Does “The Movement” For Mayor Beat A Pulse For 2015? Or Flatlined?

The Movement

The Movement “to raise issues facing the citizens of Bridgeport, educate and engage people in fostering real changes” will conduct its third community forum on Thursday, 6 p.m. at the Bridgeport Public Library Downtown, featuring former U.S. Comptroller General David Walker, who has his Black Rock home for sale, as the featured speaker.

David Walker
David Walker has his house for sale.

In an email blast, Board of Education member Howard Gardner writes,

“We’ve all expressed our frustration with Bridgeport’s lack of progress as a city. Nothing will change until everyone of us decide that, “we’ve had enough,” and start to make a difference. It was from this premise that a handful of Bridgeport residents got together and start, “The Movement.” Our mission is to raise issues facing the citizens of Bridgeport, educate and engage people in fostering real changes. It’s our hope that the movement will culminate into a groundswell that will impact the mayoral election of 2015.

We realize that a successful campaign to replace the incumbent leadership (with its great financial/political advantages) cannot be waged in a conventional approach, thus the early start.

Walker, who came up short in his effort to win the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor, says he will bail out of Connecticut if Republican candidate for governor Tom Foley isn’t elected. Interesting premise. Does Walker have that much confidence in Foley who did not select him to be his running mate? What has Foley really said that makes him head and shoulders above Democratic incumbent Dan Malloy?

In addition to Gardner, four other potential Democratic mayoral candidates will speak: 2011 mayoral candidate John Gomes, three-time mayoral candidates Bob Keeley and Charlie Coviello, and retired police officer David Daniels.

The idea, so they say, is to coalesce behind one candidate to take out Mayor Bill Finch in 2015.

Carmen Lopez
Why won’t Carmen Lopez run for mayor? CT Post photo.

The current potential crop of candidates are all nice guys, but let’s look at the reality. Keeley has run three times for mayor and never came within a sniff of the mayoralty. What’s changed? Coviello, supporting Republican Foley for governor, has run three times for mayor and never came within a sniff of the mayoralty. What’s changed? Gomes, who operates the popular Red Rooster deli, was a candidate in 2011 and had trouble raising money. Daniels, to his credit, has hosted community meetings and found out how difficult it is to draw a crowd. How can he raise money?

Gardner is the most intriguing of the potential candidates attending the forum. He was elected citywide to the school board last year after being one of three Democrats who defeated the endorsed candidates for Board of Education. Gardner has a professorial persona, thoughtful, wise in his choice of words. He can say in five words what it takes most others to say in 20 words. That’s a good thing in politics. But can Howard raise money?

For a while there it looked like 2015 would be a banner municipal cycle.

Supporters of retired Superior Court Judge Carmen Lopez, a mighty Finch critic, had prevailed upon her to run. She declined. Why won’t Carmen run? Writing opinion pieces against the mayor is a walk in the park compared to putting your name out there for public office.

Former Mayor John Fabrizi had thought seriously about running for mayor, even forming an exploratory committee to raise money and conduct a poll. He has been very quiet of late.

Mary-Jane Foster at the ballpark at Harbor Yard
Mary-Jane Foster at the ballpark at Harbor Yard. Will she run or pass?

One relevant potential candidate hanging out there who has said little publicly about her intentions is 2011 Finch primary challenger Mary-Jane Foster, co-founder of the Bridgeport Bluefish. She ran a credible campaign against Finch. Will she run?

So until someone can break away from the pack, galvanize the anti coalition (that sometimes fights among itself) and raise money, Finch is in good shape for reelection next year.

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51 comments

  1. I think I would be the only candidate to take out Finch and unite the City. Sorry guys, I’m not running and the way I see it neither is anyone else. End of story! All are miserable, disgruntled, without an original idea. Honest to G-d. Finch is going to sail so smoothly to re-election. What developer is going to give a dollar to anyone but Finch? He is just not that loathed. Steelepointe, Steelepointe, Steelepointe. Say no more!

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  2. Is this Auerbach guy the official spokesperson for the Machine? Or just head cheerleader?
    Also, there are five potential candidates for Mayor attempting to bring change to the city and open discussions by having these forums and I applaud them.

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    1. This Auerbach guy is not the official spokesperson for the “Machine,” as you call them. It’s all about Steelepointe. The Hennessy Bill is not important to me. A Republican leaving Bridgeport if Foley loses the election running this symposium with mostly the same tired names. This coalition-building is pure BULLSHIT. It is just another vain attempt to create another machine in Bridgeport. I have not heard one original idea from any of these candidates. The one positive thing I can say about Joe Ganim, when he was running. Years in advance he was always with his entourage at Common Council meetings. Same with Caruso. Anyone else asleep at the wheel waiting to be asked to run? Forget about it.

