Thursday afternoon City Councilwoman Maria Pereira sent this email communication to the City Clerk’s Office
Both Evette Brantley and I are withdrawing our resolution in honor of Edwin A. Gomes. Evette Brantley is on copy as confirmation of her support of the withdrawal.
I contacted a niece of Ed Gomes at 11:00 a.m. who then spoke with Ed Gomes’ son. They are grieving and feel overwhelmed and do not want anything done in honor of Ed Gomes at this time, therefore out of respect for Ed Gomes’ family the resolution is withdrawn.
Original story:
Not all City Council members are on board to name the council chambers after former State Senator Ed Gomes, laid to rest Wednesday following an auto crash that ended his life December 23.
Advocates for the honorific such as Evette Brantley and Maria Pereira are receiving some pushback. A resolution seeks immediate consideration on the measure at the council session Monday night.
In an email to peers East End councilor Ernie Newton writes:
I believe we should honor the late Sen Gomes but changing the name of The Bridgeport City Council chamber is something we as members should discuss. I served with the late Senator Penn and I would have questioned re naming the Bridgeport City Council chamber after him and I consider him my big brother. City hall is an institution. The city hall committee which is in charge of all building in our city would have to have some say so in allowing us to change the name. This isn’t like naming a street, a school after someone. If we are going to do it. We should do it right.
If you wanted to change the name of a school the board of education has a process in doing it. The Senator Morton building was a building purchased by the city it wasn’t the city council chamber. What will it be called? Again I’m in favor of naming something after the late Senator Gomes. I just don’t think Bridgeport city council name should be that place. Please help me understand. Councilman Newton.
From North End councilor Jeanette Herron:
Ernie,
You have A good points on this and I agree. Senator Gomes deserves to be recognized and have a place in our city that we can honor him. I do agree that conversation should be had.Council Women Jeanette Herron
From West Side councilor Evette Brantley:
Ed served both on a city and state level. I don’t see anything wrong with the council naming something in his honor on a city level. You also served on both levels if either legislative body want to honor anyone on either level what is the problem.
What are you implying, the state office trumps the city.
The council chose not to honor Sen Penn at that time for whatever reason. This is a new council who is asking to honor Ed on a city level. Let’s build some bridges and not tear them down. We have to start somewhere and come together on this very honorable request.
Councilwoman Brantley
Evette, thank you and Maria for your efforts, they will not be forgotten. FYI, did you really think that (Moses) would agree with you and Maria?) Moses should graciously get off the Council, unlike the Senator, his time is long over.
Happy New Year Lisa. When this subject was first broached I said,
Donald Day says:
December 30, 2020 at 3:30 pm
My hope is that the City Council are big enough to separate the Message from the Messenger. God job ladies and gentleman.
That was my hope, but in reality I knew there wasn’t a chance in HELL that the City Council would be Grown Enough to do what was Right, Moral and Just. These Petty mofo’s couldn’t pour piss out of a boot if the directions didn’t say, Turn Upside Down 🙃.
DD, the resolution was advanced without a complete family blessing. Now the family has spoken. Perhaps Pereira advanced this with good intention, but Ed had soured on Maria (he told me so) for a variety of reasons in the last year or so. In fact, he called me to revoke an endorsement of Pereira that included her treatment of Marilyn Moore. So it goes.
DD, City Council member Maria Valle requested that an email she shared, see below, with her council peers be posted:
Comment below was made by Donald Day…one thing for sure we?I are not MOFO’s! Shame on Donald Day!
If people had reached out to Council President…they would’ve known that the Council President had already reached out to the family. I for one, had placed my name on that resolution because I saw Councilwoman Brantley’s name….but in calling the President and double checking on what it entailed…I decided to remove my name….that we should honor Ed Gomes in some way…YES! Senator Gomes was a friend….an adviser….I will miss his hugs on Sunday mornings…I will miss seeing him across the pew….at Blessed Sacrament Church….
Please let’us join our minds and hands and work together….
Mr. Day’s comment has stricken a sad cord…..by calling us petty mofo’s!
“That was my hope, but in reality I knew there wasn’t a chance in HELL that the City Council would be Grown Enough to do what was Right, Moral and Just. These Petty mofo’s couldn’t pour piss out of a boot if the directions didn’t say, Turn Upside Down”
Lisa
First let me say this.I stayed we should honor the senator. I received a phone call from his niece stating no one had contacted the family about naming anything after senator Gomes. Maria and Evette took it on themselves to not contact the family. She started for me to inform members of the City council which Maria left on of the text she sent to OIB. I inform members of the City council of the families request the niece told me how Maria when on to say things about the Mayor and Council President AIDEE Nieves which goes to show up she never had true intentions from the start.The niece stated how disrespectful Maria was to her because the family told her no one speaks for the Gomes Family. Maria said to her while I’m calling Sen. Moore. I did what the family ask me to do. Maria should be ashame of her for disrespecting Ed’s family. Lisa you need to get the Whole story before you shoot your mouth off. Maria never did this with good intentions. Everyone knows Ed would never except anything for Maria. If you don’t believe me ask his family. I hope we will honor the wishes of his Family.
Lennie, I’ll tell you what I told Ernie, Maria isn’t the only culprit here. There were two other CC members that signed onto the resolution so to make this about only Maria is disingenuous at best.
You and everyone the read OIB know I don’t care for Maria in the least, in fact I wouldn’t piss in her ear if her brain was on fire, but if there is a problem she is but one of players that moved to fast with respect to the family. Lennie, you say Ed had soured on Maria, hell man who hasn’t? This was an idea, a suggestion not a mandate and it would have been debated among those that have a nickel in that dime.
