The Long Road Home
02/15/2008

Story and Photographs By John Murray

The sky above Waterbury was battleship gray. Cigarette butts and scratch tickets lay buried beneath a fresh, light snow in the city's downtown business district. It was a typical February day in New England - raw, windy and biting cold. The streets were empty except for a steady stream of customers making their way towards Dunkin Donuts, at the corner of Bank Street and South Main, for a caffeine fix and a little warmth.

Just inside the front door John Rowland clutched a cup of coffee - light and sweet - and peered out the window onto downtown.

"I've got some ideas about downtown," he said, "but there have been lots of ideas. We need to breathe some life into them."

As he talked about economic development in Waterbury, several customers turned their heads to stare. An awestruck young woman walked over and said "You're John Rowland, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am," the former three-term governor of Connecticut, said.

" I met you years ago when you came to my school to talk," she said. "I'm so glad you're back in Waterbury."

"Thanks," Rowland said. "It's great to be back."

Moments later the owner of the Brass City Tobacco Shop walked in and Rowland shook hands with him and asked about his recent knee operation, and how his five-year-old daughter was.

The owner of Mar-Vic Cleaners, Victor Buselli, walked in and told Rowland that he was glad to have him downtown. "We need your help," Buselli said.

"I'm on your team," Rowland told him. "I'm the left fielder."

To another well wisher Rowland said "Remember I don't have the checkbook anymore. Think of me as your shortstop."

Several people tapped on the window and waved to Rowland, who despite his dramatic fall from power four years ago, and subsequent prison term, is still one of the most recognizable faces in Connecticut. Rowland is 50 years old now and a little grayer than he was in office. A recent knee surgery has given him a momentary hitch in his step, but he's trim and looks to be in great shape.

A car pulled up and Butch Azzara got out and walked into Dunkin Donuts. "Oh boy," Rowland said. "Here comes trouble."

The two men warmly greeted each other and Azzara, a retired principal from Kennedy High School, wished Rowland well with his new job as economic consultant at the Waterbury Regional Chamber of Commerce. As Azzara made his way out the door Rowland called out the number "173". Azzara stopped, poked his head back in and said "That's the best thing that ever happened to me."

Azzara headed back to his idling car and Rowland explained that Azzara had been his democratic opponent in 1982 for state representative in the 73rd District. Rowland had won by 173 votes. After the election Azzara got out of politics and continued his career as an educator, and Rowland went on to serve three terms in Congress, and nine years as governor of Connecticut.

"Every time I see him I say 173," Rowland said, "and every time he says it's the best thing that ever happened to him. He was glad to get out of the business."

And now they are both out of the business.

Rowland resigned from office on July 1, 2004 during a corruption investigation, and in March 2005 he pled guilty in federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit tax fraud. He was sentenced to one year and one day and served ten months in the Federal Correctional Institution in Loretto, Pennsylvania. He was held under house arrest with an electronic ankle monitor for an additional four months at his home in West Hartford.

After prison Rowland launched a motivational speaking career to talk to students and corporations about the loss of ethics in America. On his website JGRowland.com, he described that he would "bring to his inspirational speeches the insight and candor of a political leader who has seen great success, and has learned exceptional lessons from the failure at the end of his public service career."

Rowland took his punishment head on and learned from his mistakes.

"I was arrogant," he said. "I felt a sense of entitlement. I worked very hard and I believed that I deserved whatever came to me. I thought everything was about me."

And he had great success.

After graduating from Villanova University, Rowland was elected to the Connecticut state legislature at the age of 23. Four years later he was elected to Congress at the age of 27, and in 1994, at the age of 37, he was elected the youngest governor Connecticut state history.

At a political rally at Bradley International Airport in the autumn of 2000, George W. Bush called John Rowland "the future of the Republican Party." Rowland was good friends with the Bush family and a rising star in national politics. He rubbed elbows with the political elite and was friends with Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, and Governor Mike Huckabee of Arkansas.

"They were my peers," Rowland said. "But after I had my mess, it was over."

