Republican mayoral candidate Enrique Torres is betting if he fails to prevail his third time for the city’s top post, reclaiming his City Council seat will be his backup in the November general election. Republicans have endorsed him for mayor as well as City Council in the 130th District. Torres is the sole Republican on the 20-member City Council.
Republican Town Chairman John Slater will join Torres on the City Council November ballot in the district that covers Black Rock and a portion of the West End.
Katie Bukovsky and Scott Burns are the endorsed Democrats for City Council in the district. They face a September 16 primary challenge from city fiscal watchdog John Marshall Lee and attorney Tyisha Toms, assuming they qualify for the ballot as petitioning candidates. The top two vote producers will move on to the general election.
Torres ran for mayor in 2003 and again in 2011. He won his City Council seat in 2013 over Steve Stafstrom who returned the favor by defeating Torres in a tight special election last winter to fill the State House seat of Auden Grogins appointed to the state bench by Governor Dan Malloy.
My cup runneth over. Such a warm fuzzy feeling to be able to vote for the best man X2.
Rick, Henry or Enrique?
I agree, he’s the best man running this year for mayor, but he’s only my second choice.
Very clever!
It’s too bad there are so many “Democrats” running for mayor. Only one of the Democrats truly represent the party’s ideals. When I was a kid African American men and women were not allowed to vote in the states below the Mason-Dixon Line. It wasn’t until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that poll taxes and other discriminatory tactics were abolished. Here it is 2015 and the political machine running Bridgeport is fracturing in two. Both sides will engage in all sorts of lowball tactics to get elected including the registration of dead people and misuse of absentee ballots.
Enrique Torres is an honest man with the greater good as his political mantra. But a Republican candidate in Bridgeport doesn’t have much of a chance against the DTC juggernaut.
That is because people vote the party and not the candidate or the issues. This is why we have Malloy and you will have Finch. If they listed candidates alphabetically by last name instead of by party, no one in BPT would know who to vote for.
The Bpt Kid, I agree Rick is a decent man, has family values, is honest and believes in the betterment of Bridgeport. With that said, you shouldn’t paint all Democrats with the same brush. There are more of us D’s than you realize who fit the description of what I just said about Rick.
I agree with you Lisa, there are many registered Democrats in Bridgeport who care deeply about their city. What I’d like to know is, when are they going to rise up against the corrupt party machine? There’s a mayoral election coming up; too many people think it is a “wrestling” match between Joe Ganim and Bill Finch. Neither is preferable, for different reasons. Ganim is a felon, convicted of racketeering. Finch is a careerist political hack who is completely out of touch with the needs of the people of the city of Bridgeport. Just this morning he was on News 12 blathering about how the proposed residential construction and the renovations to Roosevelt School created “thousands of jobs.” That is true but few if any of those “thousands of jobs” were set aside for Bridgeport residents. We have an unemployment rate of 8.3%, nearing twice the state and national unemployment rates. Why did Bill Finch create jobs for construction laborers from New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts? That doesn’t jibe with the ideals and agenda of the Democratic Party.
Damn, he’s bored.
Maybe the honest Dems could also run as a Republican. MJF should try to get on both lines, she may win. Rick will surely lose again and again and again!
Regarding the statement made today by union police head Mr. Paris, I find it outrageous attacking Mayor Finch in his effort to make the police dept. represent the face of the city. I find it more disturbing Finch critics like Ron Mackey, Donald Day and Maria Pereira in particular as the union endorsed Ganim and they do not believe there needs to be more diversity. This message will really resonate with Ganim’s biggest supporters and Finch critics. This is not a good day for Ganim from the only group that endorsed him. I think racism is alive and well and out of the mouth of the union president. Nice!
Steve–Paris said ‘The fact that the Finch administration has yet to address the outcome of an investigation into a racist letter is indicative of their inattentiveness to our morale issues.’ What was the outcome of an investigation into a racist letter? Who did it? I believe the two suspects were ‘some white cop’ or the guy who found the letter wrote it himself.
I also like the part of the endorsement ‘We focus on serving the community to the best of our ability.’ I know a visitor to Beardsley Park who would disagree. Then Paris says ‘That only color or label that matters is blue.’ That guy was black and blue.
Then: ‘Bridgeport police officers urge the mayor to tackle the real problems facing our police force, from staffing levels.’ Finch did just start the hiring process to bring 100 cops on board.
Bill Finch is not oblivious to the racial composition of the population. He’s just antipathetic to anyone who is not white, middle class and conservatively groomed. (From what I’ve heard he doesn’t even know how to dress, wearing business shirts that are 3 or 4 sizes too large for his scrawny frame.)
You are right again, Kid. He ain’t heavy and he ain’t your father. It is not the government’s job to keep you housed, fed and clothed. What is your point?
My point is this: Bill Finch doesn’t care a whit about the people of the city of Bridgeport, and he is a bigot to boot.
Steve, I’m a little slow so would you break down your comment so I can get a better understanding? Thanks.
Sorry Ron, I thought the post was as terse and crystal clear as I could make it.
Steve Auerbach, “the Saturation Bomb” for the Finch camp!
Like I said before Stevie, you’re doing more for Joe Ganim than Secrest is doing for Finch!
Jim Fox, you imagine I am doing more for Ganim? You sir are my inspiration. I will show you just how much I have helped Joe Ganim in September. The problem is, I am thinking you are not going to thank me but there are many who will. Jim, there is an amazing city outside this blog. Where people are not longing for the good old days when corruption and cronyism dominated Bridgeport politics. Mario Testa himself stated Finch was squeaky clean, yet he supports Ganim. Jimmy Fox, I appreciate your support of Ganim. You may insult me all you want. It doesn’t change your candidate’s reality and extremely low favorability among most Bridgeport voters.
Can he run for BOE too? Why not go for the trifecta? There are three of him, right?
Yes: Henry, Rick and Enrique.
Seems kind of egotistical to me. Especially for someone who really hasn’t dome much on the council.
Bob,
While you have been working on Mary-Jane’s campaign, other candidate support and your own life, I wonder whether you have observed Rick’s activities, asking questions, probing issues relevant to the entire City as well as the Council processes, which have gotten more private than even when you were on the Council. And since you have not mentioned it, when you asked questions and went into watchdog mode, you had the advantage of being a Democrat among Democrats. You know one lonely Republican has an additional distance to climb to be heard.
On the Council, the majority “does things” or not. Many are conflicted, not just by a City job, or City employment for a family member, but with other “rewards” that are waved before them. Unfortunately, many do not see the duty and responsibility shared by all, not just to represent the constituents in their District, but to join with all other Council members as a genuine check and balance against the “over” power of the Finch executive office. So they wait for info to hit their desk, ask for little or nothing about serious City affairs to study, and know little about improving City practices. They are not watchdogs as you were and as Rick Torres has tried to be. Thank goodness it is not 19-1 on most issues. Time will tell.