Political Sinners And Saints, Plus: Bring Home The Beacon

Weekend Update: What say you about winners and losers this week?

Library supporters big winners. I’m just wondering about the small print they’ll encounter when it comes to funding the 1 mil for library services. What can the city take away from the library that was a previous cost?

Losers? City pols who had pledged to work against the library question.

Sauda Baraka and Maria Pereira, Working Families Party candidates for Board of Education, big winners.

Losers? Pathetic organization on behalf of GOP BOE candidates.

Bad night for city GOP but great night for Republican State Party Chair Chris Healy.

Not such a great night for Healy’s Dem counterpart Nancy DiNardo who saw her hometown first selectman in Trumbull Ray Baldwin erased by Tim Herbst.

Big losers, suburban chief executive Dems.

Big winners, the Republican opponents.

Big win for Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti with federal agents oozing all over his city. Electorate is awfully forgiving when you don’t raise taxes. Are the feds done with Mayor Mark who has not been charged?

Not Wed To Ned

When a candidate has an endless supply of cash to spend on his own campaign, he’s almost always a threat. But Ned Lamont, who upset U.S. Senator Joe Lieberman in a primary in 2006 only to lose the general election, is coming from a different place as he plans a gubernatorial run. For one thing, there’s no marketable monster like he had with Joe. Dems were anti war, Joe was pro war, Ned was a fit. But then he stumbled in the general. There’s a reason a Democrat has not been elected governor since 1986. The party nominee ends up being a liberal’s liberal and that doesn’t play well in a broad electorate general election. Ned is just that. I don’t see Secretary of State Susan Bysiewicz or outgoing Stamford Mayor Dan Malloy cut that way. Will all the progressives that swooned over Ned have the same energy this time around? I think not. At least not from talking to Dem operatives around the state. Bysiewicz and Malloy (the endorsed candidate in 2006 who lost a close primary to New Haven Mayor John DeStefano) have been working party regulars and lining up support. And If I’m those two I say this: Ned Lamont cannot win a general election. If enough of that sinks in, it will cannibalize his primary support.

What’s The Commission On $1.5 million?

According to an e-blast sent by Black Rock realtor Gail Robinson, former Congressman Chris Shays has sold his house for more than $1.5 million. Not bad in this economy:

… Chris & Betsi Shays home at 37 Beacon Street closed today at a sale price of $1,550,000. This is the first public sale of a home for over a million in Black Rock since 2006, when at the peak of the market, 125 Battery Park Drive sold for $1,449,000. There was a private sale last year for 141 Anchorage at $2.3 million.

OIB heard from the former congressman Friday afternoon and he confirmed the sale. He and wife Betsi will reside in St. Michaels, MD.  He shared this:

“We will miss our home in Bridgeport and all our terrific neighbors. Representing the people of the 4th Congressional District was an opportunity of a lifetime. I am sorry it is over but I am excited about our new opportunities. If you want it to be life can be a magnificent adventure and we want it to be.”

Caruso’s High Note

State Rep. Chris Caruso wants to take Governor Jodi Rell on a neighborhood tour of the Upper East Side. So does Republican Town Chair Marc Delmonico. The governor has declined the request. Are they not suitable squires? See Caruso’s invite below:

November 5, 2009

Governor M. Jodi Rell
Executive Office of the Governor
State Capitol
210 Capitol Avenue
Hartford, CT 06106

Governor Rell,

On behalf of my constituents, I would like to personally invite you to join me on a tour of the proposed site of the juvenile detention center in Bridgeport and the surrounding neighborhood. I believe this will give you the opportunity to see first hand that this is not an appropriate location for such a facility. It will also provide you with an opportunity to meet neighborhood residents in an effort to solicit their views.

Governor, I anxiously await your response.

Sincerely,

Christopher Caruso

State Representative, 126th District

From Jim Himes’ Times

On Monday, I was thrilled to host Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in Norwalk for a meeting with a diverse group of teachers, administrators, officials and reform advocates. I don’t use the word “thrilled” lightly. One of my frustrations in Congress has been that the urgency of financial regulatory reform and the emergency measures taken to try to reverse this recession have backburnered the make-or-break issue of our economic future: education. We are a very lucky country in terms of our natural resources, our hardworking people and our knack for business. But I am convinced that THE SINGLE most important competitive advantage we have is our innovative capacity. And that capacity is very much a function of how well we educate our people, from pre-school to post-graduate engineering school.

Secretary Duncan did not mince words. In terms of just about everything that matters: graduation rates, math and science scores, vocational education, we are behind our competitors and getting more so. In Bridgeport, a city I am proud to represent in Congress, less than half the kids who arrive at a high school graduate. That is neither morally nor economically acceptable. If you believe that a democracy depends on an engaged and educated citizenry, it may be an existential problem.

Fortunately, Secretary Duncan has both the drive and the resources to begin addressing it. The stimulus bill included billions of dollars to dampen the blow the economy would otherwise have dealt to schools. Secretary Duncan’s Race to the Top initiative is sending resources to those school districts that commit to the changes that will improve achievement, and which demonstrate improvement. As he put it, Secretary Duncan will nurture success regardless of where and how it is achieved. Given the severity of the challenge, we should expect nothing less.

News release from Himes opponent Rob Russo

Russo to Himes: “Where are the Jobs?”

Unemployment Rate Passes 10%

Today, the Department of Labor announced the United States economy lost another 190,000 jobs bringing the unemployment rate to 10.2%, the highest rate since 1983. When counting those who have either settled for part-time jobs or stopped looking for work, the unemployment rate is 17.5%.

“Candidate Jim Himes promised to lower unemployment, but Congressman Jim Himes has spent hundreds of billions of dollars on programs that have failed to create jobs.” Russo said. “Connecticut families are hurting, and Jim Himes is failing to help them.”

Every solution implemented by Jim Himes and the Democratically controlled Congress has failed to lower unemployment. In February when the Stimulus Bill passed the White House predicted it would create 41,000 jobs in Connecticut. In reality, Connecticut has lost 35,900 since that time.

“We need innovative solutions to revive our economy, not the Himes/Pelosi reckless solution of billions of dollars in new spending which has only created a “jobless recovery.”” said Russo.

News release from Jodi Rell

Governor Rell: State Exploring Prison Consolidation

Cites Decreasing Inmate Numbers, New Correction Officer Graduating Class And Effective Post-release Programs As Factors

Governor M. Jodi Rell today announced she has directed the Department of Correction to consider closing a prison, citing a decline in the inmate population, the agency’s success with a number of post-release programs and the need to find savings and efficiencies in state government.

“The fact that we are at a point to realistically consider closing a prison is a testament to DOC’s effectiveness in carrying out its mission, one of the most difficult in state government,” Governor Rell wrote in a letter today to Acting DOC Commissioner Brian K. Murphy. “However, consolidating operations must be done – first and foremost – with the safety of the staff, the public and the inmates as a priority.”

According to the DOC, the inmate population is currently about 18,500, down from a record high of nearly 19,900 in February 2008. The agency attributed the decrease, in part, to the success of some re-entry programs that allow offenders to return to productive lives and the stepped up pace of the now full-time parole board.

“Because of the agency’s efforts and re-entry initiatives, comprehensive and timely reviews by a full-time Board of Pardons and Parole and a new class of 125 Correction Officer graduates, we have an opportunity to build on those successes,” the Governor wrote.

Noting that other states are spending millions of dollars to build more prisons because of ballooning inmate population, the Governor said Connecticut has an opportunity to set itself apart from its neighbors in terms of efficiencies.

The Governor requested that the DOC, over the next few weeks, study the feasibility of closing a prison and make its recommendation to her by November 27. In her letter, however, the Governor underscored her intention to reopen any shuttered prison should the need arise.

“With troubling deficit estimates still a reality, it is incumbent upon us to thoroughly examine any and all savings in state spending, but if we again need the space and must reopen a prison, we absolutely will,” the Governor said.

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79 comments

    1. Mayoral spokesman Elaine Ficarro said the mayor only has one personal car and the “ecologically conscious mayor probably planned to pick up his wife so they’d only have one car” at Testo’s.

      Translation: he didn’t want Sonya driving after a night celebrating at Testo’s.

      Have to give him credit there. Unlike a former mayor and spouse who would drink and drive all the time and then call the police to cover their indiscretions.

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  1. donj: Please give it a rest. Concentrate on issues that matter. Your guy Himes holds a meeting in Norwalk with the education secretary. Why not Bridgeport where we have a 60-plus% dropout rate? What did we get, a passing reference in his press release?
    Why not ask or look into where the $7 million the BOE got in stimulus money went? No one knows that works in BOE headquarters.
    Do this instead of posting numbers that don’t mean squat.

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    1. donj, you go and express yourself. You can write about what you feel is important to you. If Town Committee wants to ask or look into something, he can do it himself. It’s a free country. TC does not stand for “The Castros”.

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  2. I’m not a huge Caruso supporter, but you have to give credit where credit is due. He was the first to speak up against the juvie facility in a residential neighborhood and the first to invite the governor to tour the neighborhood.

    All Caruso has to do is stand by and watch Finch & Company self destruct. Unless there is a drastic change in the Finch administration, Mayor Bill will not be a factor in 2011.

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  3. town committee

    You should be a Republican, you agree with them 99% of the time. You align yourself with them. Rell has done nothing for Bpt that’s why Sue B will beat her next year. As for Himes he is a great congressman and he will not be beat I promise you that he is doing a great job. So why don’t you join the Republican party, you fit their typical voter. Like I said I will vote Republican only in local Bridgeport races, other than that never. They are a party of old white men and the Bpt Republican party is starting to look like it. They kicked out their only shot of winning a BOE seat and she went on to the Working Family line and crushed them!!! We saw it at the polls. tc your thoughts are not one with the people at JFK and Hooker like they told you this at the polls already. 26 Votes at JFK is pathetic buddy!!!

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  4. donj you are right I got my ass kicked in JFK but it took a third set of candidates to do it. I can say I gave it a try and tried to effect change. What can you say. Nothing. You quote bullshit stats that do not mean a thing. Other than that you do nothing.
    What do you know about Himes? Nothing. Do you know he voted for the stimulus bill and never read it? Do you know he will vote for the health bill and never read it? Do you know he is burying your generation in debt for decades to come? In your eyes that’s okay because he is a Democrat. He explained the health bill to 7th graders in New Canaan, how much time did he spend in Bridgeport doing the same? He just held a meeting in Norwalk with the Obama Education secretary while Bridgeport has a 68% dropout rate. Does that tell you anything?
    If you read the posts a few days ago you would have seen that I came out for Susan B. I align myself with what I feel is right I would say middle of the road to conservative views. I would say I am a blue dog Democrat.

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      1. Yeah your right I should not let a 19-year-old first-time voter get to me but damn with all that is going on in this city it’s day after day of bullshit statistics.

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  5. town committee // Nov 4, 2009 at 7:14 am

    “It’s time for the Bridgeport Republican party to file papers that will close it out as a political party. They are a disgrace and full of people that are just too lazy to campaign or work to be elected. Losing two seats on the BOE should be the nail in the coffin.”

    Talk about donj quoting bullshit! You and your partner lost the opportunity to serve on two seats. Are you saying that your and your partner’s coffin are full of nails? Are you saying that you both were a disgrace and too lazy to campaign or work to be elected? The Republicans lost just like you both lost.

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  6. Joel, other than the two candidates in Black Rock which other candidates actually campaigned and went door to door with their campaign? NONE. Where has the party been with all the stuff going on in Bridgeport and not a peep (you don’t count because you do talk issues). Two years ’til the mayoral election and still no candidate. They will do what they usually do and that is wait until 6 months before the election, introduce an unknown candidate and go through the motions.
    BTW Joel we did not lose by a 4-to-1 margin but you are right we lost.

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    1. You have some valid points TC. I just wanted to keep you on your toes. I worked with Slater and Weldon, I saw with my own Loco Eyes that these two candidates really had a strong desire to win and serve the whole district–not just Black Rock. For two newcomers, they didn’t do bad at all against a machine and two very well-known figures in Black Rock. You and Barney didn’t do bad either.

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  7. Paging Lennie!!!

    “Bad night for city GOP but great night for Republican State Party Chair Chris Healy.”

    Lennie, what’s your take on the effect the Republican win in Stamford and other towns will have on the upcoming Himes race? Obama pushed for New Jersey and Virginia Democrats and they got clobbered too. Can Obama save Himes again?

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  8. Shays Tsunami

    Poor Christopher Shays!

    Shays is laughing all the way to the bank. He sold his house in Stamford for $850k in 1999. He bought his house in Black Rock for $490k in 1999. He sold it today for $1,550 million. Nice work if you can get it.

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    1. He will still have plenty left over after he pays all the campaign bills he was left holding. One Thousand, Five Hundred and Fifty Thousand Million Dollars. The buyer is the idiot here; he could have purchased the entire Black Rock section.

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    2. Hey Grin, how much is Jimmy’s house worth? What’s the equity? While you are at it, can you check to see what’s the value on Joe Ganim’s prior residence and if Republicans live there and in Shays’ former home?

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    1. Well, I’d have to say any differences between a pubic sale and a private sale are slight.

      However, if you meant to ask about a public sale, the difference is that in a private sale, the house is not offered to the public, not listed with a realtor, not posted on MLS.

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  9. Joel you are on the money. Slater did very well for a guy facing not only a Dem but also a very popular guy in Black Rock. Joel do you have the Black Rock school results for me buddy? When Republicans can get over 40% then they did well if you ask me. Slater got almost 42%. I really want to see how Black Rock votes becuase I definitely know Slater ran more than just 42% at Black Rock school.

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    1. donj, I don’t have those numbers; looking at other numbers. I’m looking into joining Linda McMahon and debating whether I should jump in early into the 2010 race.

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  10. Donj: You really don’t have a clue do you? What do Slater’s numbers have to do with mine? He ran in another district and ran when all voters could vote including independents. Just for the hell of it I did better in the vote but that does not mean squat, a loss is a loss.
    While you are riding the rails to whatever college it is you go to I suggest you start reading about what is really happening in the country. Better yet start learning what is happening in your home town. You want to keep screwing with me have at it but be prepared.

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  11. TC I’m not screwing with you, you started it first; it sounds like you’re angry, buddy. Lol … it’s just a friendly conversation for the heck of it, I supported you in September.

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  12. donj –

    Slater received 294 votes at Black Rock School and Weldon received 296. Brannelly received 468 and McCarthy 388. I’ll let someone else do the math to see if your guy went over 42%.

    Now as for the Library, I’m very happy to announce that the mighty 130th led the way with the most total YES votes of any district in the city–562. Further, the 458 Yes votes at little ol’ Black Rock School were by far the highest precinct total in the city.

    I’ve never been involved in a campaign that was able to do so much with so little. “Liberate Libraries” had little or no money and was opposed by the powerful DTC, yet they (we) won. This was grassroots neighbor-to-neighbor organizing and campaigning at its best. Tuesday was a great day for the library and for the citizens of Bridgeport.

    Here are the 130th totals for the Library Referendum:

    Black Rock 458 198

    Longfellow 104 46

    Total – 562 244 69.73% Yes

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    1. John from Black Rock, it looks like Brannelly or someone was cutting McCarthy like Joel Gonzalez with a guillotine.

      80 votes more? John do you have the AB numbers?

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      1. Joel–ABs were inconsequential and are included in the totals I posted. At Black Rock Slater got 2, Weldon got 4 Brannelly and McCarthy each got 3. At Longfellow Slater and Weldon each got 1 and the Dems didn’t get any. ABs have not been a huge deal in the 130th for a while now.

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  13. A small group of people in Black Rock used poor judgment. The Dems asked them to vote against Referendum #2, because it would equate to a tax increase.
    One of the candidates voted for a tax increase; hundreds of fee increases; and higher unemployment (layoffs). Why didn’t the majority of voters vote against Brannelly, who did just what the Dems claimed Referendum #2 would do? It looks like Black Rock is saying that tax increases, layoffs and fee increases are good.

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  14. It’s The Weekend, when the political process and consequently this blog comes to a grinding halt.

    Attention all business people:

    WHEN was the last time your LLC made you money?

    Answer: NEVER! LLCs are decidedly defensive formats designed to protect business owners from their enemies.

    Wanna make money?

    Try an O.P.I.C. which stands for One Person Internet Company.

    This format is the leading choice of those discouraged by the lack of available jobs. Why look for a job when you can create your own income using the tools on your desktop?

    The world has changed and you’re in charge! While others try to import companies and manage buildings, Local Eyes is busy managing people who create and export a product made on their printer right here in Bridgeport. Doesn’t Made in Bridgeport have a nice sound to it? The smokestacks of yesterday have been replaced by the printers of today.

    Get Happy

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  15. donj–Yes it did pass. The Black Rock results were 360 YES and 175 NO.

    Personally, I did not vote on question 1 as I had absolutely no idea what the hell it was all about.

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  16. What were the totals for the Working Family party at Black Rock, did they run ahead of Republicans??? Please give us the official results. Black Rock had a very good turnout.

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  17. OK John you are the best man … If you don’t mind can you do the one thing I just asked? Can you give us all the results from the races and the total vote count at Black Rock pretty please … by the way I voted yes for the Library.

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  18. donj–I’m about to go out for a run (10 miles). When I get back I’ll see what else I have from Black Rock. I believe WF’s did run ahead of 2 of the 3 Republicans but I’ll check and let you know.

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  19. It’s a Fast World we live in. While some remain fixated on the past, others look to the future.

    Did the library vote already backfire?

    OLD: Two weeks ago, I thought The Liberate Library Committee was enslaving taxpayers.

    NEW: Now, I think the successful referendum vote has backfired and promises to enslave so-called library supporters on a permanent basis.

    Here’s why:

    YES voters passed on their chance to get a 2.33 mil rate as opposed to the 1 mil they won. Even The Bridgeport Charter calls it a tax. Critics might say they won the battle but lost the war.

    In the process, they’ve lost any upside funds they might receive from a considerate City Council who will be quick to use the referendum’s results to their advantage.

    What will happen if the 1 mil rate ever falls below the library’s anticipated budget needs?
    Answer: I think the library’s request for more funds would fall on unsympathetic ears.

    In addition, by locking themselves into a preordained annual amount, the BPL has gained stability at the expense of the flexibility needed to deal with an increasingly belligerent City Council.

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  20. Local Eyes
    I must say you are one of the most positive people I read. Congrats on “thinking ahead” and thinking in an advanced world and certainly not showing a regressive sense of life.
    Try to sell your ideas on O.P.I.C. that should keep you refreshed and as for any library, who needs them? They are just a distraction from being stupid.

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  21. NOW that the library’s budget is triggered by Bridgeport’s mil rate, The Liberate Library Committee has an obvious interest in HIGHER TAXES in Bridgeport.

    bonus: I am putting the rock back in Black Rock by virtue of an email address. Classic rockers, take note.

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  22. “The Liberate Library Committee has an obvious interest in HIGHER TAXES in Bridgeport.”

    My Loco Eyes disagree with your Local Eyes. Bill Finch and TLLC agreed that the voters shall decide. The voters said yes to more funding for the libraries. It doesn’t mean that they voted yes for higher taxes. Bill Finch runs a great risk of not getting re-elected, if taxes are raised any more. Re-allocation is the key; school libraries is one place to look into. The space created by school library closings can perhaps be used to implement your O.P.I.C.–One Person Internet Company–idea. The BOE’s concept of O.P.I.C.–One Person Intellectually Challenged has not worked.

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  23. To so-called library supporters:

    Your twisted fate has found you out and it finally turned the tables–stole your dreams and paid you with regret
    — Henley, Frey Doolin Dalton-Desperado reprise

    The voters didn’t vote for more library funds, they voted for the referendum which triggers the library budget based on Bridgeport’s mil rate.

    Conclusion: The Liberate Library Committee has a documented and deliberate interest in HIGHER TAXES in Bridgeport.

    Friends of The BPL voted NO on the recent referendum.

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  24. L.E.
    Have you ever considered covering the inside of your dunce cap with aluminum foil? Try it, you will feel better. (It’s a cure I read about in the library.)

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    1. Yeah, yeah. Do that, man. It will block the Martians broadcasting from Altair 4 and they will not be able to read the graffiti spray-painted inside your skull.

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  25. I come here for the kind of abuse I can’t find anywhere else.

    THIS week’s losers include all those who voted YES on the library referendum. Their short-lived victory will backfire and label them as tax increasers and monthly rent raisers as landlords use the referendum as a reason to raise rents.

    WHAT’S IT LIKE TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE?
    Just ask anyone who voted YES on the library referendum. They were misguided and ill-informed.

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  26. donj–Here are the BOE results from the 130th:

                 Black Rock - Longfellow
    
    Snow             316           47
    Hernandez        174           47
    Quiroga          179           41
    
    Crossin          342          115
    Colon            240          113
    Simmons          272          135
    
    Baraka           237           64
    Pereira          288           72

    As I posted the other day, the Working Families BOE victory reminds me of 1983 when ACORN won 3 seats on the BOE. That year ACORN members Hazel Langston, Elizabeth Langston and that long-haired, scruffy guy from the East Side (whose name still escapes me) beat the DTC-endorsed slate in the Dem primary and went on to win the general election.

