When you’re outgunned nearly 10 to 1 by the city’s Democratic registration, it’s hard to bore through the party layers. But this is an election year for the all-Democratic City Council as well as five seats on the Board of Education where city Republicans could regain footing through minority-party representation controlled by members of Connecticut’s Working Families Party. On April 15, before the start of the next full City Council meeting, the Bridgeport Republican Town Committee will rally against Mayor Bill Finch’s proposed tax increase on the front steps of City Hall, 45 Lyon Terrace, at 6 p.m.
“Bridgeport taxpayers have been abused by an administration that does not seem to have a shred of regard for them,” according to a statement released by GOP Chair John Slater. “Coming on the heels of a tax increase only one year ago, a proclamation in the national media that Bridgeport is the worst city in the country to retire in, a report from H&R Block stating that Bridgeporters are the highest taxed people in the country, and a failed display of basic city services during the Blizzard of 2013 another tax increases is simply unacceptable.”
Bridgeport Republicans say that the City Council must vote down a tax increase that would “further pound an already overburdened tax base. People of all political parties and persuasions are encouraged to join Republicans in standing against this unjustified proposal by Mayor Bill Finch. Bridgeport simply cannot sustain the course that it is currently on.
“There are other ways that the mayor could make up for funds that he will not be able to draw from the State cookie jar,” the statement continues. “Only half of the city of Bridgeport’s property is currently taxable, leaving only half the city paying for the entire burden. This is clearly a long-term issue that must be addressed. The Bridgeport Housing Authority is the biggest landowner in the city. This administration has the ability to look to surrounding towns for support in either sharing the costs associated with or taking in some of the citizens currently in need of public housing. The clearest solution of all would simply be to cut some spending. If asked Republicans believe that Bridgeport taxpayers would rather keep more of their money than build another small underutilized park or research “green jobs” that may never come into existence.”
In 2009 Maria Pereira and Sauda Baraka shocked city Republicans by winning school board seats running on the Working Families Party line. They are up for reelection this year along with the seats occupied by Democrats Bobby Simmons, Tom Mulligan and Leticia Colon. Under state-mandated minority-party representation, the Republicans could regain those seats by finishing ahead of the WFP candidates in November.
Mayor Bill Finch, for one, would love to see the defeat of Pereira and Baraka who oppose many of the initiatives advanced by school chief Paul Vallas including his hiring which they claim was illegal. Retired Superior Court Judge Carmen Lopez has filed a legal complaint challenging the three-year contract approved last month by a 5-4 vote of the school board, arguing that Vallas does not have the legal qualifications to serve. Simmons and John Bagley, another WFP school board member, also voted against Vallas’ contract.
Finch’s options in trying to defeat Pereira and Baraka include embracing the Republican candidates for school board or recruiting petitioning candidates for the November ballot. GOP political leaders say they will not play footsies with the mayor on selecting their school board candidates. Democrats have made overtures to the Republicans about financing the campaigns of GOP candidates they can work with on the school board. So far the overture has been rejected.
In lieu of GOP candidates they can support, Democratic operatives may recruit petitioning candidates for November to try to win the two minority-party slots available.
Reform-minded Democrats, Republicans and political Independents are uniting to change things in Bridgeport. Stay tuned, positive change is on the way.
Right on, Dave Walker, right on!
Walker is just dying to privatize city services. I would like to know who is funding these “foundations” he likes to work for and I would love to know how much he gets paid for all this “public spiritedness.”
BREAKING NEWS: BlackRockGuy will make a special appearance. He’ll be the man wearing diapers and crying over his spilled bottle of milk.
Why don’t you cut off another one of your finger?
Your request is one day too late. Malloy already signed the gun bill. Besides, the murder rate in Bridgeport will have to be well over 50 per year for the guillotine to come out. Since the homicide rate has stayed low, I’ve decided to cut other things, like the nonsense you spew. Talking about your spewed nonsense, the readers of the CT Post are celebrating your absence. You should go there and ruin their weekend.
Don’t pay attention to the meanies, David Walker. You’re doing good.
A friendly reminder that at tonight’s meeting of the Bow Tie Bozos, all snow shovels must be checked at the door.
yahooy,
Did not realize you were a Republican. Are you the Sergeant At Arms with a rule book about Snow Shovels?
Since you are a founder of the BOZOS, if I show up with a Pooper Scooper instead, for lifting up the crap the Administration fails to attend to, and then paying taxes outsized to the work, will you have a rule that will deny me entry?
Do you converse with God, or Council person Sue Brannelly who is the only Bridgeporter who has mentioned a SNOW SHOVEL prohibition previously? Is it a case of PTSD in your case? That is Post Traumatic SNOWSTORM Disorder for those who may not understand. The symbol of a snow shovel causes the emotions of post blizzard 2013 to haunt you. Sometimes it even causes one to blame the bad feelings on YAHOOS. Can you imagine that? When you consult your rulebook (or make up another regulation) let me know. Remember the snow shovel and the SNOW JOB! Time will tell.
