Sen. Somers proposes millions in aid for aquarium, now run by the chair of her PAC

I worried when word seeped out ― there was never an announcement ― that the Mystic Aquarium was hiring as its new president a woman with close political ties to the reelection campaign and Republican-endorsing political action committee of Sen. Heather Somers.Of course, just as worrisome is the fact that Susette Tibus, the new head of the aquarium, spent her professional career running a Mystic jewelry store and has no experience managing a major institution like the aquarium.My concerns about the new aquarium president's overt political activity surfaced anew this week when I learned from gossip ― there was again no announcement ― that Sen. Somers has introduced a bill seeking up to $8 million in state bond money for a new aquarium exhibit celebrating river otters.Tibus is listed in state election records as chairperson of Somers' political action committee and assistant treasurer of her last reelection campaign.Somers' staff, after I began asking questions, said her ask for the aquarium money has been reduced to $4 million, although the only document on public file is the initial bill proposing $8 million. They said this week the other $4 million for the project would come from donations.Most troubling about the ask is that Sen. Somers, who introduced the bill back in January, only reached out this week to Aundre Bumgardner, the Democratic state representative who represents the aquarium's district, to ask if he would join her and Republican Rep. Greg Howard of Stonington in sponsoring the otter exhibit request.Bumgardner said he got a brief text from Somers on Tuesday afternoon, hours after I first asked her and her office about the aquarium bonding proposal. Bumgardner said it was the first time the senator from Groton has ever talked to him about anything. It was a four-line text.Wow. Imagine that. A previous representative from Stonington, also a Democrat, once told me the same thing.Bumgardner also told me no one from the aquarium has reached out to him either, to discuss the bonding request and the exhibit being proposed, even though he sits on the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee.I guess we can forgive Tibus. The owner of a jewelry store might not know that if you are heading a huge, state-supported institution it would be a good idea to reach out to your elected representative before asking the state to give you millions of dollars.And here's another example of secrecy within the aquarium.I learned recently that the aquarium is in the practice of asking and paying ranking employees for pledges of silence, non-disclosure agreements. Two people who told me they signed them said they were terrified of talking about management practices at the aquarium and being sued.Meagan Seacor, an aquarium spokesperson, told me, when I asked about the NDAs, that they are meant to "protect sensitive information like permitting, research, customer and donor data, and more."I suppose there is a secret Beluga diet they don't want to get out.I didn't hear back after I asked how many of them are signed and the range of prices they pay for them.The aquarium is a private nonprofit, but I believe, as a taxpayer of Connecticut who supported a multi-million-dollar rescue of the place just a few years ago, keeping it afloat, that the public deserves some transparency, not a world kept secret by NDAs, the appointment of a new president without any public announcement and an undisclosed request for millions in new state financing.The previous president, Stephen Coan, longtime head of the institution, left suddenly last year, triggering a worldwide search by a recruiting agency. That wide search ended unexpectedly with the local hiring of Tibus.According to tax records, Coan made $458,477 in 2020. There were a lot of other six-figure salaries that year at the aquarium, one with a two in front.The public deserves more transparency, before pouring millions more into the place.I reached out by email to Paul Robertson, chief operating officer of the state Department of Economic and Community Development, who got a seat on the aquarium board by virtue of the millions the state invested in the place as part of the rescue package, and asked him if he supports the aquarium's buying secrecy from employees with NDAs.I did not hear back from him or the DECD spokesman copied on the email.I guess no one dares break the aquarium's cone of silence, no matter how much state taxpayers continue to be asked to contribute.This is the opinion of David Collins.d.collins@theday.com