Future Focused An Interview with The Honorable Pedro E. Segarra, Mayor of Hartford, Connecticut EDITORS’ NOTE Pedro Segarra We were able to fully fund our It’s extremely challenging. We recently re- is Hartford’s 66th Mayor and pension and still continue to pro- leased our 2010 safety report. over the past fi ve was sworn into office on June vide services to a community that is years, we have had close to a 30 percent reduc- 25, 2010. Mayor Segarra gradu- very needy. This has required that tion in Part 1 crimes. and we had an additional ated from what was then called we work closely with the major non- 7 percent drop in 2010. Greater Hartford Community profi t and social services providers, but I need the other elected officials to College (now Capital Community as well as trying to be creative in join me in going out into the communities, be- College) and earned a full schol- terms of doing a lot more with a lot cause a lot of this is about advocating for com- arship to the University of Hartford less. munities. so we must engage the communities where he received a Bachelor of I’m optimistic because this city in a stronger dialogue to support the parents Arts degree in Political Science. He has some incredible institutions. We so they can feel more empowered in terms was then admitted to the University have three Fortune 500 companies of maintaining control and support of their of Connecticut Graduate School of The Hon. Pedro E. Segarra in the city. We have been recog- children. Social Work where he received his nized as the insurance capital of the Has it been important to reach Masters Degree of Social Work. In 1985, he grad- world, even though we need to make more out to the business community within uated from UConn Law School and passed the of an effort to retain that market and expand Hartford? Connecticut Bar the same year. He is currently it. We have some incredible art institutions absolutely, and I have reached out. admitted to the Connecticut state and federal for a city of our size. We have the first pub- Hartford committed an additional $5 million to Bars (1986) and the Bar of the State of Florida lic park and the first public museum in the help the nonprofi ts and community organiza- (2000). In 1991, he was appointed Corporation country. We also have two independent stage tions. In the asylum Hill area, they committed Counsel for the City of Hartford – the youngest companies that have exported their works an additional $2 million to purchase and demol- person ever selected for the position at the time – to broadway. We’re halfway between boston ish a large building that is an eyesore for the and was appointed for three consecutive terms. and new York, so from an arts perspective, city. That is in addition to another unattract- He was appointed to City Council in 2006, that provides us with a unique opportunity ive building we took down in the middle of elected in his own right in 2007, and became to market those. downtown, creating a more pleasant aesthetic Council President in January of 2010. Up until be- How is the education system within environment. We have about 113 acres of land coming Mayor of Hartford (www.hartford.gov), Hartford at the K through 12 level and are in the downtown area that’s available to be de- he was the managing partner of the Hartford you effectively addressing the need for re- veloped, so that provides a great opportunity Law Offi ce of Segarra & Associates. He was form in the system? for both corporations and the city to grow and also a founding member of Hogar Crea, the The city has made a signifi cant investment prosper. Hispanic Health Council, and CLARO. in education. We now have four nationally The public/private partnership is ex- ranked high schools. We have also made over tremely important. Travelers Insurance has As a result of the global economic crisis, a half a billion dollar investment in school con- been very helpful in supporting an educa- where does Hartford stand today and how struction projects. tional effort that has been very successful in is it positioned looking forward? We have had three years of consecutive terms of working with our different schools We have had incredible challenges fi nan- increases in test scores and have had the biggest and promoting education. We hope to do cially. our city is a capital city in which about gains in narrowing the achievement gap, which more of that. 52 percent of our property is tax exempt. We was the largest in the state at one point. You’ve had to make tough decisions have a constitutional charter mandate that obviously, if we want to get that me- but some of them have really made a dif- requires us to fund our pension at 100 per- dian income up from $29,000 and take this ference. Can you appreciate that or is there cent. and we have a population that has a per city from poverty to prosperity, it’s going to too much to do to refl ect on the past? capita income of about $29,000, which is ex- require training our youth to compete for the I’m still working on trying to reconcile tremely poor as compared to the state median best jobs. There are 125,000 jobs in the city, the deficit of $8 million for this year. We’ve income. so it sets us up for a series of expec- most of which require college degrees and offered a retirement incentive; we’re trying tations on behalf of a community that create advanced skills, and at the present time, our to cut and not refill positions; we have a hir- incredible political pressure on any municipal kids aren’t always able to compete. so we have ing freeze that we only deviate from when leader. to be mindful that the opportunities will start there is a critical need; and I don’t have a However, I have managed to balance the with education and make sure we develop the driver and I pump my own gas. I do things budget. When I took office, I had only one programs that will train our kids for the jobs to set an example and to encourage others week to make sure I turned a $3 million defi cit of the future and the jobs that are available in to recognize that if we’re asking one of the around, which I did; I was actually able to cre- the market. poorest populations in the nation to pay for ate a surplus of $2.8 million because it’s impor- You have also been focused on law en- our salaries and benefits, then they should tant that we maintain a fund balance in order to forcement. How challenging is it to main- expect to get the best possible return on enhance our bond rating position. tain that when you have to make cuts? their investment.• 100 Leaders voLume 34, number 2.