STRATFORD — If elected mayor, Dr. David Chess says he plans to revive the Ethics Committee to investigate how a homeless man was able to live at Town Hall for a period of time.
Arthur Norman Halvorsen, 40, of Stratford, was arrested Sept. 2 on first-degree criminal trespassing charges for allegedly having stayed overnight on Aug. 25 inside Town Hall. But internal communications between town officials show Halvorsen’s overnight visits may have started much earlier.
An April 29 memo between Republican Registrar of Voters Lou Dicilio and Democratic Registrar of Voters Jim Simon indicates that Halvorsen was found in a sleeping bag in a basement storage or supply room that afternoon. Halvorsen said Dicilio had given him a key, Simon wrote.
Dicilio, who is also the Republican Town Committee chairman, told CT Examiner that Halvorsen was a part-time election poll worker who had worked for the town the last few years.
“I will absolutely talk to Arthur about this,” Dicilio wrote to Simon in the memo. “I’m speechless that he was sleeping in there. I still don’t understand why all of our keys are not working or they’re working sporadically. I will mention it to Laura [Hoydick, Stratford’s mayor] about this.”
Chess said it is irresponsible for Dicilio to give anyone a key to Town Hall, which is full of documents like voting forms, tax documents, and financial records receipts that must be kept secure from tampering or theft.
“The whole thing is, why was he living down there? I think it also highlights that Stratford has a real homelessness problem that it has never really recognized,” Chess said. “I feel bad for this gentleman. He’s the one who is getting arrested and in trouble, but there are people who enable him who are not.”
Dicilio, who would be the potential subject of Chess’ ethics investigation, said Chess is turning a charitable act into a political football.
Attempts to contact Halvorsen were unsuccessful. Halvorsen was assigned a public defender and his case is pending at Bridgeport Superior Court, court records show. He is due in court on Nov. 20.
Dicilio said Halvorsen was kept on as an election worker during the first three days of early voting this year, but was fired after residents raised concerns related to his arrest. Dicilio said he regretted how Halvorsen got caught up in politics.
“This is where I really struggle,” Dicilio said, “because I’m not going to say that we didn’t suspect he was homeless. We kind of knew, eventually.”
“He was sleeping wherever he could and every once in a while, he would, I guess, sneak into Town Hall and sleep there,” Dicilio said. “Him going into a supply room isn’t a big deal. I get the impression they [Democrats] are trying to make it like he had access to vital election stuff. And that’s not true at all. It’s just a supply room.”
“He’s a fantastic worker. He knows his stuff. He’s one of the guys that knows how to use this Connecticut voter registration system because we train them in it,” Dicilio said.
Security problems are not uncommon at Town Hall, Dicilio said, adding that he works there at odd hours, on weekends and late at night “because that’s when it’s much easier for me to get stuff done.” He also said he’s seen people “walking around looking to pay their taxes when the Town Hall is closed. A door was open somewhere.”
Dicilio said he doubted that he would have any trouble with an Ethics Committee review of his actions.