; we have to deliberate and arrive there as the fairest and most cogent
outcome," Gonzalez wrote.
Recipients also included Chief Administrative Officer Karen DuBois-Walton and Human
Resources Director Tina Burgett.
Aldermanic President Jorge Perez, D-5, said he did not feel manipulated at the meeting. Majority
Leader Elizabeth McCormack, D-24, said she never reached a position.
Gonzalez said it was simply untrue that he or anyone else in the administration had taken a
position.
"They can interpret it (the e-mail) however they want, and they will interpret it however they
want," he said.
There had been rumblings that some aldermen might support throwing out the tests, and city
officials were trying to buy the Civil Service Commission some time and space to make a
decision, he said.
"We were concerned that the Board of Aldermen was going to politicize it," Gonzalez said.
The issue certainly had significant ramifications, both politically and in the Fire Department. The
city held promotional exams for fire lieutenant and fire captain last winter. In January, the city
received raw results and learned, at most, two minorities scored well enough to be promoted in
the first batch. There were 15 available spots in the two ranks.
This week, about a third of the fire union membership voted to sue the city.
Ude said he and the rest of the administration may have had personal opinions but kept them to
themselves, just like the e-mail says.
"If the smoking gun is that people in the administration thought about what would be the right or
the least bad outcome, yeah, there was a lot of discussion about this. Of course there was," Ude
said. "It would have been irresponsible to pretend it didn't matter what happened."
-------------------------------HEAD: Judge tosses firefighter bias suit
William Kaempffer, Register Staff
10/02/2006
NEW HAVEN - A federal judge has thrown out a civil rights lawsuit filed by a group of 20
mostly-white firefighters claiming they were denied promotion because of reverse
discrimination.
In a 48-page decision, U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton has granted a request by city
attorneys for a summary judgment, finding based on legal precedent that "there is a total absence
of any evidence of discriminatory animus towards (the) plaintiffs."
The plaintiffs claimed they were discriminated against because of their race. Nineteen are white
and one is Hispanic.
Corporation Counsel Thomas W. Ude Jr. applauded the decision, saying it will allow the city to
start planning for new line-officer promotions in the fire department, which have been in legal
limbo since 2004.
"We're are pleased that the judge ruled in our favor and we look forward to moving forward with
the civil service process and looking at future promotional (exams)," he said. "This case has sort
of put things on hold."
Karen Torre, the attorney for the firefighter plaintiffs, however, blasted the ruling as "deeply
offensive" and vowed to appeal "all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary."
"The court had undisputed evidence of the extraordinary credentials and competence of these 20
men denied promotions to command positions because they are Hispanic and white," she said.
"The ruling displays a shocking disregard for the safety of the public and firefighters in a post9/11 society, especially given the city's admission in court that the exams were job-related and
valid."
There are roughly 20 collective vacancies in the ranks of fire lieutenant and captain, but no new
promotional exams were being considered because of the litigation.
The decision was a major victory for the city in connection with a divisive case involving two
promotional exams and angry public hearings that stoked racial tensions inside the fire
department.
In late 2003, the city conducted promotional tests for fire lieutenant and captain in which whites
achieved almost all of the highest scores. In early 2004, Ude and other city administrators, during
a series of contentious public hearings, urged the civil service commission to throw out the
results because too few minority firefighters would have been in line for promotion, opening up
the city to a civil rights lawsuit by minorities.
The exams were rejected and a group of 20 mainly white firefighters who believed they would
have been promoted filed their own lawsuit claiming their rights were violated because of racebased politics.
In legal documents and oral arguments in federal court, they asserted that the city lobbied the
Civil Service Commission not to certify the exam results, not out of altruistic concerns about
racial disparities, but instead to appease minority voters and African-American political power
brokers in the city.
The city administration dismissed those allegations and stated it was trying to do the "right"
thing, however difficult.
In her decision, Arterton concluded the city's motivation to avoid making promotions that would
have a disparate impact on minorities, even with political undertones, does not constitute
discriminatory intent against the white and Hispanic firefighters.
In fact, she concluded, all firefighters were treated equally.
"All the test results were discarded, no one was promoted, and firefighters of every race will
have to participate in another selection process to be considered for promotion," she wrote.
During a series of fiery public hearings, a group of minority firefighters claimed the exams were
inherently unfair and should be thrown out. A group of white firefighters countered that the
people who scored higher did so because they studied harder and not because of some bias.
