New Britain herald., 1929-09-12

IalI three votes. He has been a mem brr of tho department 10 years long CT than either Ncrano or Marchesi, both of whom have served six years.
 rassclini's Statement
 Tha boards action prompted Pas sormi to issue the following state Imcnt to the Herald;
 "In your issue of tonight (Wodnes- day), on page f. column s, you car ly an item in which it is stated that the board Of fire commissioners on Tuesday evening owing 10 my ab- scnco had tabled the appointment of lieutenant and a private until full membership was present. "In the same issue on page one, another item statps that at q special meeting of the board held at 2:30 o'clock the appointments were made, and that l was moi present.
 "Kindly allow me to explain my status in the affair:
 "On Friday, September 6, I hand ed to Mayor paouessa my rcsiGna- ton as a fire commissioner to take effect immediately. He tried to per- suadc m" to withdraw it but l re- i fused. On Saturday I had a con- ference with Mayor Paoncssa, last ing about two hours, and again l in sisted On Tuesday, in the presence of Chairman Butler, in Mayor Pa oncssa's own office, l again insisted in my resignation.
 "I understood this morning that someone telophoned to my house late in the afternoon on Tuesday, 1 leaving word that there would be d meeting of the board in the evening but as l had already told the mayor and the chairman, at 3:30 o'clock, l had made arrangements to be out of town, and l did not attend tn" meeting No word was sent to me of the special meeting, and should any one have done so, l would have re- pcatcd what l stated previously to | the mayor that I intended to insist in my resignation.
 1 "I am not interested in knowing whether it was legal for the board 1 to hold their two meetings with one commissioner less than the usual number on account of resignation; ! that is their business and the mayors business.
 What is of interest to me is 10 inform the public and especially the Italian Voters. that at the time Of the appointment I was no longer a member of the board.
 My Italian friends had asked me to work for the promotion of an { Italian to the lieutenancy, which did The mayor, while partially agreeing with me, stated that he could not see what he could do in the matter, hence my resignation be- fore any appointment was made.
 q am sorry that the mayor did not announce my resignation before the meetings above referred tC thus putting me in a rather bad
 light with my friends and this is
 intended to cnlighten them as to the
 true circumstances.
 PaCnessa Replies
 After reading several statcment'
 attributed to the retiring commis
 sioncr, Mayor Paonessa issued tho
 following statement;
 Tt is rcgrettable that Commis
 sioncr Passerini has seen fiji to leav'
 the board. l believe he was absO
 mtcly sincere and that no ulterio
 motive prompted him to nrE" th'
 election of an Italian as lieutenant
 "ln the past week, l have Spcn
 many hours endeavoring 10 impres
 upon him that the election of d lieu
 tenant was a function of the fir
 board and that it would not b.
 proper for mo to insist that an.
 particular candidate be chosen. ]
 is true. as he stated. that l agreet with him that representation of al naticnalities is desirable. l hay
 always held to that view, but l als
 respect the opinion expressed by tn three other members of the board namely, that nationality alonC should not govern an appointment "There was nothing that ] COul do to assist MT. Passerini, unless dropped the other three commits sioncrs and appointed three me who might share the viewpoint h held The impropriety of such move is very plain, and doubt i my friends of Italian birth or eX traction would approve, particular when it became known that one o the candidates desired by MT. Pas scrini is my nephew
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