City Architect Steps Up For Finch, Provides Job Downtown

Foster Antinozzi
Bill Finch will be working at Antinozzi Associates pictured here at a Mary-Jane Foster fundraiser last October.

It’s not the job he coveted most, but when you have two young mouths to feed as an ex-mayor with no one banging down your door, a job is a job is a job. Bill Finch has been hired by the respected Downtown-based Antinozzi Associates to head up the architectural firm’s “sustainable strategies.” When it comes to the environment, conservation and green technology, Finch, who studied agriculture at the University of Connecticut, can talk day and night about the juxtaposition of the sun to the solar panels at Seaside Park his administration installed on the old city dump. It’s his passion.

The job offer from Paul Antinozzi, the firm’s president, came shortly after Finch lost the Democratic primary to Joe Ganim last September. The loss stunned Finch on a deeply personal level, telling anyone willing to listen to him his disbelief voters took back someone with a troubled past over rewarding him a third four-year term. Finch became the first incumbent mayor in Bridgeport history to lose in a primary. Bottom line is Ganim was just a more efficient retail politician than Finch whose highfalutin discussion about the environment did not connect with the common voter, particularly African American voters who thought Finch’s word was no good.

By the time Finch got around to focusing on new employment after his primary loss, the job he wanted–head of the New England Office of Housing and Urban Development, a White House appointment–had gathered a long line of candidates. That job requires lining up support from federal elected officials, in Finch’s case Congressman Jim Himes and U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy. Finch was told to get moving if you want this job but as his job history shows, he can be organizationally challenged. Other opportunities he pursued did not materialize.

So Antinozzi became a handy default position.

When Finch lost the primary he supported petitioning candidate Mary-Jane Foster, his primary opponent in 2011 and 2015, in the general election, a bit of irony since Finch for eight years did not have the good sense to embrace Foster’s employer the University of Bridgeport where Finch had once worked.

After supporting Finch, Antinozzi opened up his office for an October fundraiser for Foster, across the street from her headquarters on Fairfield Avenue, that was largely financed by the business community at the urging of Finch. Ganim won the general election handily placing Antinozzi in the uncomfortable spot of working against Ganim twice. On top of that Finch, rather than gracious in defeat and accepting Ganim’s hand, declared “I make it a point to not associate with known felons.” Hmmm.

What’s a Bridgeport-based architect to do? You say hey I rolled the dice on the wrong candidates, Joe, let’s be friends!

Still, Antinozzi remained true to his word with this job offer to Finch. Will be interesting to see how long the employment relationship lasts.

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17 comments

  1. *** Won’t be long before he shows his nails and tries to overstep his authority by attempting to act like he knows more about nothing than everyone else, then steps on the wrong toes which may lead to pink slip time again like at UB all over again, no? *** WHOOP ***

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      1. Lisa, I agree with your moral decision about your comment but I believe people should be given a second chance but Bill Finch doesn’t believe in that with other people but he feels he should be given a second chance.

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        1. Ron, watching Bill’s reaction to his loss and the deliberate cost to us, the taxpayers, I personally feel he is not a kind person. I’m happy he’s working so he can contribute financially to his family, especially his young boys. Let’s hope he’s matured enough to hold on to this job.

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  2. All my adult life and especially my involvement in politics, there were two lines I never crossed; a person’s livelihood and their kids. I wish Bill luck in his new endeavor.

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  3. I have been a frequent critic of Bill Finch but now he is gone and moving to another job. You can blame Finch for a lot of things but in truth everyone reading this blog is at least partially responsible for what went on in his administration.
    The dumb asses who call themselves Bridgeport residents are at fault for reelecting him.
    In reality the people of Bridgeport should not be able to vote because they suffer from terminal dumb ass.
    .

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  4. A big shout-out to Joe Gresko and congrats on his special election win. He will be good for the town of Stratford and, I believe, a friend of Bridgeport up in Hartford.
    His victory proved one thing; you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to get elected State Rep. (His opponent was described as a former NASA scientist.)

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  5. Best Wishes to Mayor Finch on his new career. We move forward. The city has new leadership and we must be supportive. We should all be moving in one positive direction.

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