The worst-kept secret (in that basically they issued a press release about it without saying it) is now official.

Torrington Mayor Ryan Bingham has endorsed state Sen. Sam Caligiuri for the Republican nomination to challenge 5th District Congressman Chris Murphy.

Waterbury State Sen. Sam Caligiuri has scheduled a press conference tomorrow to make a "major announcement."

It will be held at Borgeson Universal in Torrington, and it is being held "with Torrington Mayor Ryan Bingham."

Hmmm, we wonder what the announcement could be about?

Sounds like Bingham will join a growing list of party establishment figures endorsing Caligiuri's bid to challenge Democratic incumbent Rep. Chris Murphy.

Torrington Mayor Ryan Bingham joined several state and local leaders in Bristol last week to receive grants for environmental protection.

Torrington is slated to receive $1 million in grant money, 60 percent of which will be used as low-interest revolving loans for developers, land owners and property owners. The remaining 40 percent will be used as direct grants that do not have be repaid, Bingham said.

The Environmental Protection Agency is issuing the money with the hope of revitalizing former industrial and commercial sites in several cities from Torrington to Naugatuck to New London.
While the money was announced last week, it will not be available until October, Bingham said.

The mayor said he will join Rose Ponte, economic development director, and his Assistant Stephen Nocera in attending classes on how to administer the grant.

By RONALD DEROSA/Register Citizen Staff

HARTFORD — Gov. M. Jodi Rell signed a bill Friday that will allow municipalities to delay the implementation of their property revaluations until 2011.

The S.B. 997, which passed the State House of Representatives this week and the State Senate last week, was co-sponsored by two Torrington-area legislators, state Sen. Kevin Witkos, R-8, and state Rep. Michelle Cook, D-65. Torrington was one of a few cities in the state — along with Washington, Woodbury and Monroe — that has received an overwhelming amount of complaints against Waterbury-based Total Valuation, who completed the full physical revaluation as required by law this year. The towns have been seeking a way to delay having to hand the results in to the state.

"I’m glad the governor moved on it as quickly as she did," Cook said.
With the passing of the legislation — titled An Act Concerning A Municipal Option To Delay Revaluation — the city has the option to completely delay implementing the revaluation until 2011, beginning July 1. The move gives Torrington the option to throw out the 2008 data collected by Total Valuation, instead relying on figures from the 2007 computer-based revaluation, said Mayor Ryan Bingham.

"We’re clearly going to have to redo it, sooner than later," Cook said. "But I think that’s for (the city) to work out at the city level. They know more about which would be best to go."
From the Torrington perspective, the city still is withholding $100,000 from Total Valuation as sanction for not meeting deadlines, and the Board of Assessment Appeals is still going through some 1,400 appeals filed in recent months.

The city is now having Corporation Counsel Ernestine Weaver review the new legislation due to an amendment added that allows for regionalizing, Bingham said. Also, the city still waits formal notification from the state Office of Policy and Management regarding a request for a one-year postponement, the mayor said.

If OPM allows for the postponement, then the city can get through all the necessary appeals and use all of the information gathered in 2008 for 2009’s Grand List, Bingham said.
The vote comes down, however, to City Council on how it wants proceed, he said. Should the council decide it does not want to use the 2008 numbers at all, then the city can wait until 2011 to do the process all over again, Bingham said.

"We would have to notify OPM as a courtesy because they would have to put our municipality on the list for 2011," the mayor said. "They would keep track of when our revaluations are due. We wouldn’t need their permission to throw at the numbers, now that S.B. 997 is passed and signed by the governor."

It’s been said that every single member of the U.S. Senate fancies himself or herself to be capable of and possibly in line to be president of the United States.

The informal guessing game surrounding who might run for mayor of Torrington this fall is turning out to be just as expansive.

Almost every member of the City Council – even Republicans, should incumbent Mayor Ryan Bingham for some reason decide not to seek a third term – has been mentioned as a possible candidate, as has School Board Chairman Paul Cavagnero.

Others have suggested that the ideal candidate to challenge Bingham would be an outsider to local politics with business management experience.

We have a feeling that not much of 2009 will pass before Torrington's mayoral race gets started.

Mayor Ryan Bingham is still officially undecided on plans to run for re-election.

CLICK HERE for The Register Citizen's story about his plans and Democrats' efforts to field a challenger, and CLICK HERE for the Republican-American's story this morning on criticism that Bingham has taken over the departure of the Torrington Twisters NECBL franchise.

The person elected mayor this year will serve for four years instead of two, thanks to a charter change adopted by voters last month. Democratic leaders in Torrington say that will help them field a stronger candidate this time.

Torrington Mayor Ryan Bingham said this week that he might get involved in the school situation involving superintendent Susan O'Brien if the school board does not end the saga soon.

The Board of Education is scheduled to meet tonight at 7 p.m. to hear O'Brien's last 2 hours of testimony on her handling of the resignation of former high school principal John Metallo. O'Brien threatened to fire Metallo if he did not leave his post. Board Chairman Paul Cavagnero has said the board might not make a decision until next week on possible action against O'Brien.

Bingham said Saturday that he purposely chose to stay out of the situation. He wanted to avoid adding "another layer of politics to the situation." He has not attended any school board meeting regarding this issue, which was brought to the public's attention in September.