The community group Bridgeport Generation Now Votes asserts that its voter information sessions have been maligned the past several weeks. The organization shares this update:
Free and fair elections–and protecting individuals’ voting rights–are not partisan issues. The abuse and targeting of some of our most vulnerable residents by campaigns seeking to rig elections must end. Over the past several weeks, misinformation and lies have been spread about Bridgeport Generation Now Votes. Here are the facts:
1) Absentee ballot abuse and fraud are systemic issues in Bridgeport, going back many years. Nearly all of the publicly reported violations are associated with our local Democratic Party > https://www.ctpost.com/news/article/Absentee-ballot-fraud-has-long-history-in-2231916.php and https://www.ctinsider.com/local/article/Bridgeport-has-history-of-absentee-ballot-chaos-14453841.php
2) All of our Gen Now Votes informational sessions are arranged with the full consent and invitation of building residents and managements. We’ve been holding these info sessions at senior, public, and assisted housing since the end of May.
3) Our materials and training are informational in nature, pulling from civic and voting information from the Secretary of the State’s office and the laws governing AB eligibility.
4) Eligible voters are educated on how to properly vote using the Absentee Ballot process and are encouraged to do so.
5) We have registered nearly 400 new voters through these and other sessions, consistent with the organization’s goal of increasing voter education and turnout.
6) We are assisting buildings with large numbers of absentee ballot applications to secure supervised balloting from the Registrar of Voters, if that is what they want–and have been calling for this since July.
We remain grateful that the court wanted to hear sworn testimony in the case, Lazar v. Ganim, et al. and look forward to hearing closing arguments tomorrow. The court is interested in the truth and the truth shall set us free. “We the People” stand in solidarity to end these abuses. We stand united for free and fair elections in Bridgeport.
Trial details:
— WHAT: Closing arguments for “Lazar v. Ganim, et al” > Full case history here: http://civilinquiry.jud.ct.gov/CaseDetail/PublicCaseDetail.aspx?DocketNo=FBTCV196090047S
— WHERE: Bridgeport Superior Court, 1061 Main Street, Bridgeport CT 06604, 6th Floor
— WHEN: Wednesday, October 23rd at 2:30pm
Oh, so that’s what the mischievous, underground arm of the Moore campaign looks like. Following protocols. Informing the public. Being transparent. Using the courts appropriately. Scary!! Go get ’em , Lennie.
Bridgeport Generation Now is truly a fine civic organization and it’s great to see that they are fighting back against those who are maligning them with untrue attacks that are completely based on hearsay WITHOUT A SCINTILLA OF proof. I would also respectfully disagree with the posting/editorial opinion from the esteemed Ret.Judge Carmen Lopez which was posted on OIB sometime earlier. I would like to say THANK GOD that someone is fighting the corrupt Testa AB ballot operation which has been admitted here on OIB by a longtime Democratic operative(who seems to have gone nameless) and it was admitted as going on for TWENTY ORGANIZATIONS..I would have preferred that the request to “re-do” the Democratic primary would have been restricted to the mayors office but it may not be legally allowed to cherry-pick which office to challenge. I wish other civic organization would have done this in the past or would have joined in the present lawsuit. The TESTA AB operation MUST BE DESTROYED if we are ever to regain trust and confidence in good governance in Bridgeport. In a couple of years BptGenNow has grown to couple of hundred volunteers who represent and look like the people of Bridgeport. Look at all the things that they have done. In the present lawsuit, BptGenNow is fighting FOR voter’s rights because too many AB voters have been taken advantage of over too many years. Everyone should look at their FB page.Please consider liking their FB page and getting their weekly posting of Where to be this week” which highlight BPT events including City Council/subcommitteeCity Board meeting and other events of interest. Please join if you can. I have attended several of the events that BptGenNow has sponsored and all were professionally done. Please consider going to any of the BptGenNow sponsored events. I truly believe that all will be impressed by what this all the people in BptGenNow are doing and I hope that BptGenNow will grow with more volunteers adding their to empower people of Bridgeport to raise their voices and became a part of Bridgeport today and in the future. Thank you.
TWENTY YEARS *** not “organizations”
Frank, I’m totally confused by this post! Is this the way you really feel or is this more represented of your opinion?
“You know,,,,I contacted Bridgeport Generation Now. They don’t seem to give a damn. So I won’t give a damn. And I walk away.”
Donald Day,,,,,my quote was from YESTERDAY. Yes,I did contact BptGenNow and , yesterday, I was disappointed at a lack of public response from BptGenNow. I should have given it more time because,TODAY,when I first looked at OIB I saw the response from BptGenNow and was elated. Today,I sent a message to BptGenNow saying Thank you for their response.
Before there was a Moore for Mayor campaign in Bridgeport there was Generation Now, a new grassroots organization meant to tune into the aspirations, learning curves, service opportunities, career skill building and social activities of mainly young folks new to Bridgeport.
Of interest to me was the effort to share facts and realities about the City from far and wide sources. They were not some current member groups’ junior auxiliary. Their meetings are (and were) a place to listen and learn, but also to contribute and participate where you could share something of importance.
It is fascinating to see the effort to blunt their effort to deal with ABSENTEE BALLOT illegality. They have attempted, with no statutory power, to meet folks, offer information (unlike most political practitioners in the City) that is objective, and spotlight bad practices. It is fascinating, as Ron Mackey continues to remind us, of the city legacy of corrective actions, sometimes on multiple occasions, from the State to many folks still much involved in “politics” and election practices!! Isn’t it?