People who have known Rowland for years say he was changed by his fall from power. They say he still possesses the same uber self-confidence, but he is humbler now, willing to serve without expecting anything in return. Out of prison Rowland has spent hundreds of hours performing volunteer work counseling ex-cons and felons on decision making, and helping them transition back into the work force.

A year ago John and Patty Rowland bought a house in Middlebury to be closer to their family and friends, and the couple seemed to be moving quietly into the second half of their lives. The quiet was momentarily shattered in January when Rowland was hired as an economic development consultant in Waterbury. The news was a jolt of electricity to a beleaguered city, but hit the state of Connecticut like a dull thud. Critics pounced on the news and battered Waterbury and it's storied political past. But on the streets of Waterbury the former governor was given a red carpet welcome. Everybody knew who he was, and it seemed like he knew everybody in town by their first name.

"I'm home," Rowland said. "My life has come full circle. I have unfinished business and I've come back to my first love - Waterbury."

Rowland was born and raised in Waterbury, and in many ways he never really left. Everywhere he traveled as Governor he would say "I'm John Rowland. I'm from Waterbury, Connecticut, the center of the universe."

Bumper stickers were made with the slogan "Waterbury, CT, Center of the Universe", and city residents began to refer to their aging hometown by the name. Rowland used his influential stage in Hartford to be Waterbury's #1 cheerleader, and he used the state checkbook to back that up by investing hundreds of millions of dollars in downtown Waterbury with a new UConn campus and a renovated Palace Theater. Whenever he came to town as Governor it was always an event. The Guv was here, and he was surrounded by an entourage of state troopers, support staff and well-wishers. People wanted to be near him, shake his hand, and be acknowledged by power.

The entourage is gone now, but people are still drawn to him, they still want to shake his hand, they still want to be acknowledged. Rowland describes himself as a Type A, ultimate extrovert. He needs contact and he relishes the chance to banter with people. And on this day he seemed to enjoy holding court inside Dunkin Donuts. "Total strangers will come up to me 20 times a day and wish me well," Rowland said. "And it's not just in Waterbury. Wherever I go in Connecticut people approach me. It drives Patty nuts."

As Rowland talked about his life he sat down on a small ledge inside the donut shop. A clerk behind the counter looked over, cleared her throat and said "Excuse me, can you read the sign?"

"What sign?", Rowland said.

The clerk pointed to a sign over Rowland's right shoulder and he turned to look. It said "No sitting on counter."

"Oh, sorry," he said, and he stood up, slightly embarrassed, and continued talking about his hopes for the future of downtown Waterbury.

THE JOB
The news spread across the state with extraordinary speed. John Rowland had been hired by Mayor Michael Jarjura to lead Waterbury's economic development effort. A meeting was held in Jarjura's office Tuesday afternoon January 22, and as the participants left the meeting they encountered Republican-American political reporter Steve Gambini waiting to pounce on the story.

Within minutes the Hartford Courant had tracked down one of the decision makers, and stories were broadcast across Connecticut television during the 11 o'clock news. Rowland's return to the public arena made headlines the following morning, and editorial writers began to lick their chops. The Danbury News-Times called the move a disgrace and The New London Day lambasted the move. One of Rowland's former political opponents, Bill Curry, wrote a column in the Courant saying the former governor was getting "A Second Chance At The Public's Expense."

Blogs across the state fired toxic arrows at Rowland, Jarjura and Waterbury. Everybody had an opinion about John Rowland's return to the political arena.

But they had the story wrong.

Waterbury mayor Mike Jarjura hadn't hired John Rowland, and he wasn't in control of any public dollars. When the news broke the parties were still discussing opportunities for Rowland at the Waterbury Regional Chamber, a private organization, and the potential job had yet to be approved by the chamber board.
As the tsunami of misinformation swept through the media, Steve Sasala, the President and CEO of the Waterbury Regional Chamber, spent several days trying to untangle the mess.

