Harding High School hoop legend Wes Matthews knows what it’s like to win championships, swishing two rings as a member of the NBA Los Angeles Lakers. He’s dishing an assist to former Mayor Joe Ganim’s citywide slate joining 135th District Leader Steve Nelson and Democratic Town Committee member Manny Cotto for the three city sheriff slots.
They are challenging incumbent-endorsed sheriffs Dennis Scinto, Willie Murphy and Mitch Robles, all of whom support Mayor Bill Finch, in the expected September 16 primary.
“I’m a living product of this city, even though it’s not the city I once knew,” said Matthews in a news release by the Ganim campaign. “This used to be a beautiful town and I want to help us get back to that. I want to do my part to improve the city I love.”
Matthews canvassed the P.T. Barnum housing complex on Wednesday to secure signatures from registered Democrats in the cause of making the primary ballot for Ganim’s slate of candidates.
“I’m sick of how some of our elected officials spend too much time ‘poli-tricking’, and not enough time doing what’s right for Bridgeport’s kids. What happened to organized sports for middle schoolers? It’s sad, I only saw two boys shooting hoops at the park today. We need to do more to get kids off the streets and get them engaged in physical activity,” said Matthews.
Matthews’ son is a star player in the NBA.
The Ganim citywide challenge slate: City Clerk Fleeta Hudson; Town Clerk Alma Maya; Board of Education Maria Pereira, Dennis Bradley, Ben Walker; City Sheriffs Matthews, Nelson and Cotto.
Finch citywide endorsed slate: City Clerk Lydia Martinez; Town Clerk Don Clemons; Board of Education Hernan Illingworth, Kadisha Coates, Faith Villegas; City Sheriffs Scinto, Murphy and Robles.
Good luck, Wes.
Good luck Wes, and welcome back.
Good name recognition–Wes Matthews. Still, I can’t help but laugh every time I see the words Lydia Martinez and City Clerk in the same sentence. Good lord!
I don’t know you Wes, but if Mary-Jane Foster’s two biggest supporters think you are good, I say good luck.
Of course I will be supporting Dennis Scinto, Willie Murphy and Mitch Robles. The entire Finch team.
Wes Sr’s stats are impressive.
Wes Jr’s are … well … let BleacherReport do the talking.
bleacherreport.com/articles/2526294-wes-matthews-is-exactly-what-dallas-mavericks-needed-but-is-it-enough
I will respect the opinions of those on here who know Wes personally.
However, judging from an interview I saw featuring Wes Jr., unlikely he would be endorsing his dad for anything positive.
FYI, Willie Murphy was a pretty fair Harding basketball player too–especially on defense. So as a fellow Harding President I wish both Willie and Wes the best of luck. Hell, I just might split my ticket and vote the Harding line.
Adding Wes Mathews to Joe’s ticket was brilliant. We highlighted his name on the petitions we circulated in JFK, Harding and Dunbar. Smart move!
Wes is my brother, he is a great candidate.
Hector, if you had something to do with this, thank you. It was so nice to meet your mom. You are very fortunate.
I do not know the guy but it does seem he can play basketball. That would be great if we were hiring him to coach, play or referee basketball. What qualifications does he have to be a sheriff? What was his major in college? Will this guy be driving around town serving papers and processing evictions?
How about his character?
“I had a famous father who wasn’t around and I’m carrying his name. So yeah, that was my obstacle growing up.”–Wesley Matthews.
According to the Trail Blazer guard, Matthews Sr. “took off,” leaving the child before he ever knew his father, in a place where everybody else did.
Sounds like he walked out on his kid.
Seems Joe is already handing out no-show sweetheart jobs for political favors.
BOE, you are undoubtedly the most despicable a person I’ve ever seen. How in hell is the fact he and his wife divorced have anything to do with character, integrity or him as a good father to his son?
In America, there is one divorce approximately every 36 seconds*. That’s nearly 2,400 divorces per day, 16,800 divorces per week and 876,000 divorces a year.
That’s the kind of vitriolic mean-spirited shit Mayor Finch has been doing this whole election cycle. You know nothing about Wes, his son or their relationship, which would make you the moral police or arbiter of what’s right or wrong, socially acceptable and what isn’t or what’s so morally right and what isn’t.
Why does Mayor Finch think he can get you to say these types of awful, vitriolic terrible things about a young black man from Bridgeport who in spite of his circumstances and environment succeeded in college, in pro basketball and in life. Trust me, a lot of the residents of Bridgeport will be extremely upset about this and will make their displeasure known, one way or another.
