News release from Mary-Jane Foster:
Mary-Jane Foster, Democratic candidate for mayor of Bridgeport, today called on the mayor to fund a jobs program for the youth of the Trumbull Gardens community.
“I have to hand it to Joe Ganim for his political gamesmanship and for raising awareness of significant needs and gaps of service in Trumbull Gardens.
However, I must point out this is an example of a politician using public resources for personal gain, which is why residents of Bridgeport are looking for someone who will put their interests first and foremost–without the self-serving personal gain career politicians engage in.
I’m calling on the mayor to halt his own self-serving and taxpayer-bought public relations campaign, and use the funds for an increased summer jobs program for Bridgeport’s youth.
The residents of Bridgeport deserve to have their hard-earned dollars spent for their benefit–not for the personal gain of a couple of career politicians.”
Well said, Mary-Jane. There is no hope without jobs.
Much better than the election-year police substations.
I guess this was written before Mayor Finch and Chief Gaudett announced a legal substation on the Trumbull Gardens premises.
If we are complementing political gamesmanship then I would give the award to Mayor Finch for his timing. I guess maybe a few people will be talking about this at Captain’s Cove this evening, but I doubt it.
Looking forward to hearing the Mayor’s speech this evening. 5 pm Captain’s Cove.
Talking about jobs is always a good thing. I think Ganim gets the prize for his ability to generate front-page news. I give Mayor Finch a bigger prize for knocking the wind out of their sails.
Steve, you’re wrong, Mary-Jane Foster has spoken about unemployment and the need for jobs. She is right on target.
I agree!
Finch will be busy talking about this:
westfaironline.com/72742/developer-plans-57m-mixed-use-project-in-bridgeport/
Developer and property owner Westport Property Management has received necessary city approvals and $2 million from the state, which should fund the majority of the cost of environmental remediation at the former Remington Shaver factory site, according to a statement from the city of Bridgeport.
The initial phase of the project would include 200 market-rate apartments and one retail building at the shuttered Remington factory at 60 Main St.
According to the city, Stephen Grathwohl, principal of Westport Property Management, views 60 Main as “the best or one of the best development sites in Fairfield County.”
“This is a market-establishing project,” said David Kooris, the city’s economic development chief. “There are no projects of this scale and ambition in Milford, Stratford, Fairfield or Westport.” He estimated the project’s first phase might be complete in about three years.
“This is yet another illustration that developers are choosing Bridgeport to build their projects, creating jobs and building our tax base and our future,” Mayor Bill Finch said in the city announcement.
“It’s right on the water, it’s right next to Seaside Park, it’s directly adjacent to the University of Bridgeport, it’s within walking distance to the train station and there’s easy access to the highway,” he said. “It’s got a lot of pluses that you can’t find in a lot of sites. We’re very excited and hope to get the project started soon.”
Mary-Jane: With your connections to UB and the Fairfield County business/financial community, as well as many, many individuals of great personal wealth in the Fairfield County/Westchester County environs, why don’t you take the initiative and use your connections to secure a few thousand summer positions for Bridgeport youth?
You are not showing us the kind of pragmatism and leadership that should be expected of someone who wants to be the mayor of a city on life support.
Jeff, when did the example of pragmatism and leadership become securing a few thousand summer positions for Bridgeport youth? What city official or philanthropist has ever completed anything even close to such a Herculean feat? Exaggeration and hyperbole are common in campaigns, but not at all useful.
Jeff Kohut, completely on point.
Well Ganim could have changed the lives of a few with hourly jobs instead of his master plan of substations on the East Side West Side all around the town–lolol.
Jeff, Mary-Jane Foster has used her celebrity to make changes all over the city, the United Way, Church restorations etc.
She is running for Mayor, she is not ABCD or other organizations that attempt to hire Bridgeport youth. Joe Ganim was Mayor for 12 years before he made you bend over. Why not ask him with his connections to do something for the youth? If you and his supporters believe the business community will work with Joe, why not make this “your” candidate’s goal. If you believe this to be a good idea, you should request Ganim to show his tenacity instead of his brilliant attempt to get on the front page of the paper or Channel 12 news. In a different time and place, you sir would have been outraged by his vain attempts to turn tragedy into votes.
Sheepthrills (good name for an anonymous poster), unlike most mayoral candidates, Mary-Jane has the social capital to address critical issues without occupying the Mayor’s Office. If she is sincere about her concern for Bridgeport youth, she should move on their behalf in an effective, timely way. Why wait another year?
If elected mayor, given the choice between adequately financing public safety or creating thousands of jobs for youth within the constraints of a deficient city budget, how will she choose? How will she accommodate both needs?
Rather than further politicize a crisis situation, she should show some proactive pragmatism and leadership. That will get her a lot more votes than her current, ineffectual campaign tactics.
Following your line of thought, Jeff, should lead you to supporting Ms. Foster since you believe her to have the social capital to address issues. believe her to be sincere in her concern for Bridgeport and its youth. She is successful in her own right (unlike Finch and Ganim) and doesn’t need the position to make her living. Frankly, I can’t see an upside for her running for Mayor except to fulfill a desire to serve.
Steve, Sheepthrills: I like Mary-Jane and believe her to be very intelligent and caring. And when all is said and done, I think all three, viable, Democratic mayoral candidates–when their political-survival personas are not in operation–are decent, caring, human beings (albeit, perhaps, with other frailties that come with being human–such as bad tempers).
That being said; in regard to the time and place: This is Bridgeport, CT, 2015–a city on life support in a world that is becoming more chaotic and inhumane by the hour. If Bridgeport is to survive as a place that can be considered a
fit place in which to raise children and grow old, we will have to forget about “politics as usual” and find our really “bad” political selves and take on a kill-or-be-killed attitude in our political dealings with Hartford, Washington, and the region, if not within our own borders with our respective political factions.
Undeniably, we have been failed–indeed, mistreated in many ways–by our present city, state and federal representation and leadership.
In that context, I would vote for Al Capone if he were running for mayor and I believed he could bring peace and prosperity back to our city.
Presently, I believe that among the current candidates for mayor, only Joe Ganim has the balls and force of motivation to advocate for Bridgeport on the state, national, and regional levels for the restoration of respect and concomitant economic compensation for years of exploitation and neglect of our city by the aforementioned entities.
Bill has proven he is not capable of righting our sinking ship, and Mary-Jane has not given any indication she is willing to do the requisite bare-knuckle brawling on our behalf it will take to get us a fair shake from upstream or down county.
Joe Ganim, on the other hand, has shown in the past he isn’t afraid to ruffle Hartford, or Greenwich, or Washington feathers on behalf of Bridgeport (e.g. the casino initiative–not that I would want him to go that route again), and he has abundant motivation, by way of redemption in this lifetime, to work tirelessly, and fearlessly, to bring us back to peace and prosperity. Not to mention he is intelligent and shrewd and capable of effective leadership.
So, good fellow-citizens, that is where I stand on the candidates. I am not against anyone–in terms of the candidates or their supporters–I am for Bridgeport.
Think big, and take us where we need to go, Joe!
Vote NO for Joe.
Jeff–If you owned a day-care center, would you hire a convicted serial pedophile to run it? I do agree with you on one point, though–Ganim sure does have balls.
You’re comparing Ganim to a pedophile? How is it you know so much about this subject?