Wednesday at 4 p.m. is the deadline for petitioning candidates to submit signatures to the Registrar’s Office to qualify for the September 16 Democratic primary. Joe Ganim has qualified to challenge party-endorsed incumbent Bill Finch for mayor. Mary-Jane Foster, Howard Gardner and Charlie Coviello are awaiting word if they have secured the roughly 1900 certified signatures to play in the mayoral primary.
A number of challengers for City Council have qualified to face endorsed candidates. They needed certified signatures from five percent of registered voters in their respective districts.
In the West Side 132nd District Lisa Parziale and Bob Halstead will face party endorsed Evette Brantley and John Olson; in the East Side 137th District Maria Valle and Juan Hernandez will challenge party endorsed Milta Feliciano and Aidee Nieves; in the 138th District Anthony Paoletto and Nessah Smith will challenge endorsed candidates Melanie Jackson and James Morton. Leticia Colon and Ty Bird are also candidates trying to qualify for a primary in the Upper East Side District.
In the 135th District incumbents Mary McBride Lee and Richard Salter, supporters of Joe Ganim, rejected the top line to be on Ganim’s line. They have successfully petitioned.
Other council challengers are also trying to qualify such as John Marshall Lee and Tyisha Toms in the 130th District against party endorsed Katie Bukovsky and Scott Burns.
Endorsed candidates for City Council by district running on Finch’s line:
130, Katie Bukovsky, Scott Burns; 131, Jack Banta, Denese Taylor-Moye; 132, Evette Brantley, John Olson; 133, Tom McCarthy, Jeanette Herron; 134, Michelle Lyons, AmyMarie Vizzo-Paniccia; 135, no endorsement; 136, Joe Casco, Alfredo Castillo; 137, Milta Feliciano, Aidee Nieves; 138, James Morton, Melanie Jackson; 139, James Holloway, Eneida Martinez-Walker.
Very interesting year in Bridgeport politics.
Very interesting lineup for the council in the 138th. We have the Finch-line candidates. Then we have the son of Richard Paoletto running on the Ganim ticket then lo and behold we have Ty Bird and Leticia Colon also running. This is a group that will make you blink. Paoletto will be his father’s mouthpiece, in effect making him a Finch vote if Finch wins. Bright kid but father dominates.
Leticia Colon recently moved here from the South End formerly on the council and BOE and did exactly as she was told by Finch and Mitch Robles her district leader in the South End. She knows NOTHING about this neighborhood. The last time Ty Bird ran it was at the behest of Finch and he was the spoiler in the election I lost.
Lennie, how about the candidates for the positions of City Clerk and Town Clerk?
Town Clerk Alma Maya and City Clerk Fleeta Hudson have qualified for ballot via the Ganim slate approval. Don Clemons is the endorsed candidate for town clerk and Lydia Martinez endorsed for city clerk.
I have a question. Can Alma Maya and Fleeta Hudson still win and Finch wins? I read a story where they are on Ganim’s ticket. I’m not familiar with how elections wor. Is it winner take all or do you vote for each individual?
www .ctpost.com/news/article/Longtime-Bridgeport-officials-join-Ganim-s-team-6382512.php
You vote for them individually. So the scenario you raise is possible.
Great. Thanks.
Why is Paoletto’s kid running for the council on the Ganim ticket? Did Richie forget what FINCH DID FOR HIM? Richie ended up with a job paying quite well, his wife has a city job and his two kids work at the ferry boat. Rich, when the shit hits the fan, it’s your fault.
After the rally for Reverend Lee ended, about 20 people were still socializing. Chris Anastasi, Mark Anastasi’s son, was driving INTO the City Hall underground parking lot. At just about the same moment, Melanie Jackson was walking into City Hall at 6:45 PM.
Clearly, Melanie Jackson was meeting with Finch’s crew about the challenges she will face at Thomas Hooker.
Considering the fierce feelings about the mayoral candidates, it is unclear to me why people are not more engaged in the city council race. Having a council composed of a majority of members with no allegiance to a mayor and his agenda would seem to me to be a welcome and important move towards fiscal and ethical responsibility.
JB, because most people are too stupid to figure it out.