The Connecticut Post is pounding Mayor Bill Finch for the lapse of the Public Works Department’s response to the blizzard. Yes he’s the mayor, but what about the folks running Public Works? Why doesn’t the CT Post make that point? The latest from the Post:
Despite being warned of a worsening forecast for uninterrupted snowfall, Mayor Bill Finch did not alter emergency plans as blizzard Nemo bore down on his city earlier this month.
New details about Bridgeport’s much-criticized response to the 30-inches of snowfall Nemo dumped on Bridgeport Feb. 8 and Feb. 9 emerged Monday as elected officials prepared to face angry citizens.
Read more here.
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This story is getting as played out as the priest selling meth. The photo of the Mayor is priceless. Hope he didn’t hurt himself.
There’s more to the Post’s angle than meets the eye. The city has been wracked by several natural disasters recently, including two tornadoes, a hurricane and a couple of severe snowstorms. All of these events left behind considerable amounts of snow, flood water damage and debris. The Finch administration’s record dealing with acts of God is mediocre, at best. The response to Nemo merely confirmed what many have been thinking for some time: Finch is inept and/or taking bad advice. One of his defenders proffered the blizzard created “white out” conditions and the streets were blocked with too many abandoned cars. As the surrounding towns had to deal with the same set of circumstances and were able to maintain the infrastructure to a higher degree one has to wonder why Mr. Finch has done nothing to defend his performance, other than blaming “yahoos” for the abandoned cars.
The City Council will hold its next meeting tomorrow night at City Hall on Lyon Terrace. Several groups have organized protests and plan to address the Council. It should be highly entertaining.
Your constant criticism and relentless attacks on Bill Finch’s every move is really getting old at this point. Seemingly, it appears your gripe with him is more personal than performance related. Granted, when someone is in a position of power regardless of who they are, they can’t please all the people all the time. I’m sure there are people with legitimate complaints about this mayor’s performance, but maybe you should walk a mile in his shoes during disastrous circumstances brought forth by adverse acts of nature and let’s see if you could have done any better.
It may seem this criticism is getting old, however the performance of this mayor keeps getting worse and worse. It’s been five years now and people are starting to see how bad this guy is.
The Post never heard of Charlie Carroll? Blech!
The buck stops here … Finch wanted the job and his performance and attitude have been abysmal, he is even worse than Mary Moran and she was pretty bad but at least we got rid of her after two years.
Mary Moran was an honest woman who ran an honest administration. Bridgeport was a broke city, as it still is. Moran refused to raise taxes and after legal advice made a decision with the best intentions. She was replaced by Ganim and the black eye he gave the City was more memorable than the bankruptcy bid. I cannot even remember how many tax increases we have had since she left office. It is only a matter of time before the unions becomes a topic of discussion again. Mary Moran was the first woman elected Mayor. The only reason why a novice won was because people believed Bucci really sucked. MORAN’S biggest mistake was she did not clean house and the Democratic machine worked on Canon’s campaign instead of working for the betterment of the City. Funny how the same people are still at the BRBC and 25 years have gone by and the City is still dealing with never-ending fiscal problems. Mary should have listened to Weicker. “Raise the f…… taxes.” Moran will also be remembered as the last Republican mayor in Bridgeport. Having one dominant party is not a good thing. I was a Republican for those two years. I often wonder if my friend Mary Moran supported Lowell Weicker instead of Rowland, would her fate have been different. The money did start rolling into Bridgeport from Weicker after Ganim won. Ganim had his own story and it was not very kind as history will remind us.
I really fracking hope so.
That IS after all, what GOOD managers do. They take the fall when things go wrong, and pass the credit on to subordinates when things go well.
To lead is to serve, after all, right?
Posting this pic is kinda mean. Hope the old guy isn’t hurt. Blizzards are nothing new. Instead of whining about the snow, move to Florida like the rest of the blue hairs. Then you can complain about the mosquitoes, heat and hurricanes.
beg, I’m not sure the mayor would appreciate you referring to him as an “old guy.”
brown eyed girl–I agree, posting that photo was in poor taste. I’m sure you realize some people aren’t happy unless they have something to complain about.
Ice skating is like employment opportunities. You should be aware of the risks involved before you step out onto thin ice. When you fall on your ass, recognize you did so at your own peril and to the amusement of your foes.
How eloquently stated. I somehow think even if the people are as angry as you believe they are, most will express themselves with some semblance of dignity. Comments such as what you posted can destroy anyone’s credibility.
I would like to think George Estrada or Bucky Marsilio would have had a better handle on things during Nemo.
I give the Mayor kudos, he has taken a huge knife in the back for a Public Works dept. run by political favors. Now if a few top-ranking “bosses” were to resign, and “real” qualified “bosses” were hired, the city would run humanely.
*** Questions to all OIB bloggers and staff; are there other CT towns and cities that have complained as much as Bpt residents have concerning the overall job done before, during and after the snowstorm? Any asking for their Mayor to resign like in Bpt? Overall how did other CT towns and cities fare in their handling of the large snowstorm? No opinions, just facts please! ***
Several other communities have complained about their municipal response to the snow emergency. Not all of these communities are continually managed as badly as Bridgeport. Not all of these communities have had to endure the cronyism prevalent in Bridgeport. Nobody has to endure the incompetence of the politically appointed Charlie Carroll. Nobody has had to sit back and watch Mario Testa get the area around his restaurant shoveled and plowed with city resources before the rest of the community. This is the beginning of the straw that is breaking the camel’s back. We are right to complain about Finch’s incompetence. Now he is becoming dangerous.
What a joke, residents to vent their frustrations before the City Council’s regular 7 p.m. meeting Tuesday, presided over by the mayor.
Residents are still having a hard time just going to work and getting back home; now Mayor Finch wants them to go out of their way to vent, please. Channel 8 did a news story last night talking to residents of Bridgeport and they showed streets and sidewalks that are a mess. Mayor Finch needs to do what he just did concerning education and that is go on a listening tour, he NEEDS to go to different churches and schools and listen to the residents.
The first thing the mayor needs to do is to go on tour all around Bridgeport with the media on a bus and to address the questions from the media from what they just saw and what they have been reporting on during the storm.
The mayor should produce the records of his orders about the storm and the actions that were taken.
Can you imagine Charlie Carroll being in charge of an extreme municipal emergency?
Wasn’t he out of touch when the pit bull pups were drowned?
Many of the problems with the storm response seem to have been the result of bad planning, execution or supervision. So yes, the people who had direct responsibility should be held accountable.
But at the end of the day, it’s still the Mayor who gets the credit or the blame. He is the one who is accountable and that is how it should be.