Finley, Head of Municipal Lobbying Group, Vomits On Hennessy Reform Proposal–Sides With Gravy Train Interests

gravy train
Ah, Jim Finley loves it when City Council members sing for their supper.

UPDATE: Jim Finley, executive director of the municipal support group Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, thinks conflicts of interests on the Bridgeport City Council are good for city taxpayers. He ought to know what’s good for city taxpayers, his organization has received a lot of dough from taxpayers throughout the decades to advocate on behalf of the city, including nearly $88,000 this budget year. Finley told the Connecticut Post’s Brian Lockhart he plans to speak against State Rep. Jack Hennessy’s proposal to ban city employees from serving on the City Council. Hennessy says too many conflicts of interests exist such as council members voting to approve their wages and benefits.

Jim Finley
Jim Finley, CCM chief.

The City Council approves the fees Finley’s organization receives from the city. For the current budget year the city paid $87,666 for its CCM membership.

The Bridgeport City Charter prohibits city employees from serving on the legislative body, but a loophole in state law allows it, something Hennessy wants to correct. A public hearing on Hennessy’s bill is scheduled for February 13 in the Legislative Office Building in Hartford.

Lockhart writes:

Finley said it is not uncommon for municipal employees to hold elected positions and Hennessy’s bill would further limit the already shallow pool of folks who want to enter local politics …

“We work closely with the current Bridgeport City Council and have always had a great relationship,” Finley said. “It seems odd to have a state legislator target one municipality.”

Hennessy’s bill does not just apply to Bridgeport. What a lame excuse by Finley–Hennessy’s bill limits the pool of candidates serving? Oh wait, here’s an idea: why not pass a state law mandating only city employees can serve on the City Council? That should stimulate lots of gravy train interests.

If you want to write Finley to either agree or disagree. jfinley@ccm-ct.org. The CCM phone is (203) 498-3020.

More about CCM: ccm-ct.org/Plugs/about-ccm.aspx.

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11 comments

  1. Gosh, who do you think funds the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities and Jim (like who the hell is he?) Finely’s salary? Whoa! No self interest there!

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  2. Here’s another idea, using humor too … all City Council members must be city employees or have at least one family member who is, and are required to vote on budgets where they work. By the way, seriously, I do appreciate all the hard work the council members put in. I didn’t know there was a ‘shallow pool of folks’ who want to enter politics. Isn’t it the barriers to entry are high?

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  3. When was the last time Finley went to a Budget hearing and watched that dog and pony show? Has Finley attended council meetings? Has he ever seen the city employees or council people with family members working for the city ever vote against a Finch proposal? That’s an easy one, NO. Finley, like the rest of these politicians, is full of it.

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  4. Okay I now have recovered my speech! This is absolutely appalling this hired gun for the city who takes in city money is trying to stop this citizens’ grassroots effort to HELP the city of Bridgeport move forward and not keep the Status Quo–PLEASE sign the petition now and urge everyone you know to sign this petition. TIME is of the essence!
    www .change.org/petitions/state-of-ct-senate-and-house-of-representatives-vote-yes-for-hb-5724

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  5. “Folks who want to enter politics?” Is that his argument?
    Fairfield had a selectman step down due to a “conflict of interest.” It was the honorable thing to do. He made a choice, and he was made to make a choice:
    fairfield.patch.com/articles/walsh-steps-down-as-selectman-over-conflict-of-interest
    Bridgeport cannot continue down this path.
    And this is the fight? Send a guy to Hartford, who just “clearly” insulted Bridgeport. Maybe I am reading too much between the lines here; but the message I got from that quote is there are not enough people in Bridgeport who are capable of entering politics … the gene pool has shrunk to a size there is no other choice but to allow city employees to serve the public taxpayer in a way that is conflicting! What a slap in the face. And talk about a conflict–this guy is a client of the City of Bridgeport, paid to represent the taxpayer, and he is marching himself up to Hartford to speak out against the taxpayer. Nice. There is your money working for you.
    I can just imagine the conversation that led to this moment.
    ‘Hey Jim–ummm we are having a little issue down here … some pain-in-the-ass State Rep has decided to start a bill that would not allow city employees to serve on the city council–so we need you to go to Hartford and speak out on behalf of all cities … because, you know … this has far-reaching effects … and we do pay you quite a bit of money. It would be a favor to us … yes–it does say in our Charter employees cannot serve on the City Council, but down here in Bpt … there are not a lot of “smart” people who are capable of handling this kind of situation. We really need to know our people, and know they are capable of handling this kind of responsibility.’
    Nice move. But not a very smart one–because this guy just f-ed it up.

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  6. *** Jim is a great fun-type guy who deals with city and state government and their elected officials on a daily basis and a team player, so what would you expect the man to say? I can respect that! ***

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