I converse with God every day. Never had the pleasure of meeting Ms. Brannelly. Pooper scoopers are allowed so long as the magazine holds no more than 10 turds. Your presence at Bow Tie Bozo meetings is always welcome. A lot like Hare Krishna being welcome at the Dhabat. I will assume, of course, you will successfully pass the universal background check.
BTW Dopey, you articulated your point in a clear and concise manner. Why can’t you do that all the time? Bow Tie sales would soar just so people could be like you. I can envision a Bow Tie rack in every bodega in town.
*** City Council election year with a throw them under the bus Mayor’s proposed tax hike budget! The B&A committee will not be able to handle this budget, let alone make any major changes so why not just vote “no contest” on the proposed budget and send it right back to the Mayor as is? Voting “no” on this budget and mil rate hike as a city council member is using one’s political trump card, no? ***
This is how blacks and Hispanics view the Republican Party on the national level, the suppression of black and brown voters, the anti-immigration stance, the attacks on labor unions and government workers–many of whom are minorities–and the insensitivity to how political policies undermine certain ethnic cultural values will have to be condemned by GOP leaders. Well what has the local Republican Party done to change that mindset here in Bridgeport?
Yeah Ron,
Like Finch always asking for givebacks and trying to privatize. Oh, he is a Democrat. OK, 20 some odd kids get shot in richie rich Newtown and Malloy spends $17 million. Nothing for the kids shot in BPT. Oh, he is a Democrat as well. I know, Blumenthal chasing all those union defense contracting jobs and gun manufacturing out of the state. Damn, another Democrat. You must mean the cultural value undermining done to devoutly religious Hispanics by Obama’s attack on the Catholic Church. Rats, he is a Democrat.
Okay, I don’t know what you are talking about. By anti-immigration do you mean illegal immigration?
Do you just see what you look for?
Ron, sadly you are absolutely correct. The undercurrent in the Republican Party seems to be the far right, evangelist, pro-Second Amendment, fiscally conservative approach to politics. Their problem is intractability.
Regretfully, the Democratic Party’s undercurrent is towards reckless spending of what is not in the coffers, be overly politically correct solely to get re-elected, to kowtow to the Teacher’s Union despite the obvious failures in educating minority children, to keep overpaid superintendents who keep failing those children (the exception was Michelle Rhee in Washington DC who took no prisoners, but lost her jobs to the know-nothings), and the list continues on the national level.
What we need is TERM LIMITS and personal fiscal accountability at all levels of government. And that ain’t gonna happen. Politics wasn’t meant to be a lifelong career. It was meant to be civic duty (now there’s an oxymoron).
Ron, yours and the mistake of many is not the facts, it’s the spin on what the Republican reasoning is.
Republicans do not wish to suppress the votes of “Black and Brown voters,” we only seek to maintain the integrity of Elections by ensuring people do not commit fraud. Democrats argue there is not so much fraud being committed to worry about such things. My question to them would be; How much fraud is an acceptable amount? If requesting people show state ID and be registered to vote is a racist statement then by that logic banks, airlines and car rental companies are also racist organizations.
In the past two years I have personally registered over 4000 new citizens from all over the world at their swearing-in ceremonies. The United States of America legally naturalizes more citizens every year than all other countries in the world combined, and we should be very proud of that. I can tell you from experience these are the people who are the most hurt by illegal immigration. Some of them, including my Cuban grandparents, spent years on waiting lists, studying and dealing with procedures those who have come here illegally have not had to, and it is this illegal immigration that in many cases has delayed and spat in the face of their naturalization process. I say Republicans are not against illegal immigration on the contrary we simply support legal immigration and proper procedure that is in place to protect its current and future citizens whatever their color.
There was a time in this great country’s history when labor unions became not only positive but necessary to protect workers from the abuse of their respective employers, however as is the case with most powerful organizations they have become abusive themselves over the years, some choking small, medium and large businesses alike into leaving this country altogether or cutting down the amount of employees they can hire. You could go as far as saying Unions and Government are jointly responsible for the unacceptable unemployment rates in this country. In the cases where unions have become abusive there have also been quality issues. When was the last time you have heard of a union worker being fired because they have simply not done a good job or had a below-par attendance record? This comes at a cost to hard-working Americans all over the country who will not “get the job” simply because they were not hired before someone else.
As to the question of what the local Republicans have done to change the mindset of Bridgeporters; Have we already forgotten we have run a 100% Hispanic American for Mayor in two of the last three Mayoral races? When was the last time the Democrats have run a “Black or Brown” candidate for the top spot in the city?
The question, in my humble opinion, is not how Bridgeport Republicans can separate themselves from the National party’s ideals, which align with the ideals of “Black and Brown” families in most cases, but how to shed the false perception Democrats have painted on us. After all, the Republican Party was created first and foremost for the purpose of freeing the slaves. Later they became the party of Fredrick Douglas, Martin Luther King, and Luis Fortuño, the current governor of Puerto Rico. If Republicans are guilty of anything it is losing the marketing war to the Democrats who have done a great job of selling themselves on purely emotional stances.
Sincerely,
Cisco Borres
A “Brown Voter” and RTC Vice Chairman
Who do you deal with, the devil you know or the devil who has made it known you are the problem (the 47%) and doesn’t even care about you?