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  3. Lennie, that depends on the direction of “The Movement.” Is it moving forward or reverse? If Mary-Jane Foster is going to run, expect her to announce around the end of December or in January 2015–any later, she will fall short–and she’d better campaign hard during the winter.

    You are right on target with Howard Gardner. I spent a great time campaigning with Gardner last year. He is genuine, intelligent, and has strong credentials as a former executive and businessman.

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  4. “Former Mayor John Fabrizi had thought seriously about running for mayor, even forming an exploratory committee to raise money and conduct a poll. He has been very quiet of late.”

    Lennie, the last time your wrote a commentary on Fabs, he had raised $10,000 and you stated correctly he had to raise about that much every month. How about an update on how his fundraising has gone since? This is one thing he can’t keep quiet–the campaign financial reports are filed in the Town Clerk’s Office. If he doesn’t run, what will he do with that money? Can’t go out and buy half a kilo.

    If I had serious plans of running for mayor, I’d be pretty active trying to help elect other people to office and hopefully get their support when I run for mayor. Why are these nitwits not doing this? Help me get elected and you’ll have a loyal supporter when you need help. At this point in my race for State Rep. I owe no one any favors. It’s probably for the best. Don’t be pissed off if I go ahead and support Bill Finch in the future–your support for me is the same as I’ve gotten from Finch. Picture this: Steven Auerbach and Joel Gonzalez campaigning together for Bill Finch.

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  5. Walker is the real thing if you wish to understand governmental fiscal problems and the variety of actions that are necessary to change trend directions. He was selected by The Movement and invited to be a guest because he is a local property owner and taxpayer.

    Financial issues are a large part of what holds the City in its current position. His experience and training provide our community with a platform on which to judge our current position and to understand alternate courses of action.

    It is expected he will speak for about ten minutes and the entertain specific questions on the subject for another 20 minutes before speakers from The Movement will augment the program with their own five-minute fiscal observations. The program will provide time for audience questions as well as responses from all speakers.

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    1. JML, you totally miss my point, if this group’s purpose was to interview candidates for running for the position of mayor of Bridgeport, then that’s what they should do and state that but bringing in “guest” speakers is something different than what was stated in the beginning. Who makes that decision and what subject can be use by a guest speaker? It seems to be going in a different direction with people who have an agenda.

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      1. Troll trying to be droll? Manages to be grumpy.

        These five gentlemen are approaching a community that has lost momentum in terms of broad-based understanding of governance challenges. People are frustrated. Each in his own way loves and respects this community. They gathered independently to pool their talents in tilling the soil here in Bridgeport by having “public meetings” where facts and opinions can be expressed, listened to and responded to. And they have come to trust each other in this regard. Isn’t that reasonably unique?

        One risk is heckling will occur from various positions in the community. Another is disparaging statements will be made by people who understand race accusations have served to keep the community weak and divided in the past, so some will keep pushing those buttons. Others, who for want of personal vertical stature, may attempt to accuse others of being dwarfs. Had such an individual chosen to use his fiscal awareness and City Council experience in the past half-dozen years for the benefit of the entire community, we might have been better off.

        My own sense of things is to invite all voters and taxpayers to attend, speak up and participate with others who have a specific observation about ‘what’s wrong in the City.’ The five men who comprise The Movement at this moment are having fun, daring to go public differently than we have seen in the past. They are inclusive and make decisions as a group, not according to the whims or agenda of any one individual. Can you think of a better way of doing things? Time will tell.

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      2. Ron, in all fairness it is a good idea to have potential candidates listen to others, especially experts in their field. The last thing we need is people running for office who think they know it all and have all the right answers.

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  6. Mackey,
    You are correct. The movement has changed to Walker’s Movement.
    He is a guest speaker who will speak “because he is a local property owner and taxpayer.” “He will speak for about ten minutes and then entertain specific questions on the subject for another 20 minutes.”
    So Walker will speak for a half hour and then the seven dwarfs will talk for five minutes each.
    So it appears Walker has hijacked this agenda if not the entire Movement. That didn’t take long, did it?
    Either that or any taxpayer AND property owner (we must be going back to the original constitution; white male is implied) will be able to speak for a half hour before we hear from individuals who have actually expressed a desire to run.
    After the seven dwarfs speak, there will be a short intermission after which Dave Walker will entertain the group by walking on water.