Firefighter Frank Ricci, the lead plaintiff in the case, Saturday decried the decision as "grossly
irresponsible," which as he read it, "smacks more of liberal politics than the rule of law."
"This judge penalized us for getting an education and studying hard to master the scientific and
tactical knowledge needed to protect the public," he stated. "I never thought I would see the day
when a federal judge would deny me advancement in my profession because of my race and be
so cold about it."
Not everyone in the fire department shared the opinion.
Lt. Wayne Ricks, president of the Firebird Society, said he was "happy with the outcome" and
hoped the department would move forward.
A lot of money - union fund, taxpayer money - was spent unnecessarily in litigation, he said.
"I can't wait until the final word is said and this whole thing is over with," Ricks said. "Let's put
it in the hands of the courts and hopefully the system will prevail in the right way."
There is no timetable yet for conducting new promotional exams, Ude said.
-----------------------------A Civil Service Commission vote in March ended in a 2-2 tie, effectively killing the tests.
Firebird Society backs Ellis-West for alderwoman
William Kaempffer, Register Staff
09/10/2005
NEW HAVEN - A group of minority firefighters has thrown support to an incumbent
alderwoman from Fair Haven Heights, breaking ranks with the fire union.
The New Haven Firebird Society, a fraternal group of black firefighters, endorsed Shirley EllisWest, D-12, in the upcoming primary election.
The executive board of Local 825, the fire union, had endorsed her opponent, retired police Capt.
Gerald Antunes.
Firefighter Wayne Ricks, president of the Firebirds, said Ellis-West was very supportive of
minority issues in the department and earned their vote.
Ellis-West was outspoken at public hearings last year over two promotional tests that ultimately
were thrown out.
City Hall and the Firebirds wanted the tests thrown out because few minorities scored at the top
of the list.
"Shirley Ellis-West was so outspoken for diversity. We know that was a hot topic, and it
separated us in the fire department," said Battalion Chief Anthony Calloway.
Historically, endorsements from the fire, police and other city unions have come from the elected
executive board and not the rank-and-file. It's not unusual for fraternal groups inside the unions
to give their own endorsement.
Even so, Ricks and other Firebirds said they wished the union had taken the endorsement issue to
the full body to get more input.
While Ellis-West said she was disappointed not to be endorsed by the police and fire unions, she
was gratified to get the support of the Firebirds.
"The fire union got very upset with me about being outspoken about the civil service testing,"
she said.
"I really work hard in the neighborhood."
Firefighter Patrick Egan, the union president, renewed support for Antunes, noting his
background in public safety.
He said the union's opposition to Ellis-West had nothing to do with the civil service tests. Rather,
he said, it was her supporting jobs cuts from the fire academy and fire marshal's office and her
perceived lack of support when the department was considering closing the local firehouse.
Abe Colon, the department's EMS supervisor, said four of the five proposed job cuts were held
by minorities, including one who was a Firebird member.
-------------------------------Hometown advantage in works?
William Kaempffer, Register Staff
09/13/2006
-NEW HAVEN - Should city residents looking to get hired on their hometown police and fire
departments get extra points on civil service exams?
That's the question before the Civil Service Commission Thursday as the city holds a public
forum to decide whether to offer residency preference.
While the city administration apparently hasn't taken any formal position to date, there are many
in city government who support the concept, including the members of the Black and Hispanic
Caucus of the Board of Aldermen, which has already endorsed it.
James Segaloff, chairman of the Civil Service Commission, which would have the final decision,
said Tuesday that the board is going into Thursday's meeting without preconceived notions.
"In my own head, I can see reasons that jump out why it's good and why it's not good. So let's
tackle it and see what people have to say," said Segaloff. "The only mind-set (on the
commission) was that it's important and let's deal with it."
The city wants to get the issue resolved before hiring exams are conducted for new police
officers and firefighters. The city is in the midst of a recruitment drive for both agencies and the
city administration always is concerned about having racially diverse classes. New Haven has a
large minority population that would benefit from any preference.
On Tuesday, the city faxed a document to the police union indicating that the city was
considering a 10-point preference for residents, according to city police Sgt. Louis Cavalier, the
union president.
"In theory, it sounds good. If you're a resident, you should get some extra points," said
Alderwoman Jacqueline James, D-3, a member of the Black and Hispanic Caucus.
