NORWALK, Conn. – The unfortunate situation at the South Norwalk Community Center has sent waves of resentment rippling through the community and has pitted various factions against each other.
Perhaps the saddest part of the story is the destruction of personal and professional relationships both within and outside of SoNoCC, and the potential fallout that reaches beyond the Center.
In the spirit of complete transparency:
- Pat Ferrandino, who was the volunteer deputy executive director, then interim executive director for a short time before his removal by the SoNoCC Board of Directors, was among a group of people meeting in advance of forming a board of directors for NancyOnNorwalk. There had been talk of Ferrandino being the chairman of that board. The board does not yet exist. No votes have been taken, as NoN continues to operate under Englewood Edge LLC while following a rather torturous path toward becoming a 501(c)(3). When it became obvious things were coming apart at SoNoCC, he informed us off the record and withdrew from our operation.
- Ed Camacho was among the first group of people invited to participate in forming our non-profit and serving on our board. He accepted, but after finding himself assuming the leadership of the Democratic Town Committee, he withdrew – prior to any meetings – to avoid a conflict of interest. His wife, Dede Farnsworth, agreed to join us, and continues at this time to be part of the small group that includes Jeanne Hard and Lisa Thomson. We will be adding others shortly, and will make the names public as soon as we have an official board.
Ferrandino and his wife, Marina, worked hard at SoNoCC and put in long hours for no pay for the past year under difficult circumstances. The situation was clouded by having to share the space at 98 S. Main St. with the troubled, crumbling NEON. A very public feud was carried on between SoNoCC Executive Director Warren Peña and NEON Interim CEO and President Pat Wilson Pheanious.
There also was a personality clash, from what we are told by various people, between Forero-Ferrandino and Peña. There also were reports of a growing racial divide, with the black community identifying with NEON and SoNoCC being seen increasingly as a Latino organization. That rift was increased when SoNoCC reorganized its business after discovering its legal filings required under laws governing non-profits had not been done for several years. When the reorganization was complete, the board was reduced in size and members Travis Simms and Faye Bowman, both black and both District B Common Council members, were gone.
As the rift between Peña and Forero-Ferrandino grew, Pat Ferrandino engaged in talks with the board about taking over his wife’s position, while she would become a program provider through an outside 501(c)(3) company she formed for that purpose, Impact Others. The programming would be free to the Center, paid for by grants and donations from outside. The decision was made to move forward, but things broke down ass documented in previous stories, and both Ferrandinos were told their services would no longer be required.
Since then, charges and countercharges have flown publically between the former allies. Serious allegations have been made, many of which have been refuted. Lawyers have traded public barbs online. The Ferrandinos have seemingly pursued a “scorched-earth” agenda aimed at taking down Peña and the Center.
Suffice to say, no one has covered themselves in glory through it all.
The one person who has tried to remain above the public fray is Peña, the focus of the Ferrandinos’ attacks. When protesters demanded Peña’s ouster after the board terminated its relationship with Forero-Ferrandino, Peña did not publically respond. He also declined an invitation from NoN to tell his side of the story then or later that night when Pat Ferrandino was terminated. SoNoCC’s story was relayed by Camacho, who, in the spirit of full transparency, released a packet of documents containing the Ferrandinos’ claims against Peña and the Center, Peña’s response and letter to the board making the case for terminating the couple, and other backup material. It was only after the Ferraninos’ charges were made public, with Camacho’s responses, that Peña requested his own document from the packet be posted as well.
Peña is a one-term at-large Common Council member who fell short in his re-election bid as he spent time and energy working to help Vinny Mangiacopra win the Democratic nomination for mayor. That effort fell short as well. Peña is currently challenging fellow Democrat and four-term incumbent Bruce Morris for the Democratic slot on the November ballot for state representative in the 140th District. Morris won the party backing in May.
Peña, who grew up in South Norwalk, is heavily involved in organizing the Latino community and has been the driving force behind LULAC Council 703 (League of United Latin American Citizens) and LUC (Latinos Unidos de Connecticut).
Despite a brash, sometimes aggressive manner – or perhaps because of it – Peña has become the most visible Latino community leader in a city in which the Latinos represent the fastest-growing demographic. Another leading member of the city’s Latino community, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said that, although he can be a polarizing figure, Peña is the leader the community needs to move forward.
And that is why this entire situation is so sad. It has stained the reputations of good people, whose intent was to do good for a substantial segment of Norwalk’s population – those who need voice in our democracy and those who simply need help getting by from day to day.
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