Mayor Joe Ganim has appointed Maritza Bond, who supervises a health education center in New London, to serve as city health director. Her nomination will be referred to the City Council’s Contracts Committee Monday night. See Council agenda here. Council addendum here.
CT Post reporter Brian Lockhart has more on this:
The mayor has been facing pressure from state officials to pick a permanent health chief or face cuts to grants after he laid off Kristen dubay Horton in March.
Bond’s name is being forwarded to the City Council Monday for consideration. Her selection appeared on the council’s agenda on Friday and was not formally announced by the mayor’s office.
The job earns between $124,110 and $136,519.
Bond is currently head of the Eastern Connecticut Area Health Education Center. That agency is focused on coordinating continuing education for medical and social service providers; recruitment, training and retraining of community health workers; recruitment of high school and college students interested in careers in health care; immigrant and refugee health care.
Full story here.
There is absolutely no talent pool in Bridgeport to hire from??? Very nice. That should go over well. A city of 140,000, not one qualified individual? Maybe not!
Albertina Baptista is a great example of a person who has earned her credentials with hard work and dedication. Years back when I was briefly transferred to the Health Department, I got to know Albertina. Albertina was taking college courses related to the field of health and social services. Blunt was doing the same except Albertina did not receive city stipend funds to help her pay her way nor was she hoping her political connections would come in handy if or when the opportunity to lead the Bridgeport Health Department came along. Had Albertina Baptista been appointed as Director of the BHD, there would have been four Cape Verdeans serving in top-level positions. Senators Moore and Gomes, John Gomes, and Albertina Baptista. Albertina Baptista deserves the position of Director of the Bridgeport Health Department.
I will say it again; I have repeatedly dealt with Albertina Baptista on a variety of issues and have found her to be incredibly professional and competent. However, she should resign from Tom McCarthy’s TC.
Maria, thank you for that post. I was under the impression she was not a city resident. In that case, I take back my initial post and say kudos Mayor Ganim. Excellent appointment!!! Forgive my initial post!
BTW, Maria P. Loved that letter to the editor supporting you folks. I am watching very closely to see how this drama plays out. It seems you and the BBOE have dominated the OIB blog and you are the Star!!! 🙂
“However, she should resign from Tom McCarthy’s TC.”
Really, Maria “Research” Pereira? There are many who are of the opinion you should resign from the BOE, a position you were elected to like Albertina Baptista was. You serve with Dennis Bradley whose leadership on the BOE is as bad as McCarthy’s leadership on the council. If you follow your own logic here, you and Bradley should resign.
Joel, I am not a city employee nor have I ever been. Neither is my partner, my parents, my siblings, my child, and as far as I know, I don’t even have a cousin who works for the City of Bridgeport.
Those on the city payroll should not be on TC’s, on the City Council, on Boards and Commissions.
We need unconflicted members of the public in these roles.
Steve, Albertina Baptista IS a Bridgeport resident. I do not believe the woman appointed IS a Bridgeport resident.
Steve, no one is a “star” in this horrible situation with three legal members of the BOE boycotting their statutorily mandated responsibilities to over 21,000 BPS students. It’s an absolute embarrassment for the the city I love, and an absolute travesty for our students, parents, families and staff.
“Steve, no one is a “star”.”
You are an Exploding Star. 🙂
“Exploding star?” Is that better than an imploding star, a black hole???
Maybe he’s making an editorial comment. An “exploding star” is more commonly called a “nova.” And in Spanish, “no va” means he/she/it “doesn’t go.”
Wait a minute. The person who was chosen is Maritza Bond who comes from New London. Albertina Baptista (as well as others) applied for the job but was passed over. If I remember correctly, the previous Health Director was considered to be doing a fine job but John Gomes was “harassing” her.
John Gomes harassing people? Surely you are mistaken. That never happens. Especially women.
It’s a proven fact those who can’t get what they want by means of knowledge and skills alone will resort to bullying if they lack the maturity to work with people who have conflicting opinions and styles.
This has always been true for Gomes. I am sure the administration was warned about it. Now it has become the taxpayers’ cross to bear.
Rather thin resume.
She heads up a 501(c)(3) that does health education training? She has no municipal health department experience. She has an MPA degree, same as Baptista and Blunt.
Brian Lockhart’s story includes everything on Bond’s current employer’s website. There are gaps an interview could have addressed.
It would be interesting to see the scoring sheets used by the committee members who did the interview process to understand why she was selected.
According to the United States census about 20% of the population of Bridgeport has a Bachelor’s Degree or higher. Keeping this in mind, why couldn’t Mayor Ganim find a Bridgeport residents to fill this position? Why does he continue to send the city’s money to individuals who have never or will never spend one red cent here? When is Joe going to look out for those people who live here, who pay taxes here and who have a stake in the uplift of this great city? When, Joe?
