Middle Finger Politics – City Councilwoman Pereira Once Again Censured, Stripped Of Committee Assignments Over A Variety Of Abusive Acts, Urged To Resign

It’s really not a question if it will happen, but when it will happen because it’s become routine.

Facing multiple state charges of election fraud, City Councilwoman Maria Pereira did not stick around Monday night to confront the latest sanctions leveled by her peers on the legislative body unrelated to her recent arrest associated with the 2023 municipal election.

Racial remarks directed at City Attorney Tyesha Toms, pointing a middle finger at acting school chief Royce Avery, verbally abusing city employees including social media attacks are some of the highlights in a City Council resolution passed unanimously.

What’s different in this resolution is a call for the Upper East Side councilwoman to resign. That’s not likely to happen.

The Bridgeport City Charter has a provision to remove a recalcitrant council member, but Connecticut law has no recall provision for wayward elected officials so the best they can do is urge her to resign.

As the resolution was about to be introduced by City Council President Aidee Nieves at the end of the Monday night session, Pereira picked up her things and left the chambers, ducking her accusers.

The approval of this resolution means Pereira is stripped of committee assignments, has no voice or vote, not a particularly happy thing for the noisy councilwoman.

The approved resolution:

WHEREAS, Councilwoman Pereira has been censured by the City Council and removed from her committee assignments multiple times, most recently due to racist comments directed at the Chief of Police and Muslim constituents gathered in the Council chamber, unbecoming behavior such as directing the middle finger towards constituents at a Council meeting, and making personal and derogatory remarks about City staff; and,

WHEREAS, Councilwoman Pereira has continued to use racially discriminatory remarks directed at City employees, most recently referring to the City Attorney as “a DEI hire”; and,

WHEREAS, Councilwoman Pereira engaged in unbecoming and disruptive behavior at a Board of Education information session on April 3, 2025, directing disparaging remarks towards BOE staff and consultants, as well as giving the middle finger to the Acting Superintendent of Schools and staff; and,

WHEREAS, after said meeting, Councilwoman Pereira engaged in a personal attack directed towards a Board of Education employee on Facebook in an attempt to embarrass this employee; and,

WHEREAS, multiple agencies that have applied to Community Development Block Grant funding have alleged that Councilwoman Pereira has engaged in unethical and unbecoming behavior including:

• participation in the CDBG process despite a clear conflict of interest under the City’s Ethics Ordinance and federal regulations,
• “harass[ment], bull[ying], and bias,” and
• spreading misinformation about applicant organizations and/or their applications.

WHEREAS, multiple members of the Citizen’s Union and the City Council have complained about Councilwoman Pereria engaging in undue pressure and influence over the Citizen’s Union process for evaluating CDBG applications before the Citizen’s Union has had an opportunity to deliberate and make recommendations to the City Council; and,

WHEREAS, multiple members of the Citizen’s Union and the City Council have complained that Councilwoman Pereira was engaging in unbecoming and disruptive behavior at the CDBG Council-Citizen’s Union public hearings; and,

WHEREAS, members of the Housing and Community Development Office have reported that Councilwoman Pereira has engaged in verbally abusive and unbecoming behavior towards them; and,

WHEREAS, there is a sense of the body that Councilwoman Pereira’s recent and past behavior has been and continues to be unbecoming of an elected official and that there is no excuse or justification for her outrageously inappropriate behavior; and,

WHEREAS, Councilwoman Pereira has been restored to her committee assignments and full participation in the body multiple times after censorship in the hopes that she would reform her behavior and not repeat her past unethical, unbecoming conduct; and,

WHEREAS, Bridgeport City Charter, Chapter 5, §5 (b) provides:

“The city council may determine its rules of proceeding in conformity to the general principles of parliamentary law, may punish members for disorderly behavior, and, after notice and hearing, may, by a two-thirds vote of all council members, expel a member for due cause. A quorum shall consist of eleven council members. At the request of any council member, the vote upon any question shall be taken by roll call vote;” and,

WHEREAS, City Council Member Maria Pereira is hereby provided with an opportunity to provide a full and complete apology for her unbecoming behavior prior to a vote of the body.

 NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT: The City Council of the City of Bridgeport for the reasons stated herein, officially hereby condemns and as a body disavows City Council Member Pereira’s recent improper behavior as not being representative of the values, decency and commitment to civil discourse that we hold dear.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT: City Council Member Pereira is hereby held in contempt and is suspended from all of her committee assignments until a complete and sincere apology is made.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT: Council Member Pereira is hereby called upon to resign from her office immediately for the best interests of the City’s Legislative body as a whole and the public it serves.