As she gears up to petition on to the September 10th Democratic primary ballot for mayor, State Senator Marilyn Moore is joining the chorus of a community action group railing against absentee ballot abuses.
Four years ago roughly 1,200 electors cast a vote by absentee in the Democratic primary, a majority of those split among incumbent Bill Finch and Joe Ganim. Finch won the absentee ballot count by about 200 but Ganim had a solid machine showing to offset those numbers.
The Democratic establishment features a number of political operatives who count on serial absentee voters to pad numbers going into election day many of them with legitimate reasons to vote by absentee be it illness or physical disability. Then there are those who Bridgeport Generation Now and Moore contend are dubious.
Senior and public housing facilities are fertile ground for absentee ballot operatives. One check elections officials can place is supervised balloting in which a specific date and time is called to vote at a designated location generating an abundance of requests for absentee ballots.
On July 23rd Ganim will be endorsed by the Democratic Town Committee. The next morning Moore political supporters will pull paperwork to petition onto the primary ballot during a two-week window to collect signatures from five percent of Democratic voters in Bridgeport.
Meanwhile political operatives will poise absentee ballot applications for serial voters. Those applications will be dropped at the Town Clerk’s Office which mails out absentee ballots to electors. If Moore makes the ballot she will not win the absentee ballot count. The question becomes how close can she keep it? Also, can she run up a machine total, as Ganim did four years ago, to offset the absentee count?
From Moore:
For decades, absentee ballot fraud has run rampant in Bridgeport elections. Absentee ballots are reserved for those who cannot make it to the polls on Election Day due to active duty in the military, illness and physical disability, religious beliefs, or out of town or working for the Election on Election Day. I’ve personally talked with able bodied people as young as 18 who have said that they were instructed to say that were unable to make it to the polls, and told how to vote. That’s why I support Bridgeport Generation Now and their petition to end absentee ballot fraud here in Bridgeport. I encourage all of my supporters to join me in signing this petition as well.
Good for Marilyn getting in front of this issue. Something has to done,it’s at the point that basically Mario chooses all our elected officials between his AB abuse,threats to anyone that doesn’t see things his way etc, enough is enough now.Its time to elect people who make decisions on their own.
Wanda Geter is getting in shape to hunt down the AB’s.
Without a doubt,Testa and company abuse the absentee ballot choice..Is there some sort of prevention(An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure). Signing a petition will not be enough. I’ve already seem Testa’s creeps hanging around Twin Towers/Black Rock for several months now. IMHO,the only way that Testa and Company’s AB machine can be defeated is through higher voter turnout/GOTV. Testa’s AB machine works very well in low turn outs and Bridgeport has had generally low turnouts for quite a few years. High water maters are like 30% of the 30,000 plus registered voters. If I recall, there was an 80% turnout in the Tisdale/Paoletta/Mandanici election.
Supervised Balloting at the senior houses
There’s only one way to beat them,!….. only one!
I just want to state that Marilyn has been a State Senator representing Bridgeport for five years.
She has been in position to introduce legislation to strengthen our absentee laws. I don’t believe she has ever introduced such legislation.
Maria, at this point,let’s just take it as a positive she’s coming out and getting involved in the election.She’s running one of the most quiet campaigns I could remember.There is so much she can take Joe to task for, yet it’s mid-July and hardly anything comes out of her camp.
Maria,
As a Senator she has been in a position to introduce many types of legislation. Your observation accuses her of only one such failing. Is the problem in Bridgeport, the laws as they stand, or is it the failure to observe the laws such as they are?? It seems that more than a couple “politically active folks” have been accused and found guilty of failing to observe or breaking laws such as they are. Is that so widespread in the State?
Or is it that the failure to educate the registered potential voter into the appropriate observation of current laws, especially applying to those who are eligible or likely ineligible; as in asking a person with normal working hours locally, or even non-working but able bodied, whether they have a genuine reason to have some help in securing and completing an ABS??
Perhaps we have enough laws, but we fail to have genuine oversight? Our own City Council as a legislative body should be in the lead on Bridgeport oversight, but they are not, in too many cases like, stipend ordinance where practice and process contradict the rules never changed; and purchase ordinances and practices have not conformed often. Where does oversight reside in the City? Perhaps in Easton? Hartford? Time will tell.
JML,
I don’t know of any individual who has done more than me to fight AB fraud and elections fraud. I I put a serious dent into Lydia Martinez’ efforts up in the JFK Precinct. I created fliers with her and Sonia Baldero’s photo, and hand delivered them to hundreds of senior housing units, and I have spent a lot of time explaining the 6 reasons someone can vote by AB. I also explain that when the AB arrives, no one can be present when they fill out the AB other than a family member, medical professional, etc. I explain no one can touch it even to deliver their sealed ballot to the post office.
Any one of our delegation could have introduced legislation REQURING the Registrar to conduct Supervised Balloting in any housing complex, condominium or coop where 10 or more AB requests are submitted from. Right now the legislation requires that the Registrar MAY conduct Supervised Balloting when 20 or more AB requests are received from the same “address.
Wanda Geter, this post is for you. You were in Fireside Senior Housing with Mayor Ganim last week. You filled out an AB application for a woman that has no disability, illness, or any other legitimate reason to vote by AB.
This woman walks up and down Palisade Avenue regularly right past her polling location. I explained that if she voted by AB she would be violating the law and explained why.
Stay out of the 138th District with that bullshit. I am not tolerating it in my district. If other districts want to let you and Lydia and your corrupt minions pull that crap, that’s up to them. Any and all AB fraud will be addressed in the 138th.
If you don’t believe me check with Lydia Martinez. I am 100% serious.
This unfortunately is the sorry state of politics in our state today. Denise Merril has
Benefitted from the B-Port AB Operation. It is up to local folk to find the abuses and then she will act. If you have more abuses the harder she will act.
It’s unlikely the State Democratic Committee will do much but offer “thoughts and prayers.”
So has Marilyn!
To the FBI, follow the $$$.
I found some time to dig deep into Ganim’s July 10th Campaign Filing.
Although Ganim touted that he raised $80,000 at his Brewport Fundraiser, it appears he raised about $73,000 which is 10% less than he crowed about.
EVERY SINGLE donation is linked to either his Joseph’s Steakhouse Fundraiser or the Brewport Fundraiser. Not a single donation is NOT lined to these events. Hmmm… Ganim is claiming that over several months his campaign did not receive a single donation between fundraisers. This is highly unlikely.
Even 052319a at Joseph’s Steakhouse raised $37, 600 at a cost of $3,880.17 which means he netted $33,720.
He raised $4,250 from six labor PACs.
His report shows an expenditure of $400 for a Cigar & Tobacco Fundraiser held on May 24, 2019, yet not a SINGLE donation is linked to that fundraiser. Hmmm… Highly suspicious.
Ganim received 29 donations from Bridgeport residents, excluding DTC and City Employee donations that I wanted to track as a patronage category. The total was $11,155.
The owner of Red Line Auto used his business address on Fairfield Ave. as his donation address as did Ruby II (strip club) which is a violation of the law.
A school custodial supervisor donated $1,000, and Eleanor Guedes donated $200 utilizing a business address on Noble Avenue which is also a violation of the law.
There were 129 donations from CT donors not residing in Bridgeport totaling $72,320. Of those donors, 7 of them failed to provide their employment information as required by law. These donations totaled $4,600.
Highlights are as follows:
Bridgeport Police Department Donors+
$1000 Nick Ortiz
$500 Lt. Nancy O’Donnell
$250 Erica Azzarito
$100 Douglas Stolze
The Vazzano Family & Employees have donated close to $10,000 just for the Mayoral. Substantial sums were donated for the Gubernatorial. They have received quite a bit of city business. Hmmm…
$1,000 Chris Vazzanno ( Employment Info missing)
$500 Heidi Vazzanno
$500 Eileen Prezioso Vazzy’s Mgr.
$250 Alex Vazzano
The Board of Education Law Firm and City Outside Law Firm Berchem & Moses . I believe Berchem & Moses employees have donated over $10,000 combined. Hmmm….
$1,000 Attorney Chris Hodgson
$1,000 Attorney Rolan Yata
$1,000 Attorney Floyd Dugas
$1,000 Attorney Lee Berchem (Retired)
$250 Attorney Mathew Glennon
Total Donations from ALL Attorneys in Bridgeport, CT and OOS:
27 Donations totaling $ 15, 175
$2,000 Chuck Willinger & Annmarie Willinger
$3,125 Eight City Attorneys
Other Notable CT Donors:
$1,000 Richard Testa ( Related to Mario?)
$1,000 Howard Saffon (Amphitheater)
$750 Maribeth Shamus ( Related to Chief of Staff Dan Shamus)
$500 Josephine Ganim (Mother)
$500 Felicia Coble (Tom Coble’s Wife)
$500 Shannon Adams ( Ed Adams Wife)
$250 Paul Timpanelli ( Wrote an Op-ed in 2015 that Ganim should not be elected)
$250 Tina Manus ( Educators4 Excellence Member and member of the NAACP Board)
Out of State Donors
16 Donations totaling $11,800
5 donations for $1,000 each were from Indiana. One donor donated $1,000 but failed to provide his employment information as required by law.
71 City Employees & DTC Members (Excluding the BPD) donated a total of $15, 045.
$750.00 City Attorney Ronald Panachia (He reviews contracts and works from Florida. Seriously)
$500 City Attorney Richard Kascak
$500 City Attorney Russel Liskov
$500 City Attorney Michael Jankovsky
$500 Thomas Coble
$500 Angel Depara
$500 Alyssa Garcia ( Detective & Ganim Driver Ray Garcia’s Daughter)
$400 Bonita (Bonnie) Roach
$250 Tammy Papa
$250 Asst. Associate City Attorney Dina Scalo
$250 City Attorney John Mitola
$250 Carolyn Vermont Fuller
$250 City Attorney Tyisha Toms
$250 BFD Michael Meehan
$250 District Leader Dennis Scinto
$250 Michael Drury
$250 Constance Vickers
$250 Paul Boucher
$250 Luann Conine
$250 Ellen Gerrity
$250 Maximino Perez ( BPD Chief Perez’ Brother)
$250 Carolanne Curry
$250 Maria Lange
$250 State Rep. Joe Gresko
$250 Ginnie Ray Clay
$250 Wanda Geter Pataky 136th District Leader
$250 Steve Auerbach
$250 Rosemary Wong
$250 Christopher Anastasi
$150 Gina Malheiro
$150 David Papadreas
$150. Evette Brantley (132nd DTC Member)
$150 Rowena White
$150 BFD Chief Thode (Disappointed)
$150 BFD Deputy Chief Ron Rolfe
$125 City Attorney Tamara Titre
$100 Fred Gee
$100 Scott Appleby
$100 Kevin Monks (138th DTC Member)
$100 Marcus Brown (132nd City Councilman) NO EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION PROVIDED IN VIOLATION OF STATE LAW. He is trying to hide that he is now a city employee.
$25 Maria Valle ( City Employee & City Councilwoman 137th District)
$20 Jorge Cruz (DTC Member 131st District)
Marcus Brown is not a city employee, according to City Communications Director Rowena White.
I am sure Rowena White is denying it.
I have repeatedly seen Marcus Brown at 999 Broad St. in the middle of the day. He was at a Make the Road meeting in the Mayor’s office in the middle of the day last week with Ganim and Constance Vickers.
Marcus Brown was the only city employee, elected official or candidate that did NOT fill out the name of his employer and occupation on the donation form.
Remember, Joe Ganim in part ran on a platform that City employees should not serve on the City Council.
If it was disclosed that Marcus Brown WAS a city employee it would certainly benefit Kyle Langan on the campaign trail.
Auerbach contributed only a measly $250.00? What a cheapskate.
Steve donated $250 during the July 10, 2019 reporting period. That is not a cumulative amount.
I’m sure he contributed in other ways that cannot be quantified in dollars…
FBI, follow the $$$
The entire Brewport Fundraiser is listed as a $30.00 In-kind Contribution which is simply a joke. Not a single payment was made to Brewport for food or beverages for that large fundraising event that raised $73,000.
‘What you say, Willis?”
Oops! Brewport was paid $2,443.61 and made a $30.00 In-Kind Contribution.
Joe Ganim served pizza, soda and beer at this fundraiser in which hundreds of people attended, yet Brewport only charged the campaign $2,443.61.
To put that in perspective, our DTC slate held a pizza fundraiser at Tony’s Huntington Inn last year. We had about 30 people attend. We served salad, pizza and soda, no alcohol, and we spent slightly over $300.
The math just doesn’t add up, especially when including the cost of beer.
Thank you for the research you do. Regarding Brewport, perhaps their billing of the event is an example like the “loaves and fishes” but in this case the miraculous multiplication was focused on “pies and brews”? Time will tell.
As most OIB readers know, former BOE employee Carmen Nieves announced she was running for the Board of Education.
Suddenly last Saturday she posted that she was no longer running for the Board of Education and instead running for the City Council. I thought she was going to try and run for the City Council in the 138th District with Nessah Smith. It turned out she was going primary Maria Zambrano & Castillo in the 136th.
On Monday she posted a video of herself knocking on doors in the 136th District. By 7:00 PM yesterday she posted “I can’t do this.’
The reason she “can’t do this” is because she is now joining the City of Bridgeport as an employee. This is what is often referred to as a “quid pro quo”. And you know whose paying for this “quid pro quo?” The taxpayers of Bridgeport.
FBI, are you paying attention?