Gemeem Davis Tapped To Manage Moore’s Mayoral Campaign

Roughly three weeks from a Democratic primary for Mayor, Marilyn Moore has named Gemeem Davis, an officer with the community action group Bridgeport Generation Now, to replace Kennard Ray as campaign manager.

Bridgeport Generation Now has been a critic of Mayor Joe Ganim’s administration while advocating on behalf of Moore, even though it has a policy not to endorse candidates for public office.

It’s not easy stepping in roughly three weeks out to pull together a turnout organization to take out a well-finance incumbent. Moore, who does not trust easily, has brought on a passionate activist who has spent the past few years as a community watchdog.

From the Moore campaign:

State Senator Marilyn Moore has hired Gemeem Davis to manage her campaign to become mayor of Bridgeport. Davis is a Bridgeport grassroots activist, who temporarily stepped down as President of Bridgeport Generation NOW VOTES (BGN Votes) and Vice President and Co-Director of Bridgeport Generation NOW (BGN) to run the campaign.

In recent years, Davis has emerged as a prominent leader in Bridgeport’s grassroots activist community, pressing city government to enable more participation by working class communities (particularly of color). As a leader in BGN and BGN Votes, she’s urged Mayor Ganim, City Council and the police department for more openness and transparency, pushing them to adopt more inclusive policies that return power back to the hands of the people.

State Senator Marilyn Moore, candidate for Mayor of Bridgeport:
“This campaign is for the many, not the few. No one captures that spirit as effectively and potently as Gemeem. She’s at once a movement leader and skilled tactician. In just three short years at BGN, she has helped give voice to Bridgeport’s working and middle class youth and families, mobilizing hundreds who have demanded that city government be more open, transparent and accountable to its residents. When I imagine Bridgeport, I think of a city with endless potential. It’s voices like hers that unleash that potential and are no longer being ignored. I’m proud to have her support.”

Gemeem Davis, Campaign Manager, Marilyn for Bridgeport:
“This campaign is building community power by galvanizing our families, friends and neighbors to elect a Mayor that is of us and for us. A lifelong Bridgeport resident, Senator Marilyn Moore knows the struggle of ordinary Bridgeporters because she’s lived it. She’s proven that she is a woman of integrity and has stood with us as we’ve demanded a more equitable and transparent city government. I am proud to support her and lead her “people’s campaign” for a better Bridgeport.”

Moore recently qualified for the Democratic Primary against incumbent Mayor Joe Ganim, collecting over 3800+ petition signatures–well above the 2,500 necessary to qualify. The petition drive was headed by Kennard Ray, President of Blue Ribbon Strategies, who has stepped down as Moore’s campaign manager after completing his service to the campaign.