Mayor Joe Ganim on Tuesday delivered the oath of office to his long-time friend Armando “AJ” Perez once again–the first March 1, 2016 in an acting capacity–this time to a full five-year term following a police chief search that was whittled down to three finalists.
What seemed like a foregone conclusion, given their friendship and loyalty to each other, was just that when Ganim announced last week he had selected Perez. The ceremony took place 5 p.m. in City Council chambers.
Per regulations of the City Charter approved by voters 30 years ago the mayor selects the chief from the three finalists to a five-year contract. The contract may be renewed for one more five-year term. Prior to that the city’s top cop, formerly known as superintendent of police, had been selected solely via the Civil Service testing process. Whoever finished first on the test rising through the ranks got the job essentially for life.
Perez and the city will hammer out contract terms that will go to the City Council for approval.
Perez has his share of supporters and detractors. To many in the community Perez is an accessible, gregarious figure who puts in long hours. To some he’s the mayor’s hand-picked top cop whose loyalty starts and finishes with Ganim.
Perez was part of a cadre of cops who supported Ganim’s return to the mayoralty in 2015 when Ganim defeated incumbent Bill Finch in a close primary on his way to an easy general election victory.
Ganim is up for reelection in 2019 with no high-profile challenger yet. Will anyone step up? The strategy to take out a well-financed incumbent, especially someone with Ganim’s retail skills, is not something that can be put off until the spring. Those pieces to build a fundraising infrastructure, community rallying points and organized opposition must be assimilated sooner than later.
This is old news. But it’s bad news as well. Perez is an illegitimate Police Chief chosen through an illegitimate process. The next mayor will have to either buy out Perez(redux Gaudett) or have weekly meetings with Perez and do a weekly performance review of Perez/BPT Police Department.
BTW,Lennie,you are absolutely right. If anyone wants to challenge Ganim,they need to start organizing now. I mean… RIGHT NOW. Build a cadre of supporters in every neighborhood of BPT and begin to start to be a legitimate choice to Ganim/Testa. NOW or give up. And I am referencing one specific person.
I’m banking on Ned giving Joe a job to get him out of here.
Not as long as the rocket polish holds out.
CHARTER CHANGE……. CHARTER CHANGE….
In the future, for both the police and fire department, in the event an acting Chief is eventually promoted to Chief then then time served as acting is deducted from the five year term.
All in favor say aye, opposed nay. The ayes have it.
Bob, there’s step in between that you left out and that’s what Fire Chief Brian Rooney did, Rooney was made the “Acting” fire chief then he demanded that he be made the “Provisional” fire chief. By being made a “provisional” it allows by the City Charter for the person to receive the same pay and benefits as a permanent chief and to retire with those same benefits. As the “acting” chief they receive the pay and benefits as the chief only on the days they are serving in that position for only 120 days, if the person retires as the “acting” chief the only get paid of their true rank, AJ Perez true rank is that of a Captain. Brian Rooney retired as “provisional” fire chief thereby receiving the pay as a fire chief but then he was hired as the permanent chief and he had a five year contract plus getting paid with his pension as the fire chief and then Rooney was given a second five year contract. Rooney was being paid over $250,000 a year as the fire chief with only a high school diploma from Notre Dame High School in Fairfield for ten years.
Let’s just get rid of provisional completely. Let’s start acting like a legitimate city and not some cartoon town.
Bob,to stop acting like a cartoon town,we have to rid ourselves of the clowns.
And David Dunn who allows it to happen by authorizing the move with Civil Service approval.
David Dunn is a tool, a shill for Mario Testa. All that matters is keeping the king of calamari happy.
Personally I have come to like Armando J Perez as a human being and to respect the way he has used the opportunity available in the US to provide for himself and a family. As I have watched him operate as acting CEO of Bridgeport’s PD he has left much to be desired whether it is schooling himself professionally to be at the top of the class; to ignore the details when he says he will help the individual citizen with a van that was neither abandoned, nor was full PD process followed with Linda Lee; and the chief has wasted time showing he has no clear idea how “community policing” works, after you identify an outpost; and no feeling for the way overtime is handled (and mishandled) to benefit PD retirees and no one else……millions misauthorized by CC when they fail to ask for statistics on the whole picture. And what has the City received in return at Labor Relations time for limiting the City management hands in re-arranging duties and personnel in ways that make sense?
So who will be carrying the red and white wine into the ceremony tonight? Time will tell.
And the bromance continues…