Hartford’s city council is flat-out dismissing the will of the voters in refusing to fix the quirky, costly, bumbling, excessive three-registrar problem.
The city council decided Monday against adopting an ordinance that would have authorized the appointment of two registrars — instead of the three the city is now saddled with.
One professional registrar is really all that’s needed. That would save towns and cities like Hartford lots of money and grief. But an archaic state law — a throwback to the patronage politics of yesteryear — stands in the way.
The legislature balked last year at attempts by Secretary of the State Denise Merrill and state Rep. Matt Ritter, D-Hartford, to update that relic of a law and allow the appointment of a single professional registrar in every municipality. So the law continues to require something that no other state does.