Fair enough. Did Pereira call the family in advance? Ed had completely soured on her. Pereira knew it. So what was this all about? Curry favor? Perhaps it was the other two councilors with good intentions? Sometimes when a pol breaks bones for no good reason, it comes back. Maybe this is one of them. When Pereira places her name on something there’s going to be pushback, right, wrong or indifferent. She created this.
Lenny
Thanks for speaking Truth to Power. Maria leak information to you to put on OIB. If Maria did this out of respect for the Senator Why leak others personal conversation to OIB. I sent out a email to all 20 council people sharing the Family’s request long before Maria contacted Ed’s niece .Maria got Ed’s Niece’s number from Frank R from News 12 after she read her email I sent out on behalf of Ed’s family. She’s always trying to paint herself as the savior. She disrespected The Gomes family and she used two other council people who heart was in the right place. What Maria didn’t tell OIB, when the family told her to drop the idea. She told the niece we have to keep the heat on them. Shame on anyone who uses someone’s death to try to gain brownie points for their own agenda.
OMG, I feel like such a fool that I allowed my emotions to trump my respect, love and admiration of my precious friend, Ed Gomes. I ran my mouth before thinking. When I saw Evette’s name on a resolution, I was proud of her since she and her family go way back with Ed. I understand her intentions. But, after reading Lennie’s comments, I hope Maria will let the family of Ed decide if and when they are emotionally ready to have Ed properly honored. Lennie, I apologize to you also. To me, you’re right up there in my heart as was Ed
I think we can all agree,that things such as this happen “ Only in Bridgeport “.What a mess this city is.RIP Ed,I know you’re shaking your head up there.
The more things change the more the remain the same. Was Maria the first only council member to suggest this type of proposal to honor Ed Gomes? As for Maria, there’s no secret that she can’t form a coalition of other council members but where were the other proposals to honor Ed Gomes from City Council members?
I said in a earlier topic about honoring Ed I said, “hopefully with the death of Senator Ed Gomes and this proposal that there will be a new light of working together for the good of Bridgeport.” I think Bob Walsh said it best when he wrote, “this is a very nice tribute to a great man but I am sure that he would tell you if you really wanted to honor him then you should finish the work that he did not have the opportunity to finish. Start with a Living Wage Ordinance. Just pull out the one Ed and I submitted a while ago. It would be a much more fitting tribute.” It seems to me that the conversation is more about Maria than in honoring Ed Gomes.
Maria Valle, Shame on me? Shame on you and the other CC members who put put the best interest of the party ahead of the best interest residents, which you seem to do on a regular basis. Shame on you and the rest of the CC that refused to question Mayor Ganim and how he was paying for attorney services for himself and his other cronies for violating the law and public trust! Shame on you and other CC members who allowed David Dunn to be the Acting Director of Civil Service for 12 years in violation of City Charter while allowing Mayor Ganim to use the Civil Service as a political patronage job farm. Shame on you and the CC members for not demanding that the Civil Service hire women for the Fire Service after over 30 consecutive years of hiring women for the BFD. Shame on you and the CC for not demanding a Nationwide search for the Chief of Police and for the Civil Service Director while allowing people currently holding those positions who aren’t qualified.
Maria Valle, you come at me with righteous indignation for exercising my rights to freedom of speech while not living up to your responsibilities as a member of the CC which is to make the City of Bridgeport a better place to work, to live and to raise a family. How dare you try to come for me when your house is not only dirty, but in a sad state of affairs. You should try to emulate me as when I was running the Firebird Society rather than trying to excoriate me for calling attention to you shortcomings as a CC member. I ran study groups that resulted in 50 young Black, Latino and women become Bridgeport firefighters. I ran study groups that resulted in over 30 young Black, Latino and women reach elevated rank by becoming officers and engineers in the Bridgeport Fire Department. I didn’t give a damn what was said about me and there was plenty, instead I did what was Right, Moral and Just and what was in the best interest of the residents of Bridgeport, the Bridgeport Fire Department and the City of Bridgeport. May I suggest that you and the other members of the CC try doing that, be about Seriousness Coupled with Action and when you do that you won’t have to worry what Donald Day says or believes. SHAME ON YOU!
Don, I’ve never said anything negative about Maria Valle on OIB out respect to a very good friend of ours who is a Puerto Rican Firebird Society member who knows Maria very well. Don as you said about Maria, “Shame on you and the CC members for not demanding that the Civil Service hire women for the Fire Service after over 30 consecutive years of hiring women for the BFD. Shame on you and the CC for not demanding a Nationwide search for the Chief of Police and for the Civil Service Director while allowing people currently holding those positions who aren’t qualified.” Maria Valle knows exactly what the problems are about hiring Puerto Rican women but she has no problem in keeping her mouth shut about injustice to her own people.
Since Ms Valle is reading this thread,Ms Valle, any chance of asking Joe about the attorney’s fees he is piling up trying to get him & his inner circle out of legal trouble?,I’ve asked Ernie multiple times but he ignores the question. The last we heard, about 4 months ago,it was about $660,000.Since we the taxpayers are picking up this tab, it’s only right we are told the updated total.Thank you
Harvey, after Maria Valle lost her council position before but then was able to get elected again there is no way that she’ll do anything unless she get permission from Mario and Joe.
Ron, considering 3/4 of the Council also wouldn’t rattle Joe’s cage for fear of not getting endorsed or having a friend’s patronage job taken away, Ms Valle falling in line with the rest doesn’t surprise me.