The seeds of the book began about two decades ago when Frank Connolly began taking notes at meetings. As the years went on, he worked on his book in fits and starts. “This was on my bucket list.”
The seeds of the book began about two decades ago when Frank Connolly began taking notes at meetings. As the years went on, he worked on his book in fits and starts. “This was on my bucket list.”
Photo: Contributed PhotoPORTLAND — Affable and candid, Frank Connolly is about as far removed from the Machiavelian personalities who populate his recently published novel about the intrigue, passions and sometimes nefarious dealings that characterize small-town politics.
“Hidden Agendas: Inside Town Hall” is loosely based on his three-decade career as an administrator in three Connecticut municipalities. It may be a work of fiction, but its plot, replete back stabbing, ignited passions, behind-the-scenes schemings and rich characters — both unsavory and altruistic — reveals the entertaining and sometimes lurid nature of town government.
The novel, self-published on the CreateSpace independent publishing platform, opens with a heated public hearing during which residents speak out against developers proposing a new shopping center on vacant land in “Covingford, Connecticut” — a melding of the three towns Connolly managed during his three-decade-long career.
“I find local government absolutely fascinating. It’s been my whole life,” Connolly said by phone Tuesday from his vacation home in southwest Florida, where it was 70 degrees and sunny. “Local government is so direct. It’s not one step removed like state or federal — everyone can have an impact. You’re trying to solve problems that are so diversified.”
“It’s funny when you go to town meetings and look at some of the shenanigans, politics and whatnot taking place,” said Connolly, whose first book, “Local Government in Connecticut,” won the 2013 Wesleyan University Press Driftless Award for an outstanding book in any field on a Connecticut topic or written by a Connecticut author.
The book is a blend of Connolly’s experiences and the lively personalities he met during his 30 years of work in the field, which included stints as town manager of Coventry in the late 1970s, Newington in the ’80s and North Branford in the ’90s.
Connolly, who was also Coventry’s first town planner, earned his undergraduate degree in economics from Providence College, a master’s of education and social studies from Southern Connecticut State University, and masters in planning from the University of Virginia.
The seeds of the book began about two decades ago when he began taking notes during meetings. As the years went on, Connolly worked on his manuscript in fits and starts.
“This was on my bucket list,” he said.
He retired in 2008.
In “Hidden Agendas,” out-of-town developers must gain support from the local planning board, politicians and the public. They are surprised to find dissonance among neighborhood residents and one particularly outspoken older woman.
While town manager in Coventry, a developer quietly purchased 2,000 acres of land and proposed what’s termed “new town development” — the construction of an entire community, including schools, commercial/industrial spaces and individual housing.
“It was a really big issue,” Connolly said.
The town opposed the plan and during several public hearings, residents passionately spoke against the proposal, leading to its defeat.
Pointing to developments such as the $40 million Brainerd Place site plan for the former Elmcrest Hospital property on Route 66 in Portland approved by the planning and zoning board last month, and a decade in the making, Connolly said these types of projects are often drawn-out affairs.
“When citizens get involved in local government, they can directly influence the outcome: They can have it modified, defeated or moved along,” he said. “You don’t have that at the state or federal level.”
Connolly, an adjunct faculty member in the public administration program at the University of New Haven, views politics a little bit like a soap opera.
Take, for instance, his character Dom “the Bomb” Columbo.
“The head of the local political committee wields a lot of power behind the scenes. He’s very influential on what is taking place. People chosen by town committees are an unseen force in local government and very influential on who gets nominated,” he said.
To help ensure the plan’s approval, the developers make agreements with local politicians, hire a prominent lawyer, and bring in an nefarious enforcer and “outside gun,” Dom “the Bomb,” to put pressure on the head of the town’s political committee.
His character balances out that of Louie the “Enforcer,” who suddenly appears on the scene.
“He is a sinister character — a dark force who threatens people physically,” said Connolly.
A reporter, Janet Johnson, succinctly and objectively relays what transpires during the course of the novel.
As Johnson digs into the proposal, her articles raise questions on the vacant land, adding fuel to the enraged neighbors, Connolly said.
“The reporter character is a good storyteller because she’s able to grasp what’s taking place and also keep people honest with probing questions and a background investigation,” Connolly said.
Recently, Connolly met a Florida mayor from Connecticut and they talked about his book.
“He laughed and said it reminded him of the ‘town hall annex’ — a coffee shop where most of the business in town takes place,” he said. “People associate with it so much because of the descriptions of what is taking place.”
As the writing came along, Connolly was stymied devising the perfect wrap-up — until his neighbor volunteered in the creative process. Raymond H. Poet of Portland, who died last month, helped Connolly “throw a curveball in how the book ends. The surprise ending stuns everyone.”
Sometimes being a public figure can be draining, he said.
“You can go into the supermarket and run into members of the planning and zoning commission: ‘Oh, by the way, as long as I have you ...’”
One time, he was stopped in church, and another time at the store.
“If I really wanted to get shopping done, I’d have to go out of town,” he said with a laugh. “You constantly bump into people who know who you are. You’re on duty 24-7, no matter where you go.”
In May, Connolly will begin a book signing circuit in Portland and North Branford. “Hidden Agendas: Inside Town Hall” is available for purchase in softcover or digital for Kindle on Amazon.
Managing Editor Cassandra Day can be reached at cassandra.day@hearstmediact.com or Twitter @cassandrasdis.
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