Does Ganim’s “Welcoming City” Provide The Right Balance?

What was proposed as a “sanctuary city” to Mayor Joe Ganim was spun into a “Welcoming City” that now includes a municipal Park City identification card that can access city services, register a child for school, obtain a library card, cash a check, file a complaint with the police department “regardless of the individual’s immigration status or prior criminal history.”

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal joined Ganim and other city officials in the roll out late last week, what Ganim called “enhancing the city’s reputation as a welcoming and inclusive community, and promoting a sense of shared identity for those who live in Connecticut’s largest city.”

Ganim had pushed back on the sanctuary city designation proposed by community activists to avoid conflict with President Donald Trump’s threat to withhold federal dollars to communities and states resisting his immigration policy. Federal courts have pushed back on Trump’s position. But for Ganim the “Welcoming City” is a calculation that balances community pleas with his desire to maintain a relationship that goes back to the early 1990s when Trump eyed the city for development.

Ganim, real or imagined, rationalizes he’s covered both bases. He wants a piece of federal infrastructure dollars without alienating Trump or betraying the loud voices at City Council meetings and community rallies.

Officials say any city resident is eligible for a “Park City Resident Card,” regardless of age, ethnicity, immigration status or previous criminal history, if they provide documentation that establishes proof of their identity and residency within the city.

Cards may be obtained at the Office of Vital Statistics at the Margaret Morton Government Center, 999 Broad Street. The cards, $15, last for three years. Applicants will not file any individual documents with Vital Statistics to receive an ID.

The cards feature the name, address, date of birth, expiration date, picture and signature of the individual, as well as other optional information such as an emergency contact and allergy information. A holographic background and raised tactile guards the card against fraud.

New Haven and Hartford have also implemented municipal ID programs. The genesis of the ID program started under Ganim’s predecessor Bill Finch.

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17 comments

  1. *** I don’t know weather or not being a Sact.City will help Bpt. In the long term but I do know that making $15. City issued Picture I.D’s available to Bpt. Residents is a home run for security reasons for local, state and fed. Law enforcements as a whole! It’s amazing how many people walk around without any forms of credible I.D’s in general. You can never have enough picture I.D’s if needed especially when traveling local or abroad! ***

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    1. *** You can’t get a Ct. I.D unless you show the DMV only accepted forms of either, primary or secondary I.D’s. Birth certificates from other countries have to have a official government stamp on it, church or hospital certificates are no good anymore. It’s not as easy for out of towners or immigrants to get these ID’s like it is for U.S born or U.S terr. Citizens like before due to new Homeland Security Laws. If it was everyone would have the Ct. I.D’s ! ***

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  2. Lennie,been hearing McCarthy is going to announce soon that he will not be running this time around,he’s had enough,have you heard any rumblings of this?

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  3. With your ‘Park City Resident Card’ and $2.00 cash you can buy a medium size coffee at Dunkin Donuts.

    Joel provided a link to the Connecticut DMV which is the only source for a true government issued identification.

    Nonsense. Pandering.

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    1. I think you’re wrong on it not having benefits. I’ve known some illegals who can’t open bank accounts or cash checks so they often have to carry and deal in cash only which puts them at greater risk for exploitation and targets of robbery. If it costs me nothing, but helps someone in my community I think it’s a good thing.

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  4. Spin….Spin….Spin. No one believes you anymore,Joe. And your late to the party and this will be one more piece of evidence of your failure.

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  5. Will be interesting to see how many people actually bother getting one of these.At this point,anytime I watch one of Joe’s “press conferences”,I always think to myself,”what’s Joe’s angle?”,or “what’s in this for him?”…

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  6. I read the ordinance when it was first adopted and felt that it had requirements that were not consistent with what was being claimed. we kept hearing that the introduction was delayed.

    I went back and skimmed through it just now. It requires the applicant to provide documentation to prove identity. An example of documentation is a driver’s license. Wait. A drivers license (not a ‘Drive Only’) is a form of government issued identification.If you have a driver’s license, what would be the use of a ‘municipal residency card’?

    https://www.municode.com/library/ct/bridgeport/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT2ADPE_CH2.126MUIDCAPR

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  7. So it is a local government identification card. But if you only have this and no other form of identification (Chase wanted two from my wife, one being her drivers license)aren’t you identifying yourself as an illegal alien? If that is the case, what good does this do and why would you spend $15 for it?

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