Maybe we’re now learning why Dan Malloy is the most unpopular governor in the country. That’s because he’s not the governor of Connecticut, he’s the governor of Stamford where he served as mayor. On a regular basis Malloy kicks out these releases crowing about another company relocating to … drum roll … Stamford. What else, but lazy. Meanwhile, screw Bridgeport, he says, let’s pad the tribal gaming monopoly with sports betting too.
News release from Malloy:
Governor Dannel P. Malloy today announced that award-winning entertainment production group ITV America–the largest independent producer of non-scripted entertainment content in the United States–will be relocating a significant portion of its business operations to Stamford (the company will also maintain production and office staff in its New York and Los Angeles offices). Additionally, newly launched Wheelhouse Entertainment–founded by entrepreneur and media magnate Brent Montgomery–also will be using Stamford as one of its bases of operations.
Combined, the two entertainment companies plan to create approximately 450 jobs in Stamford across areas of finance and operations, production, and post-production, and more.
“Over the last several years, Connecticut has seen significant growth among media production companies, and we are pleased that ITV America and Wheelhouse have decided to establish operations in our state,” Governor Malloy said. “Connecticut is home to more than 1,200 media-related businesses that employ over 16,000 people. These two nationally renowned production companies plan to create hundreds of good jobs for our state’s residents, and we welcome them to our community.”
“It’s a time of great change and disruption in our industry, and as a leading creator of unscripted content, ITV America is focused on finding innovative ways to keep our business thriving while securing career opportunities for both current and future employees,” ITV America CEO David George said. “Our proposed partnership with the State of Connecticut delivers on both fronts–we’re delighted to have worked with the Governor’s office on this plan, which allows us to service many of our current projects while also promoting growth at ITV America. We look forward to putting down roots in Stamford and to being a dynamic part of the community.”
Wheelhouse’s production arm Spoke Studios maintains a production partnership with ITV America.
“The cornerstone of entrepreneurship is investing in people whose ideas and hard work create opportunity–precisely what drove Wheelhouse Entertainment to partner with ITV America and Governor Malloy in this venture,” Wheelhouse Entertainment CEO Brent Montgomery said. “My philosophy has always been to find great people and keep them, and building what we anticipate being one of the top production facilities on the East Coast is another way we aim to recruit and retain the first-class talent that ultimately produces the best programming. This is the first of many projects Wheelhouse and Spoke Studios look forward to with Stamford as we team to cultivate the city as a vibrant center for media and content production.”
“I am excited about ITV’s move to Stamford,” Mayor David Martin said. “The city had numerous meetings with ITV to discuss why Stamford made sense for the production company and that 860 Canal Street was the right location for them. This move reflects a team approach between the state and the city in helping to relocate and establish companies in Connecticut. I am glad the state came through with the right incentive package, and my administration looks forward to helping ITV complete construction on the building and welcoming the new employees to Stamford as part of our expanding media family.”
The Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) will support the project with a $6 million loan to ITV America and a $3 million loan to Wheelhouse Entertainment, with partial forgiveness based on jobs created. DECD funds will be used for the purchase of machinery and equipment and capital improvements. In addition, both companies are eligible for film/digital media production and infrastructure tax incentives.
“ITV America and Wheelhouse Entertainment will join a growing number of film and digital production companies that have relocated or expanded in Connecticut thanks to Governor Malloy’s leadership,” DECD Commissioner Catherine Smith said.
The State of Connecticut has been supporting Stamford for DECADES! So this is not new. Malloy,as mayor of Stamford,benefited from the largesse from the State. However,I do agree that the State needs to stop supporting Stamford and focus on the other urban areas.
The mayors of Bridgeport and the selectman of towns near Stamford have been Kissing Malloys ass for decades, When they were talking about a casino for bridgeport Malloy and his crew sabotaged that effort. There is nothing new now Stamford still needs the cheap labor it gets from Bridgeport and the surrounding area and a casino would hurt that labor force
There is no shortage for the Stamford-Greenwich-Norwalk labor market. In fact,the labor market has spread significantly and Stamford/Greenwich receive a significant amount of labor from the WEST:Westchester County and even going all the way back to the 125th Street NYC Metro-North station. And if the labor force needed more people,possibly people would move into the area to fill the labor vacuum. In fact,labor statistics show that there is higher unemployment rate in Fairfield County compared the the state and the country. So,technically, the labor force exceeds the jobs available in Fairfield County.