Tell your boss he is wrong on this one and I’m angry, but not surprised because I’ve known him long enough to know nothing is ugly enough for him.
Hey Don, if you do not like what BOE posts, I can understand your being upset, but what proof do you have he is only posting what Bill Finch tells him to post? I’m actively supporting Finch and working on his campaign but neither he nor anyone from his campaign has told or even suggested to me what I should post. I post what I want to post, period.
In my opinion, unless you have direct knowledge BOE is acting as Finch’s mouthpiece in this instance, you should direct your remarks to BOE and keep the Mayor out of it.
Personally, I’ve only met Wes once or twice so I don’t really know him. However, I watched practically every game he played for Harding and I do know he was one helluva ball player.
All the best, Don.
John, are you really supporting Bill Finch for mayor?
Yes I am, my friend. A return to Joe Ganim would be a disaster for the city.
John, I find it hard to believe, you worked hard against Finch before and you know he’s a liar and he has done very little. You could have supported Mary-Jane Foster.
Ron, everyone is supporting Bill Finch.
John, let’s go back in time. Around 1995, the FBI started their probe in Bridgeport. I was elected to the City Council that year. Bill Finch city councilmen of district 136 and was eventually appointed as the chairmen of contracts and appointments committee. The feds were looking into the procedures and activities taking place in the awarding of city contracts. John Fabrizi was also a councilmen who was then selected as Council President. Joe Ganim was the mayor. As chair of C&A, it was Bill Finch’s duty to make sure contracts were awarded according to established legal procedures–which he failed and refused to follow. Fabrizi’s brother got away with his million dollar no-bid contracts. Bill Finch received thousands of dollars from city vendors who contributed to his not-so-secret PAC. Before contracts are sent to the mayor for signature or veto, the Chair of C&A and members of the committee vote to approve or reject and then goes for full council vote. If approved by the council it goes to the mayor who can sign or veto. Then there are the loopholes like the no-bid route. JOE GANIM was left holding the bag. Fabrizi takes over and bankrupts the city in five years, Finch returns as mayor after skipping the council six months before the existence of the probe was leaked and doing lots of criminal damage after getting elected to the State Senate while like Ernie Newton he pillaged his campaign funds. Not long ago, Fabrizi formed an exploratory committee to run for mayor and attacked Finch’s performance as mayor. He raised $10,000 and weeks later went silent. Why? Fabrizi’s brother was owner with silent partner/s of the Ice Cream refrigeration and distribution facility on State Street where DeJulio’s Sausage is located today. Fabrizi stopped his effort to run for mayor after the city and state helped to purchase the Fabrizi Ice Cream facility for the Sausage company. Is this Corruption or Logrolling? Out of all persons convicted in the Ganim probe, not one has gotten in trouble yet. Patrick Coyne was accused of child molestation and was acquitted. A disaster for the city? You and anyone who simply make such a statement without a logical argument to support it, are just full of shit.
So, Joel. You are saying you would not vote for Finch because he is a crook??? Hypocrite!
DD–I do not support Finch but I support Ganim less. If I had a vote in BPT I would vote for Torres.
Those quotes I posted are from Wes Jr. They are not my words. There are a lot of divorces but divorce is not an excuse for an absentee father. Especially one who is not without resources. It is not like professional basketball players work for free and basketball doesn’t have an ‘off season.’ There are young black men from Bridgeport who in spite of their circumstances and environment succeeded in college, life and family.
Well said, Donald, I’ll vote for him! I never met him, but I have asked about him from trusted friends. Everything good and positive.
We’re not discussing American divorce. Don’t be a Nellie.
Oh Donald Day, you disgusting piece of humanity. How about coming out and supporting Mary-Jane the way you went after BOE? Can you just admit you are a Ganim supporter so we can move on? You haven’t even congratulated her on her endorsement. Looks like now she may actually get some anti-Finch votes that went to Joe Ganim.
By the way, all. Here’s some ammunition for your anti-Finch anti-park rhetoric.
Mayor Bill Finch today broke ground on the second phase of Steelpointe In the East End opening the waterfront for area residents including a marina, boardwalk and another park for the Park City. This is truly amazing and a real quality of life benefit for area residents should they choose to enjoy it.
So today I was at Newfield Park and must say how the East End residents must be enjoying the waterpark not to mention the ballfields, basketball courts and the Tennis courts. It would be great if some mentors taught the kids to play tennis so these courts could be enjoyed by more young people. Looks like a lot of pride in the area with many people making home improvements.
Steve, drive by there now and tell us what you see and how safe you feel.