"John Rowland works for me," Sasala said, "but it was nice of the mayor to announce that he had hired my newest employee."

(Waterbury's Economic Development team, from left to right, John Rowland, Jeff Rouleau and Steve Sasala. the President/CEO of The Waterbury Regional Chamber)

The events surrounding Rowland's return to Waterbury are a fascinating stew of power, loyalty and political intrigue. Several of the participants had different takes on how the deal went down, and the Observer spent several days trying to cobble together the story. Here's what we came up with.....

The scenario began to unfold back in September 2007 when the top two leaders of the Waterbury Development Corporation (WDC) resigned and left a gaping hole in the organization.

WDC's role is to act as the city's official economic and community development entity. The corporation was founded in May 2004 and is a public-private partnership with the mission of conducting long-range planning for economic development and housing activity in the city.

"When Mike left it created a vacuum," Mayor Jarjura said. "But it also created an opportunity for us to do some self analysis and make some adjustments."

Jarjura said he talked to community and business leaders in Waterbury and found them to be supportive of the WDC model of economic development and job creation. One factor that emerged from the mayor's talks was the need for the next leader of economic development in Waterbury to be more of a visionary.

"Michael O'Connor did a great job for WDC," Jarjura said, "but his skills were project management. He was not a rainmaker." Jarjura defined a rainmaker as someone who attracts new business, and said no one in Waterbury was effectively doing that job.

WDC began a national search for a new executive director. A job listed on the WDC website for Chief Executive Officer stated the requirements for the job were "abilities and skills to lead direct and perform in the following areas:

• Demonstrated experience and ability as/or dealing with entrepreneurs

• Extensive leadership experience in business planning and development

• Demonstrated leadership of highly motivated professionals

• Sound fiscal management practices

• Ability to plan, promote and lead strategic initiatives

The post stated "the successful candidate shall have a minimum of a Bachelors Degree with an advanced degree in business, public administration or law preferred. Candidate should demonstrate significant advancement in their chosen professional field. Successful experience in a leadership role in business development will be heavily weighed. Salary range $100,000 - $125,000."

Rowland still has many friends in the Waterbury business community and after Mike O'Connor resigned a few people informally approached him about the opening at WDC. "I was dismissive of the idea," Rowland said. "I couldn't see myself overseeing the City Hall renovation project and applying for loans and grants. It wasn't my gig."

Several months passed before Rowland said he went back to the WDC website and looked more closely at the job description. "I thought some more and decided maybe I could do the job," Rowland said. "I called Bill Morris (chairman of the board at WDC) and we talked."

In early January the executive committee of WDC had boiled a list of 50 applicants down to six finalists, including WDC interim director Leo Frank, and J. Paul Vance, the president of the Waterbury Board of Aldermen.

"It was at that point that Bill Morris indicated we had a candidate that hadn't gone through the normal process," Sasala said. "Then he told us about John Rowland."

Sasala, who in addition to heading the Waterbury Regional Chamber, is the vice-chairman of WDC, said a significant number of board members were not comfortable with the situation. "We weren't uncomfortable with John," Sasala said, "it was about the process and the way it was handled."

The executive committee decided to extend the process and gather more resumes, including Rowland's, and according to Sasala, they agreed not to discuss the situation outside the nine person group. The committee was comprised of Bill Morris from HD Segur Insurance, Sasala, Sandy Vigliotti from Bank of America, John Daddona from Bank of America, Joe Geary from the Mayor's Office, Dr. John De Temple of Post University, J. Paul Vance from the Board of Aldermen, Paul Pernerewski from the Board of Aldermen, and Dr. Jim Gatling from New Opportunities Inc. Eventually word began to leak out about Rowland. That's when Gary O'Connor, Jim Gaitling, Fred Luedke and Sasala, went to see Mayor Jarjura to discuss hiring Rowland to run WDC. Sasala said the mayor "loved the idea."

But for many involved in the process it didn't seem like a good fit.

