Gomes Supporter Claims Firing Was Political Retaliation, City Says Reorganization Of Office

Maria Pires, who worked in municipal government for more than 30 years and most recently part-time in the tax assessor’s office, says her termination from the city was political payback for her public support of mayoral candidate John Gomes, an ally turned political rival of Mayor Joe Ganim.

Pires attended Gomes’ mayoral announcement last week in City Hall. She is also deputy treasurer of Bridgeport Now, a political action committee whose formation is backed by Gomes’ supporters.

Retiring in 2019, Pires returned to City Hall in a part-time role.

In a communication to Pires dated Dec. 1, Domenic Costello, Senior Labor Relations Officer writes “This letter will serve as written notice that due to a reorganization/restructuring of the Tax Assessor’s Office, your employment with the City of Bridgeport is terminated effective immediately.”

Pires says the timing of the letter is curious.

By design or not, Pires certainly brought attention to herself during Gomes’ public filing in the Town Clerk’s Office standing on a table–holding the door open for others, eyeing an overhead view of the candidate addressing supporters–shouting “change” with no concealment of her surroundings.

This letter by Pires was circulated to friends.

It is with great disappointment to share with you that I have been terminated, effective immediately, as an employee of the City of Bridgeport where I have been serving for over 36 years.

Yesterday, for the first time, I publicly showed my support for a 2023 Mayoral candidate of Bridgeport; John Gomes. As a voter, resident, taxpayer and homeowner in the City of Bridgeport for decades, I attended the announcement of John Gomes’ campaign at City Hall. Eager to make my voice heard about supporting this candidate, I subsequently shared my support for John Gomes on social media.

I grew up in the City of Bridgeport–this is where I call home with my family for many decades. Bridgeport has many challenges, but I have been proud to live here and do my part by working for the City for over 36 years to serve my community. Although this is true, we cannot ignore that certain freedoms are threatened by the current administration of the City of Bridgeport.

To my surprise, on December 1, 2022 at 3:00 pm, just three hours after John’s Mayoral candidacy announcement, I received an email from the City stating that I was terminated effective immediately. The reason they cited for my termination was that the administration “restructured” which resulted in my position being no longer needed which allegedly caused my termination. To date, there has been no evidence or framework provided by the current administration regarding the ‘restructuring plan.’ As an employee of the City of Bridgeport for almost four decades, I deserve more transparency and better communication about details resulting in my termination. In my opinion, with more detail and investigation, we will find out that my termination is directly a result of my support for John Gomes. To my knowledge, there is no restructuring plan and the Mayor and his administration continues to try to make City employees feel easily replaceable to discourage public support for a Mayoral candidate that isn’t him.

It is with great disappointment to share with you that I have been terminated, effective immediately, as an employee of the City of Bridgeport where I have been serving for over 36 years.

Over 60 years ago, my father walked from Portugal through Spain and into France seeking political asylum to eventually arrive in the United States, the country that would provide offered him long-term freedom and success to him and his to grow his family and succeed.

It has been a true pleasure and privilege to live in a country where freedom of speech is held in high regard, encouraging its citizens to make their voice heard through the Democratic process of electing our representatives into government. I’ve always known the importance of this through knowing my father’s struggle and the value of our freedoms that he instilled in me. That’s why I felt confident in my decision to share my support for John regardless of any possible action against me as an employee and I will stand up to use my voice and alert the residents of this clear example of very poor leadership. As an employee, I have always led with integrity, and I am shocked to be terminated after being told that I’m an exemplary employee and never causing any issue over more than three decades of service.

I grew up in the City of Bridgeport, this is where we call home. I am proud to live and work in this community, however, I feel obligated to share we cannot ignore that those freedoms are threatened and have been neither demonstrated nor supported by the current administration of the City of Bridgeport.

Yesterday, I publicly showed my support to the new Mayoral Candidate of Bridgeport, John Gomes.

As a voter, resident, taxpayer and homeowner in the City of Bridgeport for decades, I attended the announcement of John Gomes’ campaign at City Hall. Eager to make my voice heard about supporting this candidate, I subsequently shared my support for John Gomes on social media.

To my surprise, just three hours later at 3:00 pm, I received an email from the City stating that I was terminated effective immediately. The reason, due to restructuring. To date, there has been no evidence or framework provided by the current administration regarding the ‘restructuring plan.’ In addition, as an employee of the City of Bridgeport for almost four decades, I would have appreciated the professional and ethical courtesy of a notice.

The current administration is violating the constitutional rights of its residents and voters that work for the City by threatening them with potential termination of their employment for reasons that are not justified.

The freedoms that my family and I have sought and have earned through decades of hard work and dedication, were so recklessly stripped away by this action. This is not the first instance of this tactic by the Ganim Administration. I am not the first employee to be terminated under a false ‘restructuring’ claim and I fear I am not the last.

We need to stand in support of courageous citizens in this community who are demanding honest and, transparent governance. We can’t allow Joe Ganim and this current administration to take away our civil rights and silence our voices.

I am determined to remain strong through this trying time, and to uphold these freedoms to the best of my ability. I encourage us all to remain engaged in our City’s governance and make your voice heard in the upcoming Mayoral election, it will be an important one.