The caucus did have some reservations, however.
State law doesn't permit residency requirements for union employees, so nothing would prevent
people from getting extra points, getting the job and then moving out of town. There's also
nothing to require that a person show residence for a certain period to be eligible for the points.
"I just hope that those that benefit from it understand it really is to help them be a part of the city,
be a part of the community, that they don't just use this as a steppingstone, to take this and then
move out," said James.
Before this recruitment, the question of residency points had never been an issue because the city
conducted pass/fails exams for new hires, giving all passing candidates equal weight and the city
administration discretion to hire whom they chose.
That changed this year when a Naugatuck man filed a civil lawsuit claiming the pass/fail exam
violated the city charter and a judge agreed.
Assistant Corporation Counsel Kathleen Foster said both her office and an outside attorney hired
to review the city's civil service regulations have issued opinions that preference points would be
legal under state law and the charter.
Bridgeport, Hartford, New Britain, Norwich and Waterbury are among other cities that offer
preference for residents.
The police and fire union presidents, however, strongly opposed any preference points, arguing
that the whole purpose of civil service is to find the most qualified candidates and that nowhere
is it more important than in public safety.
"The message they're sending is we're not looking for the best qualified people to become cops.
We're looking for city residents to become cops," said Cavaliere, who opposes the plan.
"I think that the citizens of New Haven, with respect for their public safety positions, want the
best candidates for the job," said firefighter Patrick Egan, the fire union president.
-------------------------------Some see city hiring preference as too little
William Kaempffer, Register Staff
10/11/2006
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-NEW HAVEN - The city seems set on offering preference to local residents for city jobs, but a
small but outspoken group who came to a public hearing on the subject said it's not enough.
Many in the audience in City Hall supported an even larger bump for residents than the five
points being considered.
"Five points has been thrown around a great deal throughout the city," said the Rev. Boise
Kimber, a city fire commissioner. "The first question I want to ask is, has this commission made
a decision on five points?"
The answer, according to Civil Service Commission Chairman James Segaloff, is no.
"We believe that five points was an appropriate number," he said. "If we can be convinced
otherwise ... I don't know."
That's what people in the audience set out to do.
On the table was a proposal to add five additional points to the exam scores of city residents on
entry-level civil service tests for city jobs. Only about 20 people turned out for the meeting and
about half of them spoke.
All who spoke supported a local preference in some fashion, but some lobbied the city to go
further.
Firefighter Wayne Ricks, Alderman Charles Blango and Kimber, among others, pushed for 10
points.
"Who knows the neighborhoods better than someone who grew up here?" asked Ricks, the
president of the Firebird Society, a fraternal organization for minority firefighters.
Many of the speakers were repeats from a meeting last month and many made the same
arguments: Hiring residents makes fiscal sense because it keeps their salaries in the city as tax
dollars; residents bring an added dimension as employees because they already have a vested
interest and familiarity with the community; young people in the city deserve the opportunity to
land living-wage jobs that are increasingly scarce.
Both the city police and fire departments are in the midst of recruitment drives, the first since a
Superior Court judge struck down the city practice of holding pass/fail exams, which helped
ensure diversity.
With New Haven's large minority population, local preference points would be a way to promote
balanced hiring.
The city still is trying to determine who would qualify and how they would prove it. Chief Civil
Service Examiner Noelia Marcano said applicants would be required to show at least three
proofs of residency and applicants clearly are told that they will be disqualified if they lie
anywhere in the application process.
Segaloff said the safeguards are "so people don't take what is a good thing for our residents and
twist it around."
State law doesn't permit residence requirements, so nothing would prevent someone from taking
the points and moving after being hired.
Retired Bridgeport Fire Capt. Donald Day, a regional director for the International Association
of Black Professional Fire Fighters, said Bridgeport is trying to address that by considering
bonus points on promotional exams as an incentive to live in the city.
To do that in New Haven - and the subject has not even been broached - would require
negotiating with individual unions.
--------------------------------------New Haven Register Sunday, Aug. 13, 2006
HEAD: A judge shouldn't play race politics with public safety
by Karen Torre, attorney for New Haven Firefighters
>
>
FEDERAL Judge Janet Arterton's ruling denying promotions to New Haven white and
Hispanic firefighters has sparked needed debate about playing politics with public safety.