"Some of us began to take a hard look at the implications of bringing John onboard at WDC," Sasala said. "WDC is the fiduciary for state and federal money coming into Waterbury, and although there isn't much coming in now, we didn't want to shut the tap off completely."

Sasala said he felt the situation out with several key business leaders in Waterbury, including Jim Smith of Webster Bank, and asked them what they thought about John Rowland running WDC. "To a man they thought it was a bad idea," Sasala said. "They were concerned about the message it would send around the state, and that it might hurt the city."

When the executive committee reconvened, Bill Morris and Mike Jarjura still wanted John Rowland to run WDC, but other members of the committee were hesitant.

"It was too complicated politically," Rowland said. "There are state resources coming into WDC and several people had legitimate concerns that if vengeful thinking still existed towards me in Hartford, Waterbury could be penalized."

The idea of John Rowland taking over the helm at the Waterbury Development Corporation stalled before ever reaching the WDC committee level.

"That's when I came up with the idea of hiring him at the chamber," Sasala said. "We could build a fire wall to shield him from controlling public money."

Rowland liked the idea. "Everybody had concerns with the WDC job," Rowland said. "Would I have to lobby the state? This new job answered all the questions."

Besides the political concerns, Rowland said he wasn't sure he was a good fit at WDC, which leaned heavily towards project management. "I'm more of an economic development guy," Rowland said, "doing project management was a turn-off. It's not my strong suit."

The focus quickly turned to creating a position for Rowland inside the chamber. But how would that work? The chamber already had a $50,000 contract in place with the city to do economic development and marketing, and if the city were willing to up the ante, Sasala was confident a deal could be worked out. But they needed Jarjura's approval. On Tuesday January 22nd Sasala said he, Bill Morris of the WDC board, Rick O'Brien, the outgoing president of the chamber board, and Gary O'Connor, the incoming president of the chamber board, set up a meeting with Mayor Jarjura to discuss the idea. "We had a 4 PM meeting with the Mayor and we went over to pitch the idea," Sasala said. "He was very enthusiastic and unexpectedly called John into the meeting."

Jarjura said it was a unique situation. "The more we thought about the idea it was obvious this could bring excitement and vibrancy to Waterbury," Jarjura said. "The city is struggling and we all believed getting John Rowland involved in economic development provides us with new avenues to explore."

The group discussed the pros and cons and Sasala said as the meeting wrapped up the men had forged an agreement that Rowland would be offered a job at the Waterbury Regional Chamber. Sasala still had to pass the idea by his board and he hoped to roll the idea out slowly, bringing Rowland into the fold in mid-February, or early March. But Sasala didn't have the luxury of time. Mayor Jarjura had already called Steve Gambini, the political beat reporter at the Republican-American, and the mayor was ready to announce the decision that night.

"The Mayor loved the idea and he just ran with it," Sasala said. "It happened very fast."

(Without Mayor Mike Jarjura's approval the deal would never of happened)

As the meeting broke up the men walked out of the mayor's office and ran into Gambini who was there to get the scoop.

"The word spread so fast it was amazing," Sasala said. "I left the meeting and started driving home and within ten minutes a reporter from the Hartford Courant was calling me on my cell phone. We don't do business like this."

Rowland said the story broke prematurely, but rumors were starting to spread and the mayor decided to make the announcement and get out front of the decision.

"When you define the issue you win the debate," Rowland said. "If this idea was floated around for five or six weeks it would turn into a political football. Mike Jarjura was locked and loaded. He never blinked."

And Rowland loved the idea of working at the chamber. "The whole process evolved quickly," Rowland said. "It is a very unique situation. Once we moved away from the political concerns at WDC, the idea of working for the chamber was warmly received. It's a much better fit for me. It's economic development."

Critics of the process have lambasted that no one else was interviewed for the position, but in reality the position was created specifically for Rowland, a man with enormous insight into economic development. Political and business leaders in Waterbury realized there was a huge upside for getting Rowland back on the playing field, and were willing to take a risk. His credentials - other than "the mess" - were astounding.

