HARTFORD, Conn. — Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin is on the final stretch of his time in the capital city’s top seat.
For some, that would mean slowing down, but Bronin said if anything, he and his team are trying to forge forward with several initiatives.
“I haven’t spent a lot of time thinking about what I’m going to do after,” said Bronin. "We have a lot of stuff that we’re trying to get done before the clock runs out.”
That includes several economic development projects in the city.
"Right now I feel like we’re moving faster than ever,” said Bronin.
Bronin came into office in 2016, taking over a city on the verge of bankruptcy. Once the newly minted Mayor finally got to see ‘under the hood’ of Hartford’s finances, he recalls it was worse than he thought.
“This city was bankrupt, it was not legally bankrupt, but it was financially bankrupt,” said Bronin. "It was facing immediate shortfall, a cliff that was just dramatic a few years ahead.”
Bronin recalls making the decision with his team, to find long last solutions for real change, not just trying to buy time for Hartford, “to really try to give this city a fighting chance,” said Bronin.
What followed was not easy. It included getting all stakeholders at the table. Bronin proposed deep cuts, asked unions for concessions, went to the Governor and Legislature for help, and asked some of Hartford’s biggest employers to pitch in.
“It started with just being open and honest about the size of the problem, and not hiding it, and saying this is how big it is, and this is why it’s this big,” said Bronin.
Bronin discussed other challenges in office, including gun violence, the development around Dunkin Park, and leading the city during the pandemic during an in-depth conversation with FOX61. He also discussed the bright spots and triumphs in office, and what he will miss about leading the capital city.
View our video for more on our one—on—one conversation.
Jenn Bernstein is an anchor at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jbernstein@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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