While Mayor Bill Finch stresses for a ballot spot, former Mayor Joe Ganim is moving along as the Democratic nominee almost in transition mode. Tuesday afternoon he announced an initiative to create a volunteer task force to implement tax relief for “overburdened residents of Bridgeport.”
From Ganim campaign:
This Commission will look into the coming tax reassessment and the city’s fiscal year-end results to determine the extent of the city’s fiscal problems, as well as review any senior and other tax relief programs available at the city and state level.
The Task Force will be comprised of approximately seven to ten leading, bi-partisan residents of the City, including individuals who have financial and business expertise. Task Force Commission members will be announced by the end of this week.
Ganim, who served as mayor from 1991-2003, defeated current Mayor Bill Finch by more than 400 votes in last week’s Democratic primary for mayor, as well as businesswoman Mary-Jane Foster. This marked the first time in the city’s history a Democratic challenger defeated an incumbent mayor, who had received the endorsement from the Democratic Party.
“It is vital we seek to reduce the tax burden on homeowners and prevent the coming revaluation from turning into a debacle on resident taxpayers,” Ganim said. He will propose to have this group meet with representatives working on the City’s revaluation, and hopes the current Mayor will cooperate.
During his tenure as mayor, Ganim held the line on taxes for 10 straight years. In addition he substantially reduced crime in the city by implementing community policing and opening police precincts in many neighborhoods in Bridgeport. He also is credited with bringing economic development into the city, including the Arena at Harbor Yard, and the Bridgeport Bluefish.
Finch has raised property taxes, 6 of the 8 years he was mayor–the two years of no tax increases were both in election years.
“The residents of this great city pay the highest taxes in the country, not the state, not the northeast, but the country,” said Ganim, adding, “they need help and we will do whatever is necessary to provide them with the help they need.”
WICC had the Ganim interview. There was no substance. Ganim certainly does speak eloquently. I wish I had the Torres/Limbaugh conversation.
Did I just hear the news correctly? If Finch is not on the ballot, he would support Foster?
Steve, at this time it seems you are the only person making that statement on OIB.
From the Hartford Courant article re: Finch and Torres
Foster said Finch met with her Tuesday morning to talk about the strange twists of this mayoral campaign. “[Finch] said to me that, if he couldn’t get on the ballot … and if I were to run, he would support me.”
Why wait for the first 100 days when you can start now! One thing about Joe Ganim, he is smart and surrounds himself with smart people. That’s what a good leader does.
Finch only cares about himself. What a loser. He asked Torres, a Republican, to give him his slot. My dad always told me if you are going to go, go with dignity. Finch looks bad and is dragging himself through the mud. Either have people put your name on the ballot at election time or quit. But stop the bullshit. You were never a Republican, stop stooping to new lows. Have some damned pride.
I’m not convinced by the taskforce. Sometimes people in office use taskforces as a cushion to spread the blame or cushion the blame. If taxes go up they can say the taskforce agreed with what I did or they can blame it on the taskforce. not saying this is the case, but something to look out for.
Bingo!
*** YOU CAN STICK A FORK IN MR. GREENJEANS, ‘CAUSE HE APPEARS TO BE DONE IN THIS UPCOMING MAYORAL RACE, NO? ***
BYE BYE BIRDIE.
This is just for show. I for one am able to forgive the man his trespasses. By the same token I cannot forget what he did. Joe Ganim’s greed and avarice eventually cost the people of the city of Bridgeport more than $200,000,000 in legal costs, lost revenues, and other red ink. Can the man be trusted again? I can’t trust him. Trust is something that is earned. Once it has been lost it is hard to win back.
Adam Wood leaked the story of meeting with Enrique Torres. He and Bill Finch reached out, not the other way around. He offered the loser an “anything you want” in exchange for the GOP nomination. Desperation has turned Bill Finch into a sniveling little boy and driven Adam Wood to the edge of a nervous breakdown, forcing them to beg and bribe their way back onto the ballot. (The Finch camp will lose their court challenge. It’s a matter of black letter law. The mayor is now officially a lame duck and should start packing his desk.)
We should be making a united effort to prevent Joe Ganim from regaining office. He has not earned back our trust. If he is elected in November the city will be the butt of jokes for years to come. Federal and state investment will slow to a trickle if it doesn’t dry up altogether. The city’s political reputation has been exploited by others seeking higher office, from Richard Blumenthal and Jim Himes to Dannel Malloy on down. It is well nigh time to break the cycle of corruption. Has anyone else noticed many of the people surrounding and supporting Ganim were swimming in the mud with him back in the 1990s? Ernie Newton, Danny Roach, Lisa Parziale, the whole lot of them enthusiastically supporting the Return of the Crook. Shame on you all. It is only selfish interest that has drawn Ganim and his minions to the surface.
Bridgeport Kid, you are acting as shamelessly as Finch. Get over it, accept it. This is politics, there’re only two outcomes; you win or you lose.
Don’t quit your day job, Lisa.
Don’t know what you do Bpt Kid, but I have my own business. I don’t have to quit anything. What about you?