    Now just who the hell was that scruffy guy?

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  27. Wow thanks John a big shock in these numbers. Pereira ran ahead of both the Republican and Democrat!!! Are you sure the total vote number is correct? Snow 316 Crossin 342 Baraka 237??? That vote total seems way too high 895????????? When I voted I was the 622 person to vote and that was around 6. I know in 2 hours 273 people did not vote nooo way on that.

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  28. I’m kinda confused on the BOE race, do we select more than one candidate per slot meaning if Snow, Crossin and Baraka are running on the same slot can you vote for 2 of the 3 candidates because I voted for just one on each BOE slot I voted for Baraka and that was it then I moved on the next line and voted for Pereira then I moved on the last row of the BOE and voted for Quiroga.

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  29. Matter of fact all I need to know is what was the total number of people that voted at Black Rock School. I can’t Imagine that over 800 people voted. At 6pm about 630 voted, I’m so confused.

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  30. Sorry for asking so much but it is just like Lennie said, Bpt is a big city and has many different neighborhoods it’s not like a suburban town. Bridgeport is so unique because of this.

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  31. I’m afraid I don’t have the overall Black Rock turnout –maybe Lennie has that number.

    As for the BOE–You were able to voe for ANY 3 candidates regardless of ballot position and due to “minority representation” the top 5 finishers win a BOE seat. This ensures that the minority party, up until this year the Republicans, has representation on the BOE. The overall breakdown is usually 6 Democrats and 3 Republicans.
    Now, with the Working Families victory that equation has changed. The Bpt Republican party is in real danger of losing its major party status and Working Families could soon replace them.

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  32. One more thing, Joe L should just become a Republican. I was talking to my uncle today he is a moderate Democrat who voted for Shays throughout the years and voted for Joe L in 2006. He told me today he regrets voting for Joe because he was against Obama health care and that Joe could care less about the working class. And all I have to say is my uncle is 100000% right. Joe stands no chance in 2012 because he have turned off a lot of Dems that voted for him in 2006.

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  33. Thanks John you are a big help that’s why I always say you’ve been my favorite since I first liked politics and that was back in ’07 when I was just searching for info about Caruso and Finch and google led me to Fairfield County Only in Bpt and since that day I have became a political junkie and if you look at me you would never think i even follow politics period. Thanks Len for making this great article!!! Let’s hope Health care passes!!!

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  34. Thanks for the kind words donj and amen to health care reform passing. Stop by the Black Rock library and say hello sometime–unless of course you wish to maintain your anonymity and that’s cool too.

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  35. donj, when it comes to the total number of people that voted at Black Rock School the determining factor is HOW LAZY the voters at Black Rock are. Why? Because, basically, voting is a RETAIL ACTIVITY and history has proven that lazy people (or those with traffic, children or work concerns) will WAIT UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE to call or show up. As soon as you post a closing time, many people will steer their activities to that time. It’s Retail 101.

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  36. Re: Wheeler Fountain in Bridgeport

    “For 30 years, that fountain hasn’t worked,” Hahneman said, “For 30 years, mayors of this city have promised to fix it and Mayor Finch has come through on that project.”

    Mayor Finch has the toughest job in America but finds time and money for a neighborhood revitalization project left unfulfilled by previous administrations. I call that progress.

    Good job, Mr. Mayor.

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    1. *** Good job West Side N.R.Z. in keeping the pressure on the Mayor’s Admin. & working with the city’s Angie Staltaro & Tom Coble to get the city historical upkeep grants for this project as well as more public trash cans in certain areas of the West Side. It’s nice to see good things happen in neighborhoods where there’s some type of community involvement working together. Overall most of the community N.R.Z.’s since their start have been really working hard to make good community ideas come to life, let’s hope it continues. ***

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  37. Thanks President Obama and Jim Himes for standing up for the poor to give us equal and cheap health care. Today has started off great let’s hope the Senate does their job now.

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  38. House Minority Whip Eric Cantor promised Capitol Hill protesters on Friday not one Republican would approve the Democrat’s health care bill. Well he was wrong Rep. Anh “Joseph” Cao, a Republican from Louisiana cast a yes vote. Bravo for him for putting people first instead of politics. Thank God we got rid of Shays.

