“Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds,” is the informal creed of the U.S. Postal Service.
It could be the adopted inscription of the Ganim and Gomes mayoral campaigns when it comes to fundraising.
Talk about going back to the well…
In the odyssey of this 2023 election cycle bleeding into 2024, raising money is now a laborious exercise in chipping stone.
Not once, not twice, but three times now (good grief, will there be a fourth?) Mayor Joe Ganim and chief opponent John Gomes, as well as their fundraising acolytes, have brought money pleadings to whole new levels. And, now, during the holidays with all eyes on the January 23 Democratic primary redo, this one Ganim and Gomes solely on the ballot, the flow of milk and honey that drives staffing, turnout and attention has taken on an acrid bleakness.
Will either candidate, or both, pony up campaign loans?
The combined camps have spent more than $1 million to attract historically stingy turnouts for the effort. How much can money warm up a January turnout with so many variables including weather?
Gomes has a fundraiser scheduled for Thursday at O’Manel Restaurant. Ganim will set a fundraiser in the coming weeks. In the short term both campaigns have relied on serial givers to sweeten arid treasuries while hunting for other checks in the long run to rebuild stalled campaign infrastructures. Many campaign workers are on hold or working for free on a leap of fundraising faith.
In this season of giving thanks, Ganim and Gomes will break records for saying “thanks.”
Our narrator at Only In Bridgeport informs us that campaign “cupboards are bare”. And that is a reasonable story since the primaries and November 7 Election Day consumed community cash in a reported total of over $1,000,000 raised by all parties. There are two Gomes signs standing in my neighborhood today and I also glanced at a Lamont Daniels sign remaining in the leaves, though that sign is truly historic, because Daniels’ 2023 run is complete.
Not so for Ganim and Gomes who have a date for ballot confrontation, a January primary. Only two names anticipated on the ballot. The futures of others who were on the November 7 ballot were settled and they will be sworn into office on or around December 1, 2023.
What is the cost of campaigning at this moment by category? We can identify both men running. Photos are not required. Stories of their municipal accomplishments or failures have been told ad nauseam. What is it that they can promise the voters today that is unheard of at this time? With no “spoiler” present to divide this race, what is the strategy for an incumbent who faces a broad surge of “Just Say No To Joe”? What will work to gain a broad response to John Gomes invitation to elect him as the only alternative standing at this time?
With an electorate exhausted at this point by rhetoric, and too many absentee ballot applications potentially in use once again for the actual number who are likely to vote in late January, what would funds be spent on? Bodies to get the vote out? Why aren’t grassroot volunteers doing most of that? What will be mailed in advance of the January primary, to a percentage of the 22,000 Democrats eligible and registered but many of whom did not show in November?
What will move Democrats to the polls? Full answers regarding any and all past absentee ballot infractions will be released as they are completed, we assume. Gomes terms his campaign as a Movement. What has moved his supporters thus far and is there still “gas in their tank” to finish the journey? How about three targeted “faceoffs”, civil, “topical”, verbal debates, held on three subjects of broad voter interest like education, economic development, and Charter attention to Mayoral duties or Charter reform, at three large gathering places in the City, and well publicized? Would that assist community focus and turnout? Time will tell.
Our narrator informs us that the “cupboards are bare”. And that is a reasonable story since the primaries and November 7 Election Day consumed community cash in a reported total of over $1,000,000. There are two Gomes signs standing in my neighborhood and I also glanced a Lamont Daniels sign standing in the leaves, though this sign is truly historic, because his 2023 run is complete.
Not so for Ganim and Gomes who have a date for ballot confrontation, a January primary. Only two names on the ballot. The future of others who were on the November 7 ballot was settled and they will be sworn into office on or around December 1, 2023.
What is the cost of campaigning at this moment by category? We can identify both men running. Stories of their municipal accomplishments or failures have been told ad nauseam. What is it that they can promise the voters today that is unheard at this time? With no “spoiler” present to divide the field what is the strategy for the incumbent who faces a broad surge of “Say No To Joe” but that requires a broad response to John Gomes invitation to elect him as the only alternative standing at this time.
With an electorate exhausted at this point with election rhetoric, and too many absentee ballot applications potentially in use once again for the actual number who are likely to vote in late January, what are the funds to be spent on? Bodies to get the vote out? Why aren’t there volunteers to do most of that? What will get mailed to likely voters in the January primary, some small percentage of the 22,000 Democrats eligible and registered but the majority were non-voting in November.
What will move people? Answers regarding any and all absentee ballot infractions areimportant to be released as they are completed. Gomes addresses his campaing as a Movement. What has moved his supporters thus far and is there still “gas in the tank” to finish the journey?
How about three targeted “faceoffs”, civil, verbal debates, held on three subjects of broad voter interest like education, economic development, and Charter attention to Mayoral duties and potential reform at large gathering places in the City, and well publicized? Would that assist community focus and turnout? Time will tell.
John, “What is it that they can promise the voters today that is unheard of at this time? They can promise anything, but Gomes as the agent of change/anti-corruption will be drowned out by time, considering that drumbeat has played its course to a new primary. My guess G2 can still emphasize the progress since his return.
I do wonder how Port’s 1 million dollar mayor campaign stacks up to the other large cities in CT. To Lennie’s point. Money is the mother’s teat in MOM, money, operation, and message. Without it, the operation lags and the message follows. Though the “Just Say No To Joe” requires little in the form of MOM. But needed to spread that message beyond the insiders with a stake in the outcome of a Gomes. Especially in the AB Game.
Considering my “assumption” Wanda/Mario, Mario was present at G2’s last fundraiser, though with an unnamed person they stood in the doorway kinda blocking the entrance as a way, I guess, to put it in Lennie’s term “keeping track” of who donates. I guess that pendulum can swing both ways.
At any rate, Good luck Port Jesus is rooting for you.
One thing is for certain though, Port politics are not going Amish. 🙂
P.S. The Amish are the poorer version of the Hasidic. 🤣
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=lOfZLb33uCg
No Sunny, No Money!