Those splash parks are for parent with very young kids to play on hot summer days instead of them playing in street in front of open fire hydrants. The safety of the children should be the highest priority of every Bridgeport voter. Choose wisely.
Gamin’s campaign summed up. Ganim was never the brainchild of Steel Point and to clear that land was heavily funded by the state. The state was very much involved. Ganim was the point man. Also he pushed out a developer so he can give the development to his friends at a price. At the end of his time as mayor of Bridgeport Connecticut’s governor was indicted for corruption, Ganim was indicted for corruption. Shit, Waterbury’s mayor was indicted for having sex with children. Some of this shit doesn’t belong in government. And those who knowingly support candidates who participate in some of these acts either for a job or for contracts are just wrong. It’s just wrong.
articles.courant.com/2001-11-20/news/0111200136_1_conroy-s-lawyer-development-site-rival-developer
abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=92774
www .cbsnews.com/news/guilty-plea-for-ex-conn-governor/
Gamin’s more to blame than anyone for the delay in Steel Point’s development. If he didn’t force out Conroy, steel point would have been developed and Bridgeport taxpayer taxes would have been lowered. Bridgeport had to deal with the fallout of Ganim’s actions and the 2008 financial crash. I don’t want to see it underdeveloped in any form. I’m a practical man. Bridgeport tried high-end ship building, it failed. To be honest, Ganim’s campaign is all an illusion. He runs on bringing Bridgeport back from bankruptcy, taxes, developments, crime.
1. He claimed he brought Bridgeport back for bankruptcy and held the line on taxes. That’s not true. Bridgeport filed for bankruptcy to get out of paying its bill and to avoid raising taxes and making cuts in government spending. Luckily for Ganim the state had control of Bridgeport taxes, the Foxwoods casino was generating millions for the state and the economy was in the dot com boom. So he didn’t have to deal with those issues.
www .ctpost.com/opinion/article/In-1991-bankruptcy-was-best-for-Bridgeport-3866176.php
2. Finch on the other hand was not so lucky. He had to deal with the 2008 crash and the fallout. Does anyone remember $6 a gallon gas prices and all the companies going out of business or laying off employees and losing their pensions? Finch had to raise taxes and make government cuts or borrow money to keep the status quo. Kind a like if you lose your job but still go out to eat, buy new things, take your annual vacation all on your credit card. Look at Greece.
www .youtube.com/watch?v=RfE3pu5-v0A
3. Ganim allowed Sacred Heart University to build monstrosities of dorms in the North End against the neighbors’ wishes.
www .nytimes.com/1999/09/12/nyregion/school-and-its-neighbors-spar-over-dorm.html
He developed another parcel of land in the North End of Bridgeport that the neighbors didn’t want. A Stop & Shop that is now closed losing tax revenue because of a bad development project by the same developer that paid him to force out the developer on the working on Steel Point East Side. Who end up suing the Bridgeport because of it Ganim’s actions
www .ctpost.com/news/article/Stop-and-Shop-closing-a-Bridgeport-store-3842961.php
Another development everybody seems to be advocating is high-paying manufacturing in Bridgeport. Here’s the Derecktor Shipyard. This also ended up closing creating loss of tax revenue.
www .ctpost.com/news/article/Hard-times-at-Derecktor-Shipyards-once-2166574.php
4. Take away the recent gang spike, crime is down. Yes, we need to hire more cops. I think it’s the quality of the men and women we hire and the culture that needs to be focus on also. Rushing the vetting process would lead to more incidents like these costing the taxpayer.
www .youtube.com/watch?v=tvIzZAXxpcM
The only reason Finch is in these situation is because Ganim is smart and articulate in conveying his massage regardless of the facts. Finch has a hard time conveying and that is his political weakness but it doesn’t diminish his accomplishments for the City of Bridgeport.
foxct.com/2015/08/27/candidates-for-mayor-engage-in-lively-debate-in-bridgeport/
When it comes to development and investment in Bridgeport you have two, the state and investment players. The entire state player endorsed Finch. They will wait for Ganim to leave office and the investors will wait also because they always have their hand out to the state for Federal funds. They go hand in hand. When the Pharaoh asked Joseph to interpret his dream, Joseph said Egypt will have seven years of prosperity and then have seven years of famine. I hope Bridgeporters are prepared for the famine of the Ganim years. I want to thank you for this writing class. I will be supporting Finch and Finch only and everything that going with it. It either lives with Finch or dies with Finch. That’s where all my chip are. Whatever the value is, it is. I learned how to spell Finch. So however he ends up in the ballot I will be voting for him. And if he doesn’t end up in the ballot as even a write-in candidate I’m still writing Finch on my vote because that’s where my chips are. Period. BAM I’m out again. Except for Ganim’s Facebook page, I’m still going post a King quote as long as they let me. See you in November.
www .youtube.com/watch?v=U3bnvR_56FI
This is what happens when pensions go unfunded:
www .chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-rahm-emanuel-property-tax-increase-met-0922-20150921-story.html
This is why Mayor Finch has had the toughest job in America during the last 8 years.
Ganim didn’t raise taxes because he didn’t have to. He benefited from two Presidents and a friendly Governor. Finch upheld his oath during bad times. Ganim faltered amid prosperity.