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    1. Bob Walsh, this whole thing is a “David Walker Production,” just look at the ad up top with Walker’s picture. I wouldn’t attend anything this group is doing and I have no respect for the five candidates who are involved with the debates until they realize they are being used.

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      1. It’s a shame you continue to cut yourself from anything but your preconceptions. The promotional material was created by one of the five. The point of each of the gatherings is they are not “debates” but speaking and listening sessions so all parties can learn more and perhaps become more realistic about what role each plays in the future of Bridgeport.

        I have commented that seeing these five at the previous meetings I am reminded of a ‘pickup’ game of hoops at one of our playgrounds. No uniforms with a label. No referees other than respect and common sense. And everyone gets a chance to take a shot.

        On OIB, athletic events seem to degenerate to Ron and Bob playing badminton. That’s not the City game, though good exercise. When Bob and Ron tire of their shuttlecock match, perhaps they will be ready for the big ball The Movement is working with. Time will tell.

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        1. John Marshall Lee, who selected David Walker and the timeframes? Who are the other guest speakers and how does one get to be a speaker? Here we have David Walker who has an agenda but who was rejected by Republicans in the primary and who has said he leaving Bridgeport and put his house up for sale but said if Foley were elected Governor then he would stay and now he’s going to be the first speaker to give these five candidates for mayor information, please, what a joke.

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          1. Ron,
            The five current members of The Movement selected Dave Walker to speak at the meeting tomorrow night. I was not present when they did that but was present when they asked me to relay the invitation. They also outlined the actual timeline for the meeting.
            After two meetings they had some concerns that perhaps they were saying too much and did not leave enough for the audience. This is a work in progress. They speak, listen and consult each other in coming to a decision. As I have said before, “What a concept!” In the best traditions of democracy!

            Ron, were you to come to the meeting at the Main Library, you could meet Dave Walker and ask him your questions. He is gracious and courteous and would be happy to answer ithem. Dave Walker is a resident, a taxpayer, and very capable fiscal observer. He was asked to attend because the people of Bridgeport have not been exposed to him on specific City issues while he was operating COMEBACK AMERICA for three years in a downtown Bridgeport office or when he was campaigning for Lieutenant Governor. He is present for questions from the audience, the whole audience, and that would include you, if you were there. Time will tell.

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          2. John Marshall Lee, all this is showing how these five candidates for mayor of Bridgeport can be lead into anything without knowing all of the conditions involved with this group and being used by somebody. These candidates are involved with something that has not been made clear to the public, what this is doing and who is running it. If this is the way they will make decisions as mayor, it shows what a terrible mayor they would be.

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      2. Beware: Bob Walsh is using other to try making a baseless point. Seven dwarfs? Put your financial expertise and political acumen vs Howard Gardner’s alone and you will be put to shame.

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        1. Joel,
          My point, which you were incapable of grabbing, is the other candidates have allowed themselves to be dwarfed by David Walker on the agenda and in their allowed speaking times.
          I have known Howard Gardner longer than you have. If you insist, I have put my political acumen head-to-head with Howard. The last time Caruso ran for mayor, I turned down the party’s endorsement for mayor and ran on the challenge slate against Howard Gardner. Even though the top of the ticket won, I still beat Howard and his running mate who I believe was Reggie Walker.
          As to financial acumen, I have a bachelor’s degree with honors in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting and completed half the credits for an MBA in Finance.
          I have held many financial management positions in billion-dollar companies and served in the chief financial position for several smaller companies with $20 – $30M in revenues, not to mention having served as co-chair on the City Council’s B & A Committee.
          So I do not think Howard Gardner alone would put me to shame.

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          1. That’s all good, Bob. What a waste of talent when you chose to come here to knock them down when you should put your experience to good use. You could and should be a guest speaker in the future. How about letting loose and getting involved in a proactive manner? I’m sure Bill finch wants to continuing being mayor. If Bill Finch wanted to participate in The Movement, will he be allowed? He has served seven years so far as Mayor, six as State Senator and quite some years as City Councilman. If Bill Finch can’t participate in The Movement because this movement is a vehicle to support a candidate to try to defeat Finch, then I would argue “The Movement” must register as a political committee.

