The New York Times-20080126-Out of Favor for Benefiting From Favors- Rowland Stirs Varied Sentiments

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Out of Favor for Benefiting From Favors, Rowland Stirs Varied Sentiments

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The job description may be less impressive than governor or congressman, but John G. Rowland is raring to go.

Others, however, are not nearly so eager for him to do so.

The man whose boundless political career came crashing down in 2004 when he resigned as governor of Connecticut and pleaded guilty to enriching himself at taxpayer expense is about to resume his career -- after serving time in prison -- as a well-paid public servant.

The Democratic mayor of Waterbury and a business group are prepared to anoint Mr. Rowland, the former three-time Republican governor and a Waterbury native, as the economic development chief for Greater Waterbury. Although details are still being worked out, the mayor and officials of the business group say the newly created job will pay $90,000 to $120,000 a year, not counting expenses, and they insist they will be getting their money's worth.

As far as we're concerned, he deserves a second chance, and we can think of no one better to drive economic development from the private sector than John Rowland, said Stephen R. Sasala II, the president of the Chamber of Commerce here.

The all-is-forgiven offer should not come as a total shock. People here still call Mr. Rowland the governor, and the local newspaper embraced him long after his own Republican Party called for him to resign or be impeached.

Still, the notion of turning to Mr. Rowland, the man who helped give Connecticut the nickname Corrupticut, appalls some. It's like hiring an arsonist as fire chief, said Steven P. Santovasi, a city employee who is chairman of the Waterbury Coalition of Municipal Unions.

Mr. Santovasi and others are not sure why officials here needed to engage a former felon, still on probation and legally bound to notify the probation office before traveling, to be their pitchman.

Aren't there any better candidates? asked Martin C. Lippe, a former Internal Revenue Service agent who advised the panel that examined Mr. Rowland for impeachable offenses. There's a certain taint that's there.

Mr. Rowland, who now lives in Middlebury, did not return phone calls seeking comment, but he told reporters he was excited by the opportunity.

Known as the Brass City because of its once vibrant manufacturing sector, Waterbury, a working-class city of 107,300, has something of an inferiority complex. Its finances required state oversight until a year ago, and the city is known as much these days for tarnish as brass.

Two former mayors have gone to prison, one for taking bribes and another for molesting young girls. Deals Mr. Rowland's administration entered into with friends from Waterbury, including several that involved economic development, provided fodder for the federal criminal investigation and the impeachment inquiry that eventually forced him from office.

So the idea that Mr. Rowland can now revitalize the city is, depending on who is asked, either inspiration or madness.

In his heyday, voters appreciated Mr. Rowland, who was always well dressed, quick with the quip and ready to cut a deal. Showered with things like free country club memberships, concert tickets and a hot tub, he lived well after moving to the governor's mansion in 1995. But it was that endless feast of favors that was his undoing.

Opponents say they fear that the new job will present similar temptations. You want to believe that people learn from their mistakes, said State Representative Arthur J. O'Neill, a Republican. The problem he got into was people would give him things and then he would do things to benefit them.

For his part, Mr. Santovasi said it was unfair for the city to tailor a well-paying job for Mr. Rowland when others seeking a second chance have trouble getting hired. He gave the example of the son of a co-worker who had applied to be a city plumber and disclosed that he had served time in prison, only to be turned away. If you're a convicted felon, they don't hire you, he said.

But Mayor Michael J. Jarjura, who champions hiring Mr. Rowland, said a conviction would not automatically bar an applicant from employment. Moreover, he said, the former governor would be an employee of the Chamber of Commerce, a nonprofit organization, and not the city.

Financially, the job would be a big lift for Mr. Rowland, who has given motivational speeches since leaving prison in 2006 but has not had regular employment despite the condition in his probation that he obtain and maintain full employment.

Despite a statement Mr. Rowland made to The Associated Press that his salary would not come from public money, the mayor and Mr. Sasala explained the other day that only some of his salary would come from the Chamber of Commerce, which collects dues from 1,000 businesses. Additional funds would come from diverting some of the $450,000 that City Hall gives the Waterbury Development Corporation to promote the city.

It's a public-private partnership, Mayor Jarjura said, apologizing for Mr. Rowland's misunderstanding. He probably did not realize, he said.

Some chamber members, bewildered as to why the mayor would stick his neck out for a disgraced Republican, had apparently not done their homework. When Mr. Jarjura faced a crowded primary in his first run for mayor in 2001, he got a cross-party endorsement from Mr. Rowland, then the governor.

Still, Mr. Jarjura said that the episode had nothing to do with his backing Mr. Rowland now.

If I didn't believe in my core that this will be good for advancing the interests of Waterbury, that's the only reason I'm doing this, he said.

[Illustration]PHOTO: John and Patricia Rowland at court in New Haven in 2004.(PHOTOGRAPH BY DOUGLAS HEALEY FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES)