This is a weird–and potentially transforming–election cycle. Several Board of Education members are packing it in, it appears, including Republicans Joe Larcheveque and Annette Segarra-Negron, and now, according to Democratic political operatives Rafael Fonseca. But, GOP sources say, Larcheveque is now on the fence.
So who’s running for school board, as party regulars prepare to endorse candidates in upcoming conventions? Republicans will endorse candidates for school board Thursday night at Port 5 in Black Rock. It could be any combination of current member John Weldon, former member Jim Carbone, 2015 mayoral candidate Chris Taylor and Larcheveque, or, in lieu of him, a replacement. Yup, coming down to the wire.
Some reluctant current members assert it’s a rowboat against the tide dealing with the constant interrogation of lightning rod board member Maria Pereira. Yes, the self-styled piranha of politics has a way of getting under skin.
On Monday, the 90-member Democratic Town Committee will endorse candidates for Board of Education at Testo’s Restaurant. Former City Councilwoman Sybil Allen and former school board member Hernan Illingworth are working the system. Two campaigners hoping to run together under the endorsement flag, Jessica Martinez and Chaila Robinson, have issued letters to party regulars seeking support. Under the rules governing state-mandated minority party representation, no more than six Dems (for nine seats) can sit on the school board. So three Dem slots are available.
The seats of Democrat Howard Gardner and Sauda Baraka who was elected on the Connecticut Working Families Party line twice since 2009 are up this year. The WFP is expected to field candidates in the November general election. Gardner is not a Dem Party suck-up. Will he take a spot on the WFP line in November? Will Baraka do the same again? Or bail?
The WFP is also expected to be a factor in Dem primaries for City Council.
Will City Council President Tom McCarthy seek reelection? How many September primaries for the legislative body?
Confused?
Welcome to the club.
I so hope Joe Larcheveque runs. We are going to highlight his alliance with Dennis Bradley and “boycotting” his statutory obligations to our 21,000 students on every door, his loyalty to Danny Roach, his attendance record which is already calculated for all four years, the MOU agreement he voted for allowing the City to bleed the BOE dry, his children attending Capital Prep. Charter School, his vote to give up $500,000 in Lighthouse Revenue while we are facing another $9,000,000 in cuts, supporting police officers in our schools to the tune of $456,000, but not kindergarten paraprofessionals, etc.
All my analysis, news clippings, and records will be put to good use.
As of 2017, Party Endorsements in Bridgeport are WORTHLESS. The primaries are the deciding factor. The fact that a party endorsement from Mario Testa’s DTC is WORTHLESS and is a reflection on Testa’s(and Ganim’s) influence. In fact, a DTC/Testa/Ganim endorsement may,indeed,be the kiss of death.
Party endorsements are meaningless in this town. The Democratic Party has been hijacked by a group that makes Tammany Hall look like a Boy Scout troop. The GOP in Bridgeport is a moribund political entity that can’t see past its own inertia.