Think of the future compared to what’s happening in Chicago now.
He’s all done, Local Eyes. No judge is going to allow Bill Finch’s name on the ballot as the Job Creation candidate. It’s a write-in or nothing. Either way he is a write-off candidate, a Lame Duck in the Biblical sense.
Local Eyes,
And now you are re-writing history. On what basis can you say Finch has had the toughest job in America for the past eight years? In bad times you raise the specter of tough times and adjust your behavior accordingly with lower budgets each year and lots of words of thanks to your taxpayers. Is that what has happened? You also let everyone know about the tough deals worked out in labor contracts. Is that what has happened? Has the Mayor ever addressed the subject to the public at large, or has the CT Post ever asked him to see the “secret deals” worked out with the State on Bridgeport’s Pension A, Pension B and MERF funding levels going forward? Does the public have a right to know? Why have a field day on abatements given out right and left, even a 40-year abatement to a former 100 unit regular taxpayer, because the borrowing of $2.5 Million from CHAFA made it necessary FOR THE INVESTORS, not the local taxpayers? Has Finch brought on himself (with hiding actual areas where money has been spent by sloppy reporting to public and Council) the belief his fiscal reporting is not to be trusted?
Imagine asking questions like these for more than five years, and getting sparse answers. Talk about toughest jobs in America? And we do it for all of Bridgeport without pay. Who is talking about all the money issues? Time will tell.
The question is, have you been asked to serve on this commission JML? Because if you have not, then this is A Complete Sham.
I have not been consulted, questioned, or had discussions with Finch or Ganim on the subject of City finances. I am even more surprised the name David Walker has not been raised in that regard, aren’t you? He’s the most expert City resident in government (including municipal) fiscal activity. Perhaps he asks too many questions or is too credible.
What I have learned since approaching the local DTC and applying for their endorsement is qualifications to serve the City do not matter to my local DTC. Instead the political system in the 130th finds it easier to offer members of your family as “qualified” or other folks who are new to the system without really a clue about local governance at first hand.
All of us can learn, but such endorsed parties are at a disadvantage right out of the gate. No problem to the machine. They are readily suggestible. “Keep you eyes on my watch as it swings … that’s it … your eyes are getting heavier, aren’t they? I am going to ask you a question, and then we’ll talk about how to answer it, and then we’ll have a big meal together. Isn’t that wonderful? How are you feeling? Now when I snap my fingers you will awake feeling rested. OK? … (SNAP) … wasn’t that great?” Time will tell.
JML, I’m not re-writing history. I’m explaining it. To quote you, nowhere in America were budgets adjusted accordingly. Yours is a recipe for disaster. Your method invites deflation, which is every politician’s enemy. Bill Finch has had the toughest job in America. In 1991, Ganim had the easiest job–for reasons I’ve already explained.
Telling the people the facts of the situation they are facing is “a recipe for disaster,” you say. We part company, LE. I have been part of some rough times on committees and boards facing fiscal distress. The first thing to do is to provide full disclosure of where you stand, today and going forward, if nothing further is done. The second thing is to let the reality sink in to all parties. In this case “all parties” means the taxpayers of Bridgeport at least. Give them a moment or two to understand where they are, begin asking questions about how they got there, etc. Let the anger come as it will. And at the right moment, ask for ideas and ways forward. The group may have trouble agreeing but they will at least be sober enough to listen and learn. Those are two activities not offered to the Bridgeport public for years.
You are explaining your sense of history and projecting your limited political view. I am offering an alternative way of leading and managing our way out of current condition with OPEN, ACCOUNTABLE, TRANSPARENT and HONEST activity and process. Have you heard that before? Will those values see the light in this City? Time will tell.
Rewind: If Clinton was America’s internet President, Ganim was Bridgeport’s internet mayor.
Clinton was impeached and it didn’t stick; Ganim was convicted and now he’s back.
Everyone knows Ganim wants his old job back. I wonder if Mr. Grimaldi feel the same way, too.
(rubbing my chin while looking at the sky)
Thanks for your thoughtful answer to my comments, LE. Had you wished to weigh in with the comment political leaders invariably find it difficult to reveal the facts to the people and find it more expedient to inflate their way out of a situation, letting taxpayers pay off old debt with depreciated dollars, why did you not say so? If you support that, why not say it directly? To have such inflation in the economy, won’t interest rates need to rise? What will that do to the Federal and State leaders who provide more than half of our revenue each year? What will it do to our borrowing costs in coming years for TANs and Bonds? Can you get the wink under control for a minute or two? Time will tell.
What is with all these oversight commissions and task forces? Big tent or big number of people to distract us with their reports and findings so we can ignore the man behind the curtain?
Bipartisan experts? So no Dave Walker former Comptroller General of the United States of America, the highest government accounting office one can attain, and no John Marshall Lee, our local expert on Bridgeport budget and accountability. If this is an example of how Joe wants to set up commissions and boards, then he is a sham.
And both of these men on numerous occasions have offered to help pro bono the current or any administration with financial issues.
Any elected Mayor would do well do consult Walker.