"If I hadn't gone through my downsizing, would I be taking this job? Probably not," Rowland said. "My wife kids me that I might be slightly overqualified for the job."

Calls were made to the state delegation in Hartford to give them a heads up on the development. The legislature was in session and when some of the legislators heard the news "there were some ruffled feathers", Jarjura said. "Our state senators and representatives have an awesome responsibility fighting for resources to bring back to this community, and we didn't want them reading about this in the newspaper."

Did Mayor Jarjura believe that having Rowland on the economic development scene in Waterbury would make the local legislators job any more difficult?

"I don't think so," Jarjura said. "The spigot in Hartford has already dried up."

Some of Jarjura's close advisors were concerned about the ramifications to the mayor's political future, but he never wavered. "If the decision makes sense then let the political chips fall where they may," Jarjura said. "Governor Rowland is a uniquely qualified individual. He has developed tremendous contacts in the United States and abroad. Why should we allow his vast skills to go untapped?"

Jarjura realized he was involved in making a controversial decision and expected to take some heat. "John Rowland made a mistake, he admitted it, and he went to prison for his mistake," Jarjura said. "I know he regrets what happened and I'm not worried that he will repeat his past mistake."

Jarjura told the Hartford Courant that "he had no qualms" about bringing Rowland onboard to help ignite the economic development efforts in Waterbury. "Are we supposed to forever blame an individual for a mistake? I don't believe that?" he told the paper.

Jarjura's office was barraged with media requests for two days and he squeezed in numerous interviews with state news, radio shows and morning shows. "Some journalists were incredulous," Jarjura said. "Others told me it was a real coup for Waterbury."

THE REACTION
After the news hit the streets WATR radio was flooded with callers itching to weigh in on the development. Former Waterbury mayor Joe Santopietro called in to Ed Flynn's "Talk of the Town" show in favor of the move. Santopietro had been a young and wildly popular three-term mayor in the 1980s before being toppled by corruption charges and a conviction that landed him in federal prison for years. Santopietro's name resurfaced on the local political scene in the spring of 2007 when Mike Jarjura accused his Republican opponent, Tony D'Amelio, of being supported by "crooks and felons."

The comment was directed at Joe Santopietro and threatened to stir ethnic tension in the recent mayoral race before Jarjura publicly apologized for the comment.

On his call to WATR Santopietro accused Jarjura of attacking his past misdeeds and now "flip-flopping" on the issue of corruption by putting Rowland in an economic development position. "I believe in redemption for John Rowland," Santopietro told the WATR audience, "but I believe there should be a level playing field not only for John Rowland, but for the Santopietros as well."

Several callers suggested that the public will probably never know the full extent of Rowland's misdeeds in office, and that the charges he was convicted for were probably the tip of the iceberg. Callers wondered if the former governor would be lured back onto the side of greed and self-interest.

Ed Flynn defended the hiring and said Rowland would be under intense scrutiny. "If Waterbury can use his expertise and contacts to work to Waterbury's benefits," Flynn asked, "then why not do it?"

Patrick Coyne, like Joe Santopietro, has a unique perspective on the situation. Coyne worked in Bridgeport for more than a decade for Mayor Joe Ganim, who is now serving 9 years in federal prison for racketeering and political corruption. Coyne was Ganim's chief of staff for several years before he became the Director of Mayoral Initiatives in Bridgeport.

One of Coyne's tasks was to convert abandoned lots into public parks, and he oversaw the demolition of 300 houses. Coyne was part of an elaborate scheme to inflate the amount of asbestos that needed to be removed from a house before it was demolished, for which he received kickback payments from contractors. Coyne was arrested in a federal sting in Bridgeport and cut a deal with the feds and pled guilty to mail fraud, and served three months in Otisville Federal Prison.
Coyne has taken full responsibility for his actions and is still trying to get his professional life back in order.

"Not everyone who violated the public trust should be allowed back into the arena," Coyne said. "But John Rowland paid a heavy price for his actions. His reputation was tarnished and he went to prison. He has paid his penalty."