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        1. To give you a better perspective on my brief overview of my Bowel Movement Campaign, let me briefly explain how my bowel movement campaign works, so you‘ll understand my answer in the proper context rather than just take my word for it:
          ● The natural, unstimulated Sonny bowel movement campaign is always preceded by an involuntary urge sensation. Although the sensation itself is unconscious, by the time we have grown out of ‘Finch Taxation’ we have learned well to suppress it consciously.
          ● The sequence of events preceding the urge to move my Bowel Movement Campaign begins with the gastrocolic reflex from over-taxation by the Finch Administration, a complex serious of unconscious events, usually in response to eating crap the Finch Cartel hands out, particularly on an empty stomach.
          ● The gastrocolic reflex stimulates a mass peristaltic movement inside the large intestine, which propels formed stools toward the City Administration.
          ● Once stools enter the rectum, it contracts to propel them toward the anal Finch nerve plexus, and that stimuli is what sends you flying to the bathroom to actually move your bowels by consciously relaxing the anal canal.
          So Vote for Sonny Fox on the Bowel Movement line, and flush the Finch Cartel down the drain!
          Paid for by the constipated Taxpayers of Bridgeport, Herman Isaac, Treasurer.

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          1. That is a very dark and troubling view of things, Fox. If you must continue in this channel, I expect you may reject Library seating and resort to sitting on your own stool. Time will tell.

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  7. JML,
    If you really want to start a movement, you need to start by moving. Going door-to-door. Carrying petitions for or against anything.
    You don’t like the solar farm at Seaside Park, get petitions circulated in the Black Rock. Knock on peoples’ doors. Talk with them. Don’t schedule a meeting so you can talk TO them.
    People want grocery stores and pharmacies in the East End. Circulate petitions. Demand action.
    Real grassroots movements don’t begin or end with meetings.
    Take action. Try accomplishing something.

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    1. Hey, Bob Walsh. You seem to enjoy sharing your opinions about others. How about sharing some facts with us. You do some accounting work for Mutual Housing Association and have ties with the organization. Tell us about recent developments that have taken place in regards to properties of MHA in Bridgeport.

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      1. Joel,
        I haven’t been involved with Mutual Housing for I would guess at least 10 years now, so if you have a problem with Mutual Housing, take it up with Nancy Hadley.

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  8. JML is encouraged to ignore Bob Walsh. Here’s why: voluntary public forums with interesting speakers are better than outdated petitions. BW is not in touch with the zeitgeist (spirit of the times).
    Bob Walsh has a chance to accomplish something next week, but so far the ghost of Machiavelli has been disappointed with his actions.

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    1. It is obvious Local Eyes does not like to leave his sanctuary in Trumbull and go knocking on doors in Bridgeport.
      And although Trumbullites might get excited by electronic petitions and meetings, politicians will be far more intimidated by actual piece of paper signed by real people who will put their REAL names and addresses on that piece of paper.
      I do not believe there are currently any zeitgeists on the Bridgeport City Council nor do I expect to see any in the next decade or two.

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  9. All this sounds like a bunch of bipartisan BS. A group of five “Democrats” sitting around listening to a Republican economic expert discuss what’s wrong with Bridgeport. We all know what’s wrong with Bridgeport, one-party control. Is it any different with Malloy and the state? I find it comical to think any of the five could get elected mayor and just as unlikely that Walker could, if he wants it. Let’s get a council with cojones and let the mayoral race be a real contest of the best and brightest.

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  10. The Movement currently has five men of diverse talent and experience, but they care enough about Bridgeport to work together to provide listening time for the community as well as speaking time for many who are not routinely heard.

    All five men care about the City and have tucked their egos away while working together so as to benefit the community. Naturally their names are public and known, though it is fun to see “voices” from the cheap seats on OIB who like to pelt anybody with their frustration. Fortunately opinions are not fatal to those opposed and everyone gets a vote if they are registered. Unfortunately, not enough people in the community become informed and get out to use their one vote. All are welcome tomorrow night at the Main Library. Perhaps those who post negatively on The Movement so far (and who have not attended any of the sessions personally) will have a change of mind when they participate. Time will tell.

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  11. There was a good and diverse crowd at the library last evening. I provided about 10-15 minutes of non-partisan facts about Bridgeport’s financial and governance challenges. I then answered several questions. The majority of the evening was appropriately focused on the five members of “The Movement” and hearing from Bridgeport residents who attended the event. One questioner asked what were Bridgeport’s greatest challenges. I said: poor leadership; many conflicts of interest, and; too many unengaged and uninformed voters. I also noted that there were several areas where the state needed to act in order to help create a better future in Bridgeport. These include repealing the law that allows City employees to be on the City Council when it is in conflict with the City Charter; focusing free enterprise development zones and incentives on cities with high unemployment and developable land, like Bridgeport; improving the equity of the education funding formula, and; appointing a Financial Control Board to restructure the City’s finances and help it avoid bankruptcy in the future.

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