>
Experts tested candidates to lead first responders in a post-9/11 era, aware of modern
dangers and grim statistics on firefighter deaths. City officials conceded both the validity of the
competency exams and the absence of legitimate alternatives.
> D i s m i s s i n g these concessions as mere "shortcomings" in the city's evidence, Arterton
allowed the New Haven fire department's command structure to remain gutted rather than staffed
with those deemed qualified regardless of race.
>
"Shortcomings" in your evidence usually means you lose, not win. But this is not the only
objection to this federal override of a merit system deemed sacrosanct by the state courts.
>
Distinguishing between making the eligible list and getting promoted, Arterton held the
plaintiffs proved no loss, a semantic tease given officials admittedly scuttled the list because
these very men would otherwise be promoted.
>
Indeed, even-handed application of Arterton's logic would have doomed the very cases
won by minorities. Moreover, federal law prohibits not only the denial of a job but a job
opportunity or status based on race, a core principle of employment law glaringly absent in
Arterton's ruling but which she invoked the same day in favor of a black employee of MetroNorth. Her reasoning: if he was denied a job classification because of race and such status would
provide a "potential" opportunity to earn overtime, his rights were violated. Go figure.
>
The court's response to details of the men's sacrifice was especially callous. They studied
every day for 3 months. Some quit second jobs; wives took leave from theirs. They spent
thousands, money the city urged them to invest. Kids' holiday and sports events were skipped.
This rare shot at advancement led one to study at the hospital while his wife was in labor. In a
dismissive footnote no less, the judge stated they suffered only "uncertainty" about their future.
With that, we recalled being made to wait through one of Arterton's sentencings while she voiced
more sensitivity to the life misfortunes of a career criminal.
>
I was struck by what research revealed: "adverse impact" law primarily afflicts fire and
police services. Why? I believe the civil service is viewed as easier prey by proponents of quotas.
How many would fly if they knew the woman in the cockpit failed the qualifying exam but was
hired as a remedy for the dearth of female pilots? Which would insist those who fail medical and
nursing boards be licensed if their gender or race is under-represented in the ranks of MDs and
RNs? In the name of "public safety" my own profession steadfastly rejects all who fail the bar
exam even though they pose no risk to life and limb. Arterton's view that valid exams are
nonetheless "presumptively flawed" unless they yield "diversity" should logically impugn her
own hiring practices - she insists her staff rank among the top-scorers in law school - on the sole
basis that her law clerks for over a decade have been exclusively white, a proposition I doubt she
would accept.
>
That aspect of the ruling which speaks in approving terms of Mayor John DeStefano Jr.'s
acting to appease his political base is most troubling. I believe such considerations should play
no part in a judge's ruling for many reasons, not the least of which such mention arouses
suspicion, breeds cynicism, and bewilders litigants and the public struggling to reconcile the
outcome with an apolitical court. It also re-opens the door to the very "lawlessness" of city
officials condemned in courageously strong terms by state judges.
>
Ironically, due to miscalculation of vacancies, qualified blacks and Hispanics were
victimized as well, an embarrassing folly city officials tried to hide. If the law truly compels such
absurdity, we must question whether law has evolved with the times.
>
"Firefighter" is a misnomer for the job is no longer about the strength to aim water at
flames. The threats we face today did not exist decades ago. The NHFD is a regional front in
protecting the public from all manner of catastrophe. Scientific and technological advances have
taken emergency services to new heights, requiring a cerebral force of commanders.
>
Diversity is desirable but it can not be allowed to compromise public safety. Those who
risk their lives for us must be led by those chosen strictly on merit. I urged Judge Arterton to
consider safety and offered an example: firefighter Eddie Ramos, killed after a truss roof
collapsed during a warehouse fire. Truss roofs were among the study subjects for the Captain's
exam. While the mayor's political interests received favorable consideration, safety merited not a
word in Arterton's opinion and many, I among them, find that appalling.
>
Regrettably, the education and achievement gap between races persists and worthy
initiatives to close it continue. But I will urge appellate courts to accord overdue recognition to
firefighters for the professionals they are and reject the notion that endangering them or the
public is acceptable.
> Karen Torre is the lawyer for 20 New Haven firefighters who have appealed Judge
Arterton's denial of their promotions to the U.S. Second Circuit Court of Appeals. Readers may
write Torre in care of the Register, 40 Sargent Drive, New Haven 06511. Her e-mail address is
ktorre@choiceonemail.com.