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  39. Rep. Joseph Cao represents a district with many blacks and whites with one of the highest rates of poverty. This reminds me of the 4th district. If Shays were to vote he would vote no knowing there is a lot of poverty in the biggest city. That is why I am so glad today that we have Jim Himes now. He has my vote secured for him in 2010. He is really looking out for Bpt not just the rich suburban people in our district.

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    1. What an ignorant kitty you are! Himes had ZERO input in the health bill. Currently, all Americans–White, Black, Hispanic, Poor or Middle Class–who have and pay for their own health coverage, are charged an average of $1,100 more by insurance companies in order to cover those who have no health coverage.

      The Obama health plan is allegedly intended to cover those who don’t have health coverage. One would think that since the Obama health plan is going to cover those who have no health insurance, the Obama plan will mandate that insurance companies stop charging those that have health insurance the extra $1,100, because the Obama health bill will cover the uninsured.

      Why in hell should those of us who have health insurance keep paying the extra $1,100 if everyone has health coverage? Call Himes and ask him this question. He has to come back to the district sooner or later and answer this question in public.

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  40. Lake Ave. was one of five streets in all of Black Rock to be paved this past month. Elaine Ficarro and Pat Crossin both live on Lake Ave. What do I have to do to get my street paved? It’s ten times worse than Lake Ave. was! Spread the asphalt around, DUDE!

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    1. Wingnut, I feel your pain. I am in the same predicament. The “process” is Public Facilities makes an annual list of what streets will be paved based upon traffic use, etc. Then we peons get the opportunity to solicit our Council members to request our abused streets paved. I’ve been trying for five years to get a street paved to no avail. The bitch of it is it had been repaved 6-7 years ago, but utility work and poor remediation of the dug-up street has left the street in sad shape.

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  41. Looks like MariAn Gail Brown is doing some good investigative reporting. Good article in today’s Post about the misuse of police time chauffeuring Ms. Finch to a political party at Testo’s. Forgive me if I don’t think that’s such a big deal. Many former mayors have done similar things and it was only 20 minutes for God’s sake.

    Ms. Brown should focus her efforts on the real issues, to which there are many. So if Ms. Brown is reading OIB, and I suspect she is, here’s a suggestion: CitiStat

    Why does CitiStat need two directors (John Gomes and Jodie Paul) along with Chris Rosario, Eze Santiago, Chris Anastasi and Jessie (Administrative Assistant)? That is a staff bigger than many departments. What exactly are they doing that justifies that kind of staff and money? We know that Gomes came up with some recommendations to cut costs in PF but no one listened to him. So what’s the point of CitiStat besides giving jobs to political people?

    And MariAn, while you’re at it, maybe you want to talk to John Gomes and other members of the Cape Verde Club about what happened during that police raid? Why were there 7 police cars to investigate a noise complaint? Have other social clubs been raided? The Cape Verde members are upset that they were targeted and have tried to give their side of the story to Finch but he won’t listen. Rumor in City Hall is that Gomes was set up as a way to fire him. What’s the real story?

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  42. *** CitiStat’s overall main objective “on paper” sounds like a good money-saving idea in general, however it could never work in Bpt’s city gov. Why? Far too many politically connected employees, such as friends, relatives, paybacks, etc. Just look @ the CityStat employees for a good example to start! So basically, it’s a dept. that will end up saving chump change when reviewed @ budget time & end up doing whatever assigned work is tasked by the Mayor’s office, not what its main function should be. ***

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  43. I totally agree with CHS.
    MariAn Gail Brown needs to find out exactly what John Gomes and Carolanne Curry found and shine the light of day. To state that Bridgeport is too politically connected to really improve outcomes is too defeatist for my gene pool. Shine a light on what they learned. Then ask the administration what they are doing about the recommendations. My fear is that they struck too close to the nerve and the seven police cars response was the retaliation. Send in the sunshine, MariAn. We need you to focus on the serious issues, the ones that could actually improve city services.

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  44. *** 7-car response is usually the norm in order to quell any attempts of further crowd involvement. It’s meant to send a message of police control, even though it may leave other parts of the city unprotected @ the time? I don’t believe the call or response was sent merely to “set up” Gomes by the admin. as some people think. “Time will tell” both sides of the story! ***

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