I prefer the ones who tell me how it is then do it. Not the ones who blow smoke up my backside then screw me.
BOE SPY, I agree with everything you said about Mayor Finch and much more, plus his ATTEMPT to DENY all Bridgeport voters their right to vote for members of the BOE.
My issue with the local Republican Party, people of color in Bridgeport to see with their own eyes the suppression of black and brown voters nationwide, in fact the Republican Party is becoming a white male southern party.
The party would be expected to cater to its members. If that is who joins their issues get catered to. If their were an influx of non-white, non-southern voters the party would change. How will the NAACP’s agenda change when their leadership more accurately represents the growing number of Hispanics in the county? How many of the leaders will have an ‘X’ as a middle name?
Explain exactly how they suppressed black and brown voters nationwide.
BOE SPY, I see you don’t follow national news. Well here is one news article from one state: FORMER FLORIDA REPUBLICAN PARTY CHAIR SAYS REPUBLICANS ACTIVELY SUPPRESSED THE BLACK VOTE | In a 630-page deposition, released to the press yesterday, former Republican Party Chairman Jim Greer described a systemic effort by Republicans to suppress the black vote. Referring to a 2009 meeting with party officials, Greer said “I was upset because the political consultants and staff were talking about voter suppression and keeping blacks from voting.” He also said party officials discussed how “minority outreach programs were not fit for the Republican Party.” Florida is currently embroiled in a controversy surrounding Gov. Rick Scott’s (R) voter purge program, which disproportionately affects voters of color. Fifty-eight percent of Scott’s original list of voters who were supposedly ineligible to vote were Hispanic while Hispanics make up only 13 percent of Florida’s eligible voters. Greer and the GOP cut ties in 2010, and he is currently facing felony corruption charges.
Let us say the voters excluded were legal voters. You are assuming that, based on creed and race, they would vote in some way. That is a little racist. What if Rick Torres were one of the people excluded from voting? In that statement I am assuming just because Rick leans Republican, he is going to vote Republican even though that is not required.
Let us assume the voters excluded were fraudulent voters. By removing these illegal voters they would be increasing the value of all votes. Let’s have an election for president of Harborview Market. At the time of the vote there are 10 people in the market. Each vote would be worth 10%. I show up with 9 random people and 5 Absentee ballots. Now there are 25 votes, each vote is worth 4% and I have 15 of them. This gives me 60% of the vote making your vote worth zero, even if you plan on voting for me. At some time in the future you may complain about one of my policies but I do not care because your vote is worth zero. I would have no need to pander to you. Vote against me next time. I don’t care. Does this sound like any city you are familiar with?
OK. That was Florida in 2013, home of the hanging chad. I am sure we could find historic claims of vote cheating in BPT or any Democratic area. The laws they are talking about were meant to fight voter fraud (the same person voting twice). The people making the claims were ousted by the Republican party. They may have an agenda or they could be whistle blowers. I did not find news of anyone going to jail, so were any laws broken? The story was picked up 100’s of times by liberal news media outlets. That does not mean it happened 100’s of times. You just heard the same story 100’s of times. It is unclear if the law was designed to affect Hispanics or if Hispanic voters were targeted for voter fraud.
You can read here on how NY Democrats cheated to elect Obama:
www .aim.org/special-report/the-lefts-national-vote-fraud-strategy-exposed/
The voters in question may have needed to be purged. Per the article: ‘In keeping with their amoral, means-justifies-ends philosophy, they will register any voters, dead or alive, legal or illegal, who will then vote as many times as possible, in order to establish a “permanent progressive majority.” As two New York Democrats recently caught in a vote fraud scandal told police, “voter fraud is an accepted way of winning elections.”
Hanging chads were 2000, not 2013. And Gore vs Bush wasn’t the lesser of two evils. It was the Evil of two lessers.
And it was William Hale Thompson, Mayor of Chicago from 1915-1923 and 1931-1935 who coined the phrase, “vote early and vote often.”
Yeah, I know. That was a typo. Gore did invent the internet and global warming, but I think he went crazy recently. Hopefully, he will not be able to buy an assault rifle.
BOE SPY, I guess we will see blacks and Hispanics join the Republican Party here in Bridgeport in large numbers to support and vote in Republicans to become mayor and to be in charge of the city council.
I don’t know. My ability to see into the future is not any better than yours. I couldn’t say Republicans in BPT would be any better than Dems but I can’t imagine they would be any worse. You don’t have to join the Republican party to vote Republican. I don’t belong to any political party. Instead, I listen to the ideas and plans of both sides and choose which one sounds best and who has lied to me the least. Then I vote for that guy. If he stays true to his plan and achieves his objectives, I vote for him again.
I can see two positive effects of a Republican sweep in BPT. 1–you can imagine an elimination or, at least, reduction of political, do-nothing goombas currently employed by the city, as the Republicans would have no reason to keep Democratic patronage employees employed. 2–The Democrats would have to get real honest real fast to regain the trust of the people and return to their old jobs.
What will probably happen would be a smear campaign to discredit any meaningful attempts at change and partisan stalling and road blocking to create a lame-duck situation and maintain the status quo.