Donald Day, have you moved back to Bridgeport?
Oh Tom White let it go and what difference does it make where I live? I lived outside the city when I came up with the preference points for city residents that was implemented through Donald Clemons when he was on the CC. I have a genuine love and admiration for the city of Bridgeport and shouldn’t that be the only thing that matters?
Let me repeat this Tom for your edification. I think all city jobs should go to city residents and when I lived here I owned two homes, paid taxes for my homes and automobiles so I helped pay my own salary and my pension money went to help pay the bills for the city of Bridgeport. I left to give my son a better education than he could get here and I would do that again at the drop of a hat.
Donald, I give you credit for even dignifying Tom’s comments. Tom, with all we have to do, stop it now. You are one of the few I still admire and respect, don’t shorten my list!
Don, I don’t understand why Tom White and Mayor Ganim don’t want Bridgeport residents to be the first hired for City jobs.
Lisa, that’s okay. You can take me off your list. Donald Day speaks so lovingly of Bridgeport, but he chose to leave. That’s understandable, but posting comments as if he had “a stake in the uplift of this great city” is getting old.
Tom, no I couldn’t take you off my list because I know and respect you, but did it ever dawn on you Donald Day cares about Bridgeport? A new zip code does not negate the time and service he gave to this City.
Good news, Tom White. I moved back to Bridgeport. I am neighbors with Joe Ganim. How’s that pal, now can I post on OIB without the ire of the wise and almighty Tom White?
Below is what Bond posted on her LinkedIn page.
How does this prepare someone for a municipal health department role?
It would be interesting to know what her current compensation is. She is likely heading for the biggest payday of her life.
Experience
Eastern Connecticut Area Health Education Center Inc.
Executive Director
Eastern Connecticut Area Health Education Center Inc.
October 2007 – Present (9 years 1 month)
Bond provides leadership to bring educators, health care professionals, and community leaders together regionally and statewide to ensure health care access and enhance the workforce in Connecticut. Specifically, Maritza helps to determine the educational needs of health care providers, supports development of curriculum frameworks for youth, college students, and adult learners. At Eastern AHEC, Maritza also leads efforts to recruiting minorities and nontraditional students into health care careers.
Remember, Ganim flew the former health Director up to assist in this search. The former health director is as political as they come.
Stop looking for the logic to this appointment and start looking to the politics.
Which former health director???
Jack McCarthy. No relation to Tom.
Now let’s return to my commentary about Council President McCarthy. My advice to him would be to make public all applicants and to have the council interview the top three candidates.
Ganim would die if that happened.
Instead, McCarthy will simply do what he is told. His first test after his embarrassing primary loss and he will fail.
Bubba, ironically the woman getting the bum’s rush is on his Town Committee!
Is is possible Baptista is too “close” to McCarthy? After McCarthy’s primary loss, can any connection be a kiss of death? I don’t know.
I must say I am mildly shocked Ganim did not pick Warren Blunt.
Warren has worked in the BHD for years. He knows all the players there and in the B’port political circles. He served on the City Council and the Town Committee. He has shown himself to be a loyal follower of MARIO Testa and whomever the mayor was.
Am I missing something?
Of course you’re missing something, my silly Bubba. Warren Blunt is no longer politically useful, it’s a wonder he still has a job.
WHO IS MARITZA BOND??? WHY IS SOMEONE WHO NEVER HEADED UP AN URBAN HEALTH DEPARTMENT BEING APPOINTED TO HEAD THE DEPT IN THE STATE’S LARGEST CITY?
Now you’re not being silly, you’re right on.
Maritza Bond is a COMMISSIONER for The Permanent Commission on the Status of Women “the state’s leading force for woman equality.”
When did Maritza Bond meet Mario Testa? What was the first question he asked her? How did she answer it? Were there any follow-up questions? (You ask, is this what happened?)
Why is a loyalty test to the current administration, administered by the reigning DTC chair an “appropriate” or commonly reported step towards a City job? Where is it listed in the City Charter? Time will tell.
JML, unfortunately the ethics and rules of elected officials do not extend to the actions of any TCC. Mario Testa is probably the most blatant, lawless Town chair (in terms of political ethics) who exists in the State of Connecticut. He’s a tired, useless old man who can’t even strategize in the most elementary of ways. His involvement feeds his businesses, and so he stays on. He will be gone by the next TC cycle; I don’t know at this point who will replace him, but in politics it always works out. Patience and timing. I still predict he ends up selling Madison Avenue to SHU. No restaurant owner is going to come to Bridgeport, pay our taxes, and make that white elephant pay for itself. It was a good idea at the time he made the move, but everything changes, and it wasn’t for the better in Bridgeport. He’ll keep his little pizzeria in Fairfield going just to have something to do.