NORWICH – The man the Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative hired to fill a newly-created position was a guest on the controversial 2016 Kentucky Derby trip - a three-night lavish "retreat" paid for by the cooperative that led to the resignation of local officials and the creation of a state law.
According to records, Jake Pagragan, who was hired in November as director of customer and community prosperity at CMEEC, attended the 2016 trip on a Friday with his wife Emily Pagragan. His in-laws, Will and Jackie Hendrickson, attended on Saturday.
CMEEC describes Pagragan’s position as a leadership-level role. A $140,000 salary was allocated for the position in the cooperative's most recent budget.
The cooperative publicly advertised for the position, received five applications and interviewed all five applicants before selecting the 32-year-old Essex man, CMEEC CEO Drew Rankin previously stated. Pagragan is a former National Rifle Association sales executive.
According to an email sent Thursday from Beth Gibbons of Hollywood Agency, a public relations firm based out of Hingham, Mass., that represents CMEEC, Pagragan and his wife were already in Kentucky at the time of the event. The pair attended the Derby on Friday to fill a vacancy after two invitees were not able to utilize the pre-purchased tickets, Gibbons said.
She also said the trip had no bearing on the decision to hire Pagragan, and he did not know Rankin at the time of the Derby. Gibbons did not clarify how or why Pagragan was invited.
Rankin had not returned requests for comment by Thursday evening.
In total, CMEEC spent $342,330 on the 2016 event to Lexington, Ky. CMEEC sponsored trips to the derby in 2013, 2014 and 2015, as well. Trips regularly included CMEEC employees, board members, spouses and guests. Pagragan and his family were listed as guests.
The trip included a private charter from Groton Airport, three nights in a swanky downtown Louisville hotel and tables in a private room at Churchill Downs for two days of racing, including the Derby on May 7, as first reported by the Bulletin in October 2016.
Norwich Mayor Peter Nystrom said he was not aware of Pagragan's appointment, but said it exemplified a "lack of judgment" on CMEEC's part. Nystrom said hiring someone who attended the trip is "rehashing the issue."
"The city is trying to move forward and CMEEC should be trying to move forward, too," he said. "I do not believe that this is moving forward. This is just presenting the discussion again."
Nystrom also said the hire should have been communicated to the city "at some point" given Pagragan's involvement in the trip.
Recently, the City Council appointed municipal ratepayer Rashid Haynes to the CMEEC board, intent on streamlining communication between the city and the cooperative. The council has been grappling with an ordinance to outline his responsibilities. One proposal mandates the ratepayer report to the council on a quarterly basis.
Nystrom said the position was created to communicate circumstances such as Pagragan’s hiring.
"But in November, that was before we appointed Rashid. That was before the ratepayer position was created," he said.
In December 2016, State Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, proposed legislation mandating CMEEC retreats be conducted in-state. The legislation also mandates ratepayers from each member municipality are appointed to CMEEC’s board.
"I think we need to continue to ensure CMEEC is working for the people that they are supposed to be representing," Osten said. "That includes not giving favors to anyone."
A total of 44 people attended the trip, including then-Mayor Deb Hinchey, Norwich Public Utilities General Manager John Bilda, NPU Division Manager Steve Sinko, and former NPU Board Chairman Diana Boisclair and Vice Chairman Robert Groner.
Boisclair and Groner resigned in May 2017. Hinchey chose not to run for re-election.