There’s a nuanced sagaciousness to City Council President Aidee Nieves. You posture a challenge and lose – politically speaking – she’ll punish you but not take a baseball bat to your knees.
So Tyler Mack makes noise, casts a line grabbling 20 council members for the 11 votes required to lead the legislative body. The Mack attack came up short, he retreated yet the council president who had appointed him to key committee assignments sent a message but did not strip him of everything.
Yes, she removed him from membership of the critical Budget Committee but maintained his place as co-chair of Ordinance where he is joined by returning council member Eneida Martinez as co-leader.
You do this, I do that, but not overboard.
You never make everyone happy, but political pragmatism brings some balance.
Nieves committee assignments below:
What happened Moses? Moses got robbed trying to part Prot’s CC 🤣
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDNyoQ16g48
IDK, Lennie, it could be just the times. Port’s politics is getting soft. 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/J6lMSdJmoR0
BTW, is it just me, or is anyone else intrigued, perhaps concerned for the welfare of the Port when the common theme, reflection on the wall, being played out in the media was that Wanda\Mario AB’s actions/game were on behalf of team G2, to name a few when if fact they were action on behalf of team Gomes and that Wanda was thrown under the bus 🚌 as play in this election cycle. 🙃
ganim-admits-campaign-workers-violated-the-election-laws
To be fair, without personal factual evidence it is just a theory. I mean the News is never misleading and always accurate you can depend on, right people
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAIcEXUEtEw
https://connecticut.news12.com/ganim-admits-campaign-workers-violated-the-election-laws
P.S. It looks like G2 pivoted. Well, Pivoted-ish 🤣
“As for the September primary, I own the fact that the court found people connected with my campaign engaged in serious voting irregularities,” said Ganim, adding that he wanted Gomes to be “honest, trustworthy and truthful” on what occurred with his campaign”
https://ctexaminer.com/2023/12/05/ganim-strikes-back-alleging-ballot-stuffing-by-gomes-campaign/?fbclid=IwAR1CT0m2BhzyZyxzTo0kCsjf5E1b0J0EKnIVXfjw05bXuYCQRzgYuxcJj_Q
Lennie,
In your salute to Pragmatic Politics as a description of Aide Nieves appointment actions, you conclude with an observation that “you never make everyone happen”. Not true. You may not make everyone “happy” which is likely what you meant, but the “power to appoint” your team is a political tool and it does affect the way the governance structure is strengthened or weakened. So, Tyler Mack’s potential challenge needed punishment and Committee Appointments were changed but his effectiveness as a member of Ordinance was not changed. Good for Bridgeport as Mack shows ability to use common sense and skill in preparing Ordinance worthy issues.
However, what is the response to two other Council members whom I know better as representing my District interests. Both served on Budget and Appropriations and Scott Burns remains appointed though he also supported Mack, but Matt McCarthy, CPA was moved from both B&A and Liaison to School Building, where his professional experience as a certified financial professional and previously as a surveyor brought serious background to City issues. His abilities were not replaced in kind to those bodies, IMO and that is a governance issue that requires questioning.
McCarthy needs no one else to understand accounting statements of all types or what is required for wise fiscal choices. He also is proud to share his time, experience, and resources, in my experience, to arrive at the best possible judgements for all the folks of Bridgeport. I have not checked the record, but his attendance and participation in past two years may be close to 100% so he shows up ready to play and likely on time.
Perhaps Aide, in this instance, finds it easier to punish rather than pursue her overall goal of best practices in governance? Not easy to have power and use it in best manners, or to sit on sidelines and see power practices that make the City Council less strong at a time when a practice of independence is valuable. The ‘payback’ package assigned to McCarthy is the type of action that makes talented and motivated volunteers to elective office question their City ‘service’ duration. Perhaps there is some intent to give him cover to resign? But wouldn’t that cause the trend to Council importance in oversight and Charter attention to wound itself without good cause? Time will tell.
JML, thank you for the typo catch. I was just testing you!
Thank you Lennie.
Another observation below and I know you are old enough to remember the Mickey Mouse tune. Hum a bar or two. Muscle memory from tv days? Time will tell.
That decision (to remove Tyler from Budget) hurts the taxpayer more than it hurts him. Lose the ego… it’s ok to be challenged. Good leaders want to be surrounded by people who challenge them – both metaphorically and literally. Get over it and put him back on Budget …geesh!
Thanks for your posting, Atty Toms. Has the ignorance, self-interest, or oppositional politics exhibited in partisanship on the national scene re-infected Bridgeport? We have only one party to address, so governance, not politics, should be our reference it seems to me. At this time though, the leadership responsibility of folks on my ballot, has been lacking for some time.
Do you want the best people eligible to serve in places where their training, experience, and passion have been on display for all to see? When it comes to Boards, Commissions, or bodies like the City Council, what means does a voting citizen own to know, believe, and support that records of attendance, participation, genuine contribution, or other is considered and acknowledged by leaders when they appoint or re-appoint?
Is such information part of our “best practices” in Bridgeport governance as to employed staff, appointed, or elected citizens? Without that type of OPEN and ACCOUNTABLE practice, TRANSPARENT to the public in an HONEST and regular manner, why would we think we follow “best practices”? And that is a Mickey Mouse type question for “the leader of the pack”, J O S / S because it smells/ , E P H / H because it’s honest/ G A N I M , to answer before January 23, 2024, isn’t it? Time will tell.