Coyne believes that Rowland has a unique skill set that Waterbury was smart to go after. "Rowland is an influential person whose purpose is yet to be exhausted," Coyne said. "He has a great level of experience in economic development and I see no reason why he can't serve the city of Waterbury in some capacity. This is a home run for Waterbury, and a home run for John Rowland."

But clearly not everyone saw it that way, especially on the internet. The Hartford Courant reader comment section was filled with toxic attacks on Rowland and Waterbury. A reader from Bethany wrote "John Rowland is not an honest man. He is a greedy, selfish, arrogant and debased man. That he reformed is a shallow charade. He is sorry he got caught. For this so called Chamber of Commerce...Watch him. Audit him. Have him give a daily written accounting of what he does, if anything. And most of all account for the expenses and credit card charges. Otherwise he will enrich himself again."

Another reader wrote "If anything smells bad you are approaching Waterbury City Hall. Waterbury is the capitol of corruption and there is no shame among thieves."

There were many others that were unprintable.

But some people poked their head out and defended Rowland. Larry the Cable Guy from Middletown wrote.. "Kudos to Mayor Jarjura for not bending to the protest regarding former Governor Rowland. He is the right man for the job as he is quite politically connected and now has the chance to give back to his roots in the Waterbury area. Yup, he made a mistake and was convicted of a crime, but he paid his debt and now can give back. And what he did is what many have done before him, still continue to do, and will always do - he got caught up in the game."

The Hartford Courant wrote a surprising editorial that in effect said Rowland deserved a second chance. They wrote, "We have to swallow hard to accept Waterbury Mayor Michael Jarjura's choice of convicted former Gov. John G. Rowland as the city's economic development coordinator. But Mr. Rowland served his time, the city needs a financial boost and Mr. Rowland has expertise in revitalizing urban centers."

The Waterbury Republican-American editorial was entitled "Mr. Rowland city's best choice." The editorial went on to say that "To those who condemn Mr. Rowland's hiring, we offer a challenge: Name someone who has more to offer the city, who is more charismatic and articulate; who knows where Waterbury has been and has a more sensible vision of what it can become; who has better connections in Greater Waterbury, the state and Washington D.C., who is more respected by the business community, and who loves Waterbury more."

CHAMBER JOB
Rowland began working at the chamber in early February and the situation is still so fluid that he has yet to sign a contract, his job description is still being hashed out, and it's still unclear exactly where the money is coming from to pay his $95,000 salary. But one thing is clear - he is the go to guy for economic development in Waterbury.

The WDC is expected to permanently hire interim director Leo Frank to continue his steady job at the helm of the organization, and his mission will be to continue to manage projects and seek state and federal funding. The city of Waterbury already has a contract in place with the chamber for marketing and economic development, and with Rowland onboard that contract will be increased.

"They are already giving $50,000," Rowland said, "so the question was do they bump it up to $150,000 to pay me?"

The city of Waterbury currently sends $450,000 to WDC and there has been talk of redirecting some of the money to the chamber to fund Rowland's new post.

As of February 10th, Rowland said, "it's all still undetermined. The mayor is thinking about giving the money to WDC and having WDC give the money to the chamber, but it is what it is. We should be transparent and get down to work."

One of his first moves was to personally call all 15 aldermen to introduce himself and begin to know the local players. He also placed a call to one of his most vocal critics, Independent Party leader Larry De Pillo, and invited him down to the chamber for a talk. The two men sat down and discussed Waterbury projects and politics for more than two hours.

"I was very surprised he called me," De Pillo said. "I'm not overly enthusiastic he is back in town doing the same thing that got him in trouble, but I hope for Waterbury's sake he does a good job."

Rowland wanted to listen to De Pillo's ideas about a water bottling plant and other businesses he had contacts with. "I give him credit for making the phone call," De Pillo said. "He made the call Mayor Jarjura never made."

It was classic John Rowland - engaging the opposition - listening, and then trying to forge ahead. It's a skill set that nobody in local Waterbury politics has cared to hone.

