Simmons, Valentine Trade Barbs As Election Nears

STAMFORD, CT — With the municipal election looming on Nov. 2, Democratic State Rep. Caroline Simmons and Unaffiliated candidate Bobby Valentine are locked in a heated race to become the next Mayor of Stamford.

This week, the campaigns have been sparring over the ongoing mold situation in Stamford Public Schools, as well as Valentine's tenure as the city's Director of Public Health and Safety a decade ago.

On Wednesday, a day after the first debate between the candidates, Simmons' campaign manager, Lauren Meyer, responded to comments made by Valentine in a recent Stamford Advocate article that addressed how the candidates would solve the mold problem that has impacted Stamford schools over the years.

"Our schools have been deteriorating for a century, our mold has been accumulating for over a decade," Valentine told the Advocate. "And the people, both those who have the connections with Hartford and those who have been in charge of our city, have not corrected the problem. So, obviously, doing the same thing with the same people cannot be the answer."

Meyer said Valentine "ran away from his responsibilities" as Director of Public Health and Safety during his stint in the position in 2011, and knew there was mold in the schools but "failed to take action."

She referred to a 2018 article from the Advocate that said a 2009 study by EMG found "isolated suspected mold and moisture" in Westover Elementary School, "and a follow-up assessment by a health and safety professional was recommended."

This past summer, new air systems were installed at the school to help alleviate the mold problem.

"Bobby seems to have forgotten he was Director of Public Health and Safety a decade ago, when the mold in the schools was ‘accumulating’," Meyer said in an news release. "Bobby only knows how to point fingers. He takes credit for other people’s good work and blames others when things go wrong on his watch."

On Wednesday, Democratic City Committee Chair Josh Fedeli chimed in with a statement of his own, referring to Tuesday's debate.

"You were in a position of authority — the Director of Public Health and Safety just ten short years ago. You spent a good deal of time at this past debate talking up your bona fides," Fedeli said in a news release. "But you didn’t answer the fundamental question of what you did to address this public health crisis."

The Valentine campaign issued a response on Friday, and accused the Simmons campaign of "partisan hypocrisy" and "finger pointing."

Valentine's campaign said a report done by EMG Consultants in 2009 noted that "no suspect mold was observed, but moisture was observed” in a number of areas. The report included an advisory to assess at least seven schools for mold, the campaign said.

"The Pavia administration took office in December, 2009, and began to address some of these deficiencies. There were 14 instances of mold identified in one school building - Toquam Elementary. This mold was remediated, with 40 people working through a weekend at a cost of $200,000," the Valentine campaign said in a news release.

"In the mayoral debate held on Tuesday, Oct. 12, Bobby Valentine referred to the deteriorating conditions of our public school facilities that have persisted for at least the last 15 years. The recent escalation in our mold crisis is attributable to the ongoing water intrusions that have unfortunately persisted, reaching an emergency level in the summer of 2018, when it was found in 11 of 21 Stamford school buildings," the campaign added.

Valentine's campaign went on to say that Simmons, in her role as State Representative for the 144th District, "has been partly responsible for the funding, or lack thereof, to make the necessary repairs to address the growing mold crisis."

Simmons' campaign earlier this week also said Valentine left Stamford in a time of need when Hurricane Irene hit in August of 2011.

Valentine was out of town as an ESPN broadcaster for Sunday Night Baseball. His campaign said it was understood when he was appointed to the city position that he would continue to call games. Valentine is a former Major League Baseball player and manager.

"One of Bobby's first priorities in the role was to form an Emergency Response Team. In advance of Tropical Storm Irene, Bobby and his team worked to ensure that the city was prepared for all contingencies," Valentine's campaign said Friday in a news release, adding that he was in "constant communication" with city officials during the storm.

Simmons and Valentine will square-off in a debate at Ferguson Main Library at 7 p.m. on Oct. 19. They will meet one last time before the Nov. 2 election in a debate hosted by the Stamford Chamber of Commerce on Oct. 21.

Read more from the Stamford Advocate on the school mold problem here.