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Gonzalez Vs. Betancourt

By Jeffrey B. Cohen

May 22, 2009

Fernando Betancourt is coming to town.

And, once he does, he wants to take state Rep. Minnie Gonzalez's 3rd House District seat.

"This is not motivated by anti-Minnie," Betancourt said. "But not many people know what she's doing."

Betancourt, a Democrat who currently lives in Wethersfield, is the former director of the Latino and Puerto Rican Affairs Commission who was formally ousted last year. He reached an agreement with the commission that let him continue to work through the end of last month. He and his wife are looking for a place to live in the city, he said.

But one of the people who voted to remove Betancourt was Ramon Arroyo -- Gonzalez's husband. Asked whether he was planning a run against Gonzalez to retaliate, Betancourt declined to comment, saying his legal agreement with the commission prevents either of them from saying anything disparaging about the other.

While Betancourt is close with Mayor Eddie A. Perez, another Gonzalez foe, he said he's "not doing this as a favor to the mayor."

It's just that he doesn't hold Gonzalez in high regard, and she -- according to Betancourt -- doesn't think much of him, either.

On that, they agree.

"When people have problems ... they have to blame someone," Gonzalez said. "He blames me and Ramon."

That said, Gonzalez said she welcomes a challenger in next year's Democratic primary.

"Everybody has the right to run," she said.

That is, everyone who lives in the district, Gonzalez said.