Ron, I do not troll parks at night. I suppose Ron I would feel exactly the same at this point in time if Marilyn Moore were Mayor, Charlie Coviello or David Daniels. During the day, Newfield park looks great and I feel safe being the only white person there and yes hey Mr. A. How you doing my … , I actually believe that park will be much safer once Steelpointe expands on the peninsula.
Steve, your candidate Bill Finch is telling us Bridgeport is getting better and crime is down. Ask the residents around Newfield Ball Park what happens after it gets dark. Such a liar, Bridgeport getting better, it will after he’s out of office.
I heard Vampires, that’s why I try to enjoy Dolphin’s Cove before sunset.
Remember Blago?
www .foxnews.com/politics/2015/07/21/court-overturns-some-blagojevich-convictions/
Guys, Bridgeport is finally starting to move in the right direction during the Finch years but still has a very long way to go. If we put Joe Ganim back in office the bad old days are back. Bill Finch can and will defeat Joe Ganim. As much as I like and respect Mary-Jane I do not believe she can beat Ganim. The only viable candidate who will keep Bridgeport moving forward is Bill Finch.
I understand if my view comes as a surprise to some of my old political friends and allies. But I’ve made my decision based on what I believe is best for the future of Bridgeport and I would hope (based on our past relationships) those of you who know me will respect my decision even if you can’t agree with it.
John, while I appreciate candor, you’re asking me to trust you when you say this person isn’t an employee of Mayor Finch. How would I know whether that’s true or not because he/she hides behind the cloak of anonymity, namelessness and obscurity? What I do know is he/she defends Finch with the enthusiasm, the fervor and the zest of a paid employee or a family member. I’ve been following him/her for over a year and he/she defends Finch like money or DNA is involved. There’s no honor or integrity in posting anything, knowing nobody’s going to know whether you did it or not.
You talk about direct knowledge, but direct knowledge has never been a precursor for commenting on OIB from BOE, Steven A or a host of others who post vitriolic messages in this forum. When I post something I feel is true and relevant you ask that direct knowledge be the rule of the day. Here’s what I suggest you do, talk to Lennie and have him see that everyone uses their own names, so when every post is done everyone knows who is doing it and to remove those who hide behind inscrutability, anonymity and obscurity.
Frankly John, as I said I wouldn’t be surprised if BOE didn’t write this on behalf of Mayor Finch because I know Finch and he isn’t above this. You don’t really know Finch until he has looked you in your eyes, shook your hand and has promised, assured and guaranteed you he was going to do what he said and then you realize he told you a damned lie and then when you ask what happened to his promises, assurances and guarantees, he just looks at you with this shit-eating grin on his face and shrugs. So no John, I will not quit making my assertions BOE either works for or is a family member of Bill Finch and I truly believe he/she speaks for the Mayor.
Don, you have painted a very good and clear picture of Bill Finch, this man will lie right to your face. We all must remember this is someone who didn’t want to be mayor, he was drafted to run against Chris Caruso (John from Black Rock supported against Finch) because certain people knew they couldn’t control Chris. Bill Finch is a loser and always will be a loser and a liar.
Wrong again, Brother Day. 😛
Ron and Don, you know I respect you both. I just feel you cannot assert someone is posting something because he or she was told to by a third party. But you are correct Don, “direct knowledge has never been a precursor for commenting on OIB” so I will say no more on this subject except to repeat I will never post anything on behalf of someone else. My words will always be my own and any criticism of what I post should be directed to me and not attributed to Bill Finch or anyone else.
One more thing Don, I am not asking you to “trust (me) when (I) say this person isn’t an employee of Mayor Finch.” I did not mean to imply that. The point of my original post was neither you nor I have any certain knowledge as to who BOE is.
Have a good rest of the day, guys.
Lennie Grimaldi pays me 10 cents a word to post and I pay Ray Fusci 10 cents a word to correct.
Donald Day, would you care to share the lie Finch said right to your face? Didn’t the Fire department endorse him? Weren’t you a Firemen. Are you supporting Mary-Jane Foster or Joe Ganim? Do you believe the parks for the children are a bad idea? Do they not deserve a big smile on their faces the way Finch gave you that big smile?
I thought it was $10 a word.
Lennie, that’s the difference between McDonalds and Joseph’s Steak House.
Forget about how you feel about parks for children. How do you feel about dads for children? How would you feel about Wes Sr. if Wes Jr.’s mom were your daughter?
I hope Wes Mathews lasts longer than John Bagley. Yes, I know one is running for sheriff and the other was elected to the BOE and quit.