AB ASSISTANCE (Bridgeport’s “piece de resistance”)
Did I really do a crime?
Didn’t know it at the time?
How did I cross the line?
Well I paid the fine!
Was it vote buyin’?
Or a little ‘white’ lying?
Just provided representation,
Where there’s little information.
Only one name suggested,
Cuz only one was requested.
I did lick the stamp.
Is my DNA still damp?
I’m one in the ‘hood,
Who wish for good,
Not the perfect….
With all due respect. TIME WILL TELL
Limu Emu for Mayor!
And Doug,
Very interesting, I really don’t understand, First Generation Now files a lawsuit with 3 individuals from P.T
First individual saids in Court i really have No Idea Why I’m In Court and No one tamper with my Ballot. It means that Generation Now either intimidate them to sign or lied to them to get them to sign.
Secondly We do know that Generation Now is targeting Our Seniors around the city trying to get them to sign a piece of paper which is an affidavit against our seniors will. This leads me to believe that everything i just read is BS because when councilwoman Martinez and myself visited 1491 central ave. We were told that Generation Now came and questioned our seniors why did they Vote by ABSENTEE Ballots. Today many of our seniors who need absentee ballot are so afraid to Vote now by Absentee ballots. I’m hoping that our registrar of Voters will go out and do supervise ballot at our senior units
But, as Judge Stevens warned from the bench, “The criteria [to legally vote via AB] does not include not wanting to go physically” to the voting booth.
Last Saturday, for example, at a rally of Ganim supporters who said they feared the scrutiny of Bridgeport’s mail-in ballots will suppress votes, City Councilwoman Eneida Martinez inaccurately described how absentee ballots can be used.
According to footage broadcast by News12, Martinez told the crowd, “If you don’t wanna come out of your home for whatever reason … that is your right to vote at home.”
“I am struck by some of the statements in (Bridgeport) court this week from campaign workers who I don’t think were clear themselves what the lines were,” Merrill said. “And that’s a problem.” v Brian Lockhart Oct. 12, 2019 Updated: Oct. 12, 2019 4:46 p.m.
https://www.ctinsider.com/elections/ctpost/article/Bridgeport-controversy-impacts-Connecticut-s-14515768.php
Ernie, maybe those seniors at 1491 Central Ave. felt threatened and intimidated by you and Councilwoman Martinez for questioning them and maybe they gave you the answers that you were looking for so that you would leave them alone.
Ernest Newton…..come on now. You know better than that letter that you were forced to put out. You fight for the East End,EastSide. I fight for the other side of Bridgeport. Black Rock (and that includes PT) and then there is the West End. I lived on Hancock Avenue with my parents. That area is too often forgotten and needs attention from our Civic leaders.
To assert that Bridgeport Gen Now/ BPT Gen Now Votes would engage in behavior that we have so adamantly advocated against and tried to defend citizens from is completely antithetical to the entire body of work we’ve been so passionately engaged in. Voter intimidation is so diametrically opposed to anything we have ever done in the 3+ years we’ve been meeting and becoming engaged in our democracy. Ernie you’ve been to our meetings, you’ve been apart of our Civics 101 weekend workshops along with dozens of other local and state politico’s and seen what we do and are about.
Seriously ask yourself in the midst of all that is going on legally and politically why would we be so devoid of integrity as to engage in deceiving seniors or anyone else on the voting process? Like seriously think about how ridiculous that would be on our part as an organization…
You may not like our methods or what we stand for, but please stop making up flat out fabrications of truth that we have the ability to refute..
Gen Now has no past record of AB abuse but the Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee as on going past of voting rights abuse over 30 years but Gen Now is the biggest problem with ABs, pleas, give me a break. Notice, you NEVER read or hear any Democrat criticism of their own members who have been caught and punish by the State, in fact they run for elective office and elected even after violating voters rights.
All of that changed when Generation Now became a Political Party. I thought Generation Now was non political.you can’t have it both ways. Our seniors now are afraid to Vote by absentee ballots because of the tactic used by Generation Now. I understand your former President Of Generation Now filed a complaint with the State NAACP on behalf of her candidate about absentee suppression wow 😮 I send a copy of Our complaint Councilwoman Martinez and myself sent to The SEEC about Generation Now tactics to suppress our seniors right to Vote
Is it pride that does it? Through the whole Op Ed. The sentence that stands out best is number 5 “we’ve registered 400 voters…” so there is proof that they are a legitimate organization (or not) all they have to do is show has that they registered as many republicans as they did Democrats or Unaffiliated . Like they say the “Proof is in the pudding” if not than this is simple damage control and it’s a little late and a little inconsequential.
Give us a break, Hector.
As a non partisan voter education and voter information organization why would it matter to BPT Gen Now Votes what affiliation a voter decides to affiliate with? As long as they are registered to vote and participate in Bridgeport residents democracy is the only concern. There are Democrats, Republicans, Independents, unaffiliateds and unregistered voters in the organization..
Ron, I think your observations about the seniors are more correct than Ernie’s assertions. Ron we know that Ernie will tell you that he is politically astute yet he questions why a senior from P. T. would say they were Coerced in voting for Mayor Ganim fully knowing the history of Wanda Geter and AB’s, allegedly! Just saying!