First, “Lousy leadership at City Hall,” as Mr. Rowland put it recently (though an aide later said the governor was not referring to the current mayor or his predecessor). Experts say regressive tax policies, grand but ill-conceived downtown revitalization projects and a racially antagonistic relationship with its white suburbs has damaged Hartford to an extent rarely seen in major American cities.

…In the 1980’s and 1990’s, for instance, they negotiated some of the most unfavorable union contracts in the city’s history, including a 25-percent raise over three years for firefighters. They also approved rules that allowed executive employees, including the city manager, to collect full pensions after only 15 years of service, terms that experts said would bankrupt any private enterprise.

Read the rest in the this NYTimes article.

Sounds similar to Philadelphia ehh? That’s why you gotta vote for Rendell. The only mayor that made progress to fight those trends.