Democratic mayoral candidate Mary-Jane Foster was an early supporter of Dannel Malloy for governor. She supported him over Ned Lamont in the gubernatorial primary. Mayor Bill Finch, as well as Democratic Town Chair Mario Testa, backed Lamont thinking his $10 million would blow out Malloy. Oops! This was after Malloy supported Finch for mayor over State Rep. Chris Caruso in 2007. In the crazy world of politics, Caruso supported Malloy for governor last year and was rewarded with a state job after helping several political operatives for Malloy keep the Bridgeport primary vote even against Lamont.
Finch supported Malloy in the general election led by a Bridgeport appearance from Barack Obama that may have been the difference in Malloy’s squeaker win and included a national media frenzy following a ballot shortage.
Politicians are in the business of keeping score and returning favors. The governor has weighed in to support some city Democratic candidates from around the state. Malloy, it appears, is staying out of the Bridgeport primary. What does it say about a governor not endorsing an incumbent Democratic mayor?
Malloy didn’t run away from Finch, irrespective of the mayor’s support of Lamont, when Finch asked the governor’s help to blowtorch the Bridgeport Board of Education in favor of a state takeover of city schools. Malloy’s budget director Ben Barnes had the same role with the BOE for about a year.
Hey, maybe Lamont will come in and support Finch. We’re still waiting for his $50 million check to build a new Harding High School.
So sounds like Malloy is not endorsing Finch as a courtesy to Foster who supported him in the primary. That, in itself, is a message.
*** Don’t commit ’til the general election, Danny Boy! ***
Politics makes for some very strange bedfellows!
www .ctpost.com/news/article/MariAn-Gail-Brown-Bridgeport-legal-consultant-s-1729456.php
www .ctpost.com/news/article/MariAn-Gail-Brown-Bridgeport-legal-consultant-s-1729456.php
And the s**tstorm continues. Poor Mrs. Beccaro, William’s mother, his son used her and she didn’t even know. How low can you go?
MariAn Gail Brown calls it a “Cluster Finch!” You have to feel bad for Mrs. Beccaro. She probably caught hell from her son.
I feel bad for Mrs. Beccaro. She thought she raised her boy to do the right thing.
Malloy should disown Finch now. After what is being uncovered in the FOI re: board of ed and Finch’s involvement in a sham PAC, Malloy should run as far away as he can get.
Politicians have little or no loyalty. Their only concern is getting elected and getting re-elected. It’s never for the good of the people of a municipality, city, state or country. It’s always about themselves. The only true way for true representation is for there to be term limits at all levels of elected government.
If the President of the United States is limited to two four-year terms, why aren’t the rest limited?
When our government was established elected positions weren’t lifetime careers. It was civil service. When your term was completed you went home to your job, your home, your family and friends. Politicians are entitled to benefits the private sector doesn’t have. They get permanent healthcare and guaranteed pension benefits for life. The belief here is unless all are so entitled, none should be.
Beyond a couple of snipes from Bill Finch and Adam “Pecker” Wood, City Hall has not addressed this matter directly. It certainly appears to be a “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours” kind of arrangement. Finch’s donation of $46,000.00 to the PAC in question and then being “reimbursed” for travel, lodging, food and shopping trips looks a little bit like money laundering as well.
Thanks, Mario. This is the piece of scum you recruited for mayor. Thanks a whole fuck of a lot.
I believe it was Stafstrom who recruited Mayor Finch.
Stafstrom is no better than Mario.
Your beliefs are spot on. Stafstrom was afraid of Chris Caruso going into the temple and ridding it of the moneylenders. It was Stafstrom who rode herd on the election process. Even though he was forced by the state to relinquish his chairmanship of the DTC, there was no provision for him not to be vice chairman. And from that pulpit he controlled the party. Cynthia White was merely a front. Nice lady, but not the brightest bulb in the box. Strafstrom is no better than Mario except you know exactly what Mario is up to. If you look at the money trail with Stafstrom you would know his MO.
Bob, Amen!!!
On both counts, thanks Ron. Perhaps a small, clean nuclear device at Testo’s during a DTC meeting would solve a bunch of problems.
OK. Read Brown’s article in the Post … it is a MUST read.
Very enlightening. I laughed my ass off. This woman is listed as chairman of the PAC in question and she doesn’t know a thing about it. The PAC pays her cell phone bills and she doesn’t have a cell phone.
I love a vigorous free press.
Can you picture it?
Not knowing too many octogenarians involved with the behind-the-scenes machinations of politics, I figured she’d have a lot of insights to share. She must be quite busy. The PAC reimburses her more than $100 some months, others well over $300 for her cellphone bills.
“They (People for Excellence in Government) list me as chairman?” Beccaro asks. “Why am I chairman? I don’t know anything about this.”
Alright then, what does she do for the PAC?
“They reimburse you most every month for your cellphone service,” I point out. “What exactly do you do for the PAC?”