Rowland said he received 15 calls from developers in his first week on the job. "They kept telling me they didn't know who to call before," Rowland said. "Now there is a definable face."

(Rowland was out touring facilities immediately. He is pictured above listening to Hank Paine talk about the Howland-Hughes Center in downtown Waterbury. The other two men are Jim Whitney, second from left, from the Northwest Connecticut Visitors Bureau, and Carl Rosa, of Main Street Waterbury)

In the beginning Rowland said he is going to spend half of his time putting the pieces of the economic development puzzle back together again. "It's a mess," he said. But Rowland has no illusions about the task ahead of him. "This is a tough job," he said. "The economy is bad and the prospect of state and federal dollars are slim. We are fighting cancer here in Waterbury."

In the beginning Rowland wants to focus on a multi-pronged attack. Can we grow existing businesses? Can we keep businesses here? "People might weigh success by new buildings and ribbon cuttings," Rowland said. "But the first priority will be to retain the businesses we already have. We have to stop them from leaving."

Waterbury has had the highest unemployment rate in Connecticut six years in a row. "But we have a great work force here," Rowland said. "Our new immigrants are our hidden resource."

When explaining his vision for economic development Rowland took out a piece of paper and drew six lines across the page. He painted the picture of a track race with a starting line and several distinct lanes for the runners to stay in. In one lane he wrote the word "Brownfields", in another he wrote "downtown revitalization", in another "new businesses", and he continued on until he filled in every lane. "We can't have all our energy in one lane," Rowland said, "we have to get things rolling in every category. Some are long term projects and some we can accomplish more quickly, but everybody needs to stay in their lane."

Rowland knows some people view him as the "rainmaker", the guy with the magic touch, but he is quick to point out he no longer controls the state checkbook, and money is tight, to non-existent. "We have to be creative," he said. "But I'm scared to death."

Rowland's mother asked him why he took on such an impossible task. "I told her it was going to be hard, but it is something I care about, it's something where I think I can give something back. But it's not without barbs and pitfalls. Crazy Bob on Channel 8 kept asking me "How does it feel that people in your own hometown have something bad to say?" Well I didn't get all the votes either. I didn't win Waterbury 99 to 1. That's not what it's about. Of course people are going to say bad things."

(Rowland enjoys interacting with people. He is pictured above listening to Hank Paine spin a story.)

Chamber president Steve Sasala said "The focus right now is on John, but the end game is that we are trying to build a strong economic team and John is a key cog." Sasala worked in Bridgeport politics in the 1980s and held several cabinet positions in New Jersey state politics in the 1990s. He's seen the political world up close and says he is not naive. "If every politician went through the scrutiny John Rowland went through they'd all be in trouble," Sasala said. "I'm not defending him, because what he did was wrong. But I don't recall him getting a life sentence, or death. He did his time. Let's move on."

Did Sasala consider the risk to the chamber?

"Yes, there is a risk," Sasala said. "We sat down and did the calculus. What are the pluses and the minuses? In the end everybody liked the math, everybody likes John Rowland, and we said let's take the risk."

And so far the feedback has been very positive, Sasala said. "There have been some naysayers and I let them vent," he said. "Then I ask them if they are a chamber member. If they say no, I tell them to call the mayor's office. We are a private organization."

In the end neither Mike Jarjura nor Steve Sasala really give a damn what anybody thinks about their decision to partner up and get John Rowland working back in Waterbury. "I don't care what someone in Hartford or New London thinks about John Rowland working here," Sasala said. "They're not doing anything for me."

But John Rowland is.

"John brings his Rolodex and his personal contacts all across the country," Sasala said, "and he brings the force of his personality and charisma. John is going to do an outstanding job for the city and the region. I expect him someday to relaunch and get scooped up by a big corporation. He has so much talent. We are very lucky to have him. Time will bear this out to be a great decision."

(In next month's Observer John Rowland will discuss his fall from power, his imprisonment and his search for peace)

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