Twenty Reasons Bill Finch Would Be In Better Shape (Had He Listened)

On October 23, 2013 I sent an email to Bill Finch and his political operatives listing 20 reasons why he should transcend politics, divorce himself from the Democratic political establishment, and run as an independent in pursuit of a third term. Considering his bleeding now, sounds like pretty good advice. In fact, had he followed this advice, Joe Ganim and Mary-Jane Foster would have engaged in a bloody primary battle with money drained and Finch would be sitting here in the general election with $600K to spend. Instead, Joe Ganim kicked Finch’s butt in the primary, Foster is relevant, Finch’s money is drained and now his political future is on life support. Ya think Finch wants a mulligan?

–Removes shackles to govern in line with your policies
–Provides fresh start from an albatross of distractions
–Dampens collateral damage from indiscretions of party regulars out of your control
–Assists staff to focus on larger picture
–Appeals to voters suspicious of party apparatus influence
–Appeals to developers considering Bridgeport for investment
–Relaxes decision making of chief executive
–Positions mayor to transcend party politics
–Magnifies prudence of decision as economic development projects come on line
–Frees up mayor to showcase policy initiatives
–Provides new filter to frame mayor in different light
–Extends focus on governing rather than campaigning
–Recasts media’s perspective on mayor
–Avoids nasty large-field primary (large field is not necessarily an advantage for incumbent)
–Creates bloody primary without participation.
–Focuses full attention on general election
–Blunts strategy of well-financed general election opponent
–Inspires electorate to support mayor
–Govern well and voters follow
–It’s the right thing to do.