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Paoletto is also a city employee who serves as Bridgeport’s deputy director of housing and code enforcement. He has been suspended for three months with pay after a college intern filed a sexual harassment complaint against him.
This is the second time Paoletto has been suspended in a sexual harassment case. In 2010, he was suspended without pay for harassing an unnamed female city employee.
“This is embarrassing,” said Councilman Bob Halstead, who is also running for the state house seat being vacated by Auden Grogins, who is taking a seat on the state judiciary.
“Councilman Paoletto is being protected because he has been loyal to the (Mayor Bill Finch) administration,” Halstead said. “It’s a political reward, and the City Council should do something about it.”
Halstead and his partner from the 132nd District, Trish Swain, have called for the City Council to launch its own investigation to either exonerate or discipline Paoletto.
The last Bridgeport city councilman to face an investigation was Bob Walsh, who, like Halstead and Swain also represented the Brooklawn section of the city. Walsh, who is no longer on the city council, was forced to publicly apologize after leaving insulting messages on a colleague’s answering machine.
But City Council President Tom McCarthy (D-133rd District) has said the mayor's administration handles all personnel matters, not the council.
Halstead, who has often clashed with Finch and McCarthy, has been one of the chief critics of Finch’s administration.
This issue also resurrects the issue of whether city employees should be allowed to serve on the city council. State Rep. Jack Hennessy (D-127th District) has introduced legislation in Hartford to ban city employees from serving on the City Council.
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