From Dasha Spell, 2021 Working Families Party candidate for 132nd City Council District:
Former Working Families Party candidate for Bridgeport City Council, Dasha T. Spell, is calling on city leaders and Democratic Party officials to halt their plans to suppress democracy by appointing the next city councilor for the 132nd district. She broke her silence today, releasing the following statement:
“Residents of the 132nd district should be given the opportunity to vote through special election for the person who will represent us for the next two years on city council. I remain deeply concerned with the way the Ganim administration and city council members continue to uphold anti-democratic policies, which were clearly enacted to suppress local voters. As our nation and state make strides to end systemic voter suppression and government corruption, we must not allow Bridgeport city leaders to go on with business as usual.
“According to Bridgeport’s City Charter, ‘any vacancy in an elective city office shall be filled, for the unexpired portion of the term, by the city council. The person filling such office shall be a registered voter and a member of the same political party as the person vacating such office.’
“Upon reviewing this, I raise two issues:
“First, the city attorney has interpreted this as a green light for the council to appoint someone from the Democratic Party to the seat that was left vacant after the unfortunate and untimely passing of former Councilwoman Evette Brantley in November. However, the city attorney left out one crucial factor when submitting his opinion. When a new city council was sworn in on December 1st, there was no longer a political party tied to the vacant seat. Thus, the premature assumption that a Democrat must fill the seat is inaccurate.
“Second, the outdated statute must be changed in order to give voters back their elective power. In a just and transparent democracy, voters should decide who represents them. If our city council has the power to write authoritarian statutes such as this into the City Charter, they can certainly write them out. If they have the time to deliberate and vote on an appointee, they certainly have the time to deliberate and vote to allow for a special election when a vacancy occurs. If Bridgeport’s city leaders are serious about ending decades of corruption in our city, they will take the time to uphold democracy and vote to allow a special election in the 132nd.”
Ms. Spell says: “ I remain deeply concerned with the way the Ganim administration and city council members continue to uphold anti-democratic policies, which were clearly enacted to suppress local voters.”
She’s correct but unfortunately not enough Bridgeport elected “officials” share that concern. Pass the meatballs please.
Cheers!!
Wait for it! Any moment now , (Gen Later) the Kool-Aid drinking Cult, that keeps popping up to tell us how corrupt this City Government is, has nothing to say to the 132nd . ……..Crickets
I find it hilarious, how the semantics of the word Democracy is used on any given Sunday/side. It’s ok for the council to exercise democracy to vote for a special election or change the charter, Yet it’s suppression of democracy if they vote to fill elected Evette Brantley seat according to the legal charter the democracy has given the people as governance for the people. 🙂
Good luck democracy, Believe me, is a long road and a whole lot of effort. SMH 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5AeO-dKGBLs
P.S “Democracy” when did we get ice cream?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CP4hJG_xPTs
Ms. Spell you say, “If Bridgeport’s city leaders are serious about ending decades of corruption in our city, they will take the time to uphold democracy and vote to allow a special election in the 132nd.” My question to you is why would you think, feel or believe that the City Leadership would want to end corruption in the City when it benefits most of them or at the very least have benefited most from decades of corruption? Your concerns should have been addressed with Mayor Ganim and Mario because they hold all power to do the Right Thing! The rest of them merely do what they are told to do!
Rich, you got it right but here’s the problem with what you wrote. Rich, here is what Lennie wrote:
“Examining Top Stories Of 2019”: Ganim Survives ‘Moore Movement’
December 27, 2019 LennieGrimaldi
Moore still lacked that one contrast dagger to thrust into Ganim’s campaign spine. Caruso was more than willing to do it, including a loud campaign to quash Ganim’s absentee ballot advantages as well as a defined message to fire the incumbent.
Didn’t happen. Despite his ideas and messaging help, Carsuo was largely ignored by Moore, Davis and Baraka. In addition, Moore had failed to reach out to political operatives who could bolster support. “They should come to me,” she carped repeatedly. In winning campaigns, the candidate makes the ask.
The night of September 10 was surreal. Before the polls closed, a spokesperson for Connecticut Secretary of the State Denise Merrill announced Moore’s campaign had failed to secure the 200 or so petition signatures to place her on the Working Families Party line in November. The backup plan was toast. Who dropped the ball? WFP? The candidate? Someone else? There was plenty of blame to go around, but going forward doubt was created about Moore’s organizational skills. If she botched something as simple as 200 signatures, how could she run a city?
As primary returns filed in the expected pattern had emerged with a couple of outliers. Moore performed well in her legislative district, Ganim kept it close on the machines via his base support, but the Hispanic turnout was miserable. Ganim won those precincts but not nearly the number he needed to win the machine count. Citywide Moore won by more than 300 votes.
Ganim was rescued by absentee ballots, winning that number by three to one. Ganim took the primary by 270 votes.
Rich, during that primary it was Maria Pereira who was actively campainging aspoke to hergainst against Marilyn Moore. Marilyn Moore was not the perfect candidate for mayor, as a friend I spoke to Marilyn about a big concerning one person who could help her that Ed and Chris agree with by Marilyn told me that to wait until she won the primary, yes I was mad but Marilyn was not the perfect but I wasn’t going to let the perfect get in the way of the good. Rich that the best chance that Bridgeport had to make big change but it was Maria Pereira who wanted and supported Joe Ganim, you don’t have to believe me just do a little research in OIB archive.