Beccaro: “Cellphone? I don’t know. I don’t even have a cellphone. What would they be doing reimbursing me?”
Read more: www .ctpost.com/news/article/MariAn-Gail-Brown-Bridgeport-legal-consultant-s-1729456.php
The CT Post finally is becoming very interesting to read due to good news reporters–I just wish they would start to report BPT crimes in their rag.
Do you think Mayor Finch’s pulse is running a little fast today? Does he still have rhythm?
www .youtube.com/watch?v=kXQIQX8aDc0
Maybe he is not endorsing Finch as a courtesy to BOTH Foster and Gomes, who also supported Malloy over Lamont in the primary and actively campaigned on his behalf in both the primary and general election. Or maybe he is not endorsing Finch because Finch and the DTC worked against him in the primary. Or maybe he is not endorsing Finch because it’s time for him and Mario to go so maybe Bridgeport can finally move forward in some meaningful way, which, in turn, would be helpful to the state. Or maybe it’s all of the above.
I hope the state does not live up to my moniker here and drop the ball on its investigation of Finch’s PAC. Another in what is turning out to be a long line of embarrassments Bridgeport has had for mayor.
Corrupticut,
I think you’re correct on the last point. Maybe, just maybe Governor Malloy is not endorsing Bill Finch for a second term because the DTC under the leadership of Mario Testa has prevented the city from moving forward. Steel Point is a perfect example. The broken bridge at Congress Street. The bridge at Pleasure Beach. Finch hold press conferences to make Big Pronouncements and then goes back to the office to let the matter be forgotten. He got his photo in the morning paper, a sound bite on News 12. After that he doesn’t give a shit.
Lennie, would you give us some background on past job employment Bill Finch has had? This might give readers a possible road map to the MariAn Gail Brown article about Mayor Finch and the Beccaro family and People for Excellence in Government “reimbursement.”
Anything beyond his past tenure at Timpanelli’s dumping grounds for the politically disenfranchised has little or no meaning.
Although it would be good to see in writing just how big a mistake we made in hiring a guy who couldn’t hold onto a job longer than he holds on to his … never mind.
I don’t think any job (except the p/t state senatorship) lasted more than 2 years. He’s an incompetent, empty suit; all style and no substance.
Ron: one job I know he had was at the Gunster House. While there (and this is the truth), he sponsored the beer concession at the Barnum festival air show. You can’t make this stuff up.
I heard a lot more bad things went on at Gunster than this. If memory serves me right the city under Joe Ganim ended up giving Gunster a significant amount of home funds to make good for these bad things.
A rhetorical question, Lennie. Of course he’s sending a message. The message is “if you win, I’ll support you; if you lose you become persona non grata.”
Bridgeport politics is akin to a hornet’s nest. Governor Malloy doesn’t want to get too close to it for fear of being stung.
The Governor needs to support someone and I’m sure we will be one of the first cities he visits after/during the primary.
Governor Malloy is sending a message:
“The incumbent is cut from the same piece of snakeskin as his predecessors.”
You could say because Mayor Finch has a party endorsement it is a signal for the governor to endorse.
Politicians often skip around it. All comments mentioned have merit–which is an explanation why the governor is not endorsing, at least at this point. In this day and age, “party loyalty” is often in the eyes of the beholder.
My favorite dodge when a politician is asked what his endorsement is, is for said pol to take a statement along the lines of “the people will make the endorsement” when they vote in the primary, blah, blah, blah.
A lack of endorsement is a clear sign Malloy is not happy with the ogre-like creatures occupying Bridgeport City Hall. No one’s happy with Dannel because he’s making budget cuts that are creating layoffs of state employees. If the unions don’t want to play ball, is that his fault? Everyone complains about the budget and wasteful government spending but the same whiners are jealously protective of the pork barrel they’re eating from.
Dannel Malloy is from Fairfield County, knows the problems facing Connecticut’s cities, and is aware of the corruption and inertia in Bridgeport that prevents any development from ever getting past the lip-flapping stage. Look at what he accomplished in Stamford. I’d like to see that happen to Bridgeport. The only way the city has a chance of moving forward is by cashing out Bill Finch and Adam “Pecker” Wood. Change is in the air. Mary-Jane Foster is poised to take the Democratic nomination for Mayor. John Gomes thought it was his for the asking. Now he’s a distant third to Finch and Foster. We all ought to chip in, buy Gomes a bottle of Listerine to wash the taste of sour grapes out of his mouth, tell him to take a nice hot bath, relax, and sign on to the Foster campaign. Be a part of the winning team.
Guess Malloy made a new choice:
www .ctpost.com/news/article/Coleman-names-new-Bridgeport-school-board-1743182.php
New Board is named. I guess the Old Board and new candidates need the judge to rule ASAP.
I guess Malloy is supportive of taking away people’s rights like Finch and neither believe in democracy. I am sorry I voted for Malloy.