People should “google” Stamford and see the redevelopment history of Stamford which began in the early 1960’s and was spearheaded by Stamford civic leaders(including every Mayor of Stamford and Governor of Connecticut since then) and a critical person was F.D. Rich and his construction company.
Well….let’s talk about Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy aka The Governor of Stamford.Let’s add to that list. Malloy must be the governor of Hartford and West Haven as well since these two municipalities signed onto the Municipal Accountability Review Board(MARB). Hartford had been claiming bankruptcy and it looks like Hartford was saved by Malloy and the State Legislature.There has been some confusion over the exact details.Originally,it was thought that the deal involved an extra $40 million for the next two years in addition to the 270 million Hartford already was getting from the State.The deal actually seems to be that State would pick Hartford’s 550 million in outstanding general obligation debt. Hartford would refinance it’s debt to about $35 million per year and the State(Malloy)(also ALL the taxpayers in CT) would pay that for the next TWENTY years.Part of the agreement would be that Hartford would be financially/fiscally(budget) overlooked by the MARB.Part of the bailout deal was that other municipalities in financial distress could receive additional State aid as long as that municipality allowed MARB to overlook it’s finances/fiscal(budget) Hartford has been fiscally monitored by The State of Connecticut since January 2018. The City of Bridgeport and Mayor Joe Ganim refused to enter MARB. Is Bridgeport in financial distress? Everyone seems to feels so except Mayor Joe Ganim. Everyone except Mayor Joe Ganim feels that Bridgeport would benefit from additional State funding and MARB would possibly increase the trust between citizen/taxpayer and municipal governance officials that money was being spent wisely.Mayor Joe Ganim claims that Bridgeport is on solid financial/fiscal footing and there is no need to enter MARB. Is it possible that Ganim refused to enter MARB due to his campaign to become governor of CT and any acknowledgement would tarnish or torpedo that campaign. For example,Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin was also running for governor but was forced out as Hartford’d fiscal woes became big headlines.Did Mayor Joe Ganim’s refusal to enter MARB solely for his own political ambitions deny the ability of Bridgeport and it’s beleaguered residents and taxpayers from getting additional State funding which may have relieved/lessened the fiscal pressure/crisis? that Bridgeport faces? Could entry into MARB help relieve/lessen the fiscal crisis that The Bridgeport Board of Education is facing and may have helped Bridgeport schoolchildren? Now,I will turn my attention to the Bridgeport Board of Education(I may get stones thrown at me for this).Although the BBOE has sole fiduciary responsibility for setting the BOE budget(how it spends the money it receives from the State,Federal Government and the City of Bridgeport aka property taxpayers) that budget is determined by the actual dollars received which may be outside the control of the BBOE.The BBOE must also be a part of creating the trust between taxpayer and itself that money/budget is being wisely spent. Let’s admit,some have questioned how the BBOE spends it’s budget. Maybe the BBOE should reach out to our State Legislators that represent Bridgeport and ask for a MARB for municipal board of Educations? Might it relieve the financial crisis at the BBOE and the fiscal overview may create trust that money is being wisely spent. Once again,we must remember decisions that Mayor Joe Ganim made. Ganim has continuously proposed flat-lining BBOE budgets creating actual budget shortfalls. Ganim decided to throw Bridgeport schoolchildren “under the bus.” I wonder how that would play in the rest of Connecticut.
https://www.ctpost.com/business/danhaar/article/Dan-Haar-Easing-the-Hartford-bailout-tension-12823185.php
https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/07/connecticut-tax-inequality-cities/532623/
Frank, I think you know that you answered your own question. Joe Ganim is four years to early to run for governor, if he could manage the City’s financial issues without state help he would be assured to be the Democrats top candidate for governor plus the second chance conversation would be gone. But not G2, this is all about his ego and not the voters.
Malloy followed the policies of ALL CT governors since the 1960’s and that includes Saint Ella.
The only redevelopment that BPT civic leaders created from 1960 until early 2000’s was the downtown mall,originally Lafayette Center with further name changes and that was in response to the building of the Trumbull Mall. BPT civic leaders might have assumed that BPT’s factories would go on forever.But they were two busy fighting political turf wars. the downtown mall eventually failed as Bridgeport went into a steep decline from the 1960’s through the 1990’s until we hit rock bottom with Mayor Mary Moran’s attempt to file bankruptcy in 1991.