Democrat Lamond Daniels on Friday announced he will continue his campaign for mayor having qualified for the general election as a petitioning candidate, providing a wedge alternative to Mayor Joe Ganim and John Gomes no matter the outcome of Gomes’s court challenge of Ganim’s 251 vote primary win. Fundraising will be a key factor for Daniels as a viable option.
From Daniels:
Democrat Lamond Daniels, who was narrowly kept off the primary ballot due to Connecticut’s restrictive ballot access laws, today announced that he will continue his campaign for Mayor as a petitioning candidate. Daniels has already successfully qualified for the General Election ballot. While recognizing the uphill nature of a petitioning candidacy, Daniels said that he is choosing to remain in the race because of the allegations of voter fraud and corruption which have come to dominate the election.
“We are here today to say ‘enough.’ Enough corruption, enough backroom dealing, enough ballot box stuffing, and enough embarrassment. It needs to stop. This is a great city, and city with amazing potential, but we are getting shut down and shot down by failed politicians who time and again refuse to do better,” said Daniels. “Our current situation is embarrassing. We have a scandal-plagued mayor, we have broken streets, higher crime, less jobs, and not enough housing for our working- and middle-class families. It’s no wonder businesses and other employers pass us by, affordable housing developers refuse to build homes here, and Hartford laughs at us when we say we need more support.”
Daniels, a 30-year resident of Bridgeport, started his career helping at-risk youth and families on Bridgeport’s East Side, and has since gone on to have increasingly high-level positions as a municipal executive and administrator.
“Nothing will change until we make it change,” said Daniels. “And because I love this city and know that our best days can still be ahead, I am here today to kick off my general election campaign for Mayor of Bridgeport. I know this is an uphill battle, but I am asking for the voters’ support to finally set our city free from its legacy of failure and corruption. I do not have any sort of political machine or party apparatus to support me, I don’t do pay to play politics, and I’m certainly not one of the wealthy elites who can pour their own money into a race.
“But I refuse to accept that our only choice to lead our city is an out-of-touch mayor or his former protégé who is now seeking that power for himself. This isn’t Game of Thrones, it isn’t a game at all – we’re talking about the real lives of our residents and what our city government should be doing to keep our streets safe and schools strong, bring in new jobs and affordable housing, help our seniors, and stand up for our rights and justice.
“We are all fed up with a status quo that has allowed problems to fester for years, undermining our city and our quality of life. We have a Mayoral Administration that actively keeps community voices out of City Hall by keeping countless advisory positions vacant. Our city continues to be overlooked and rejected by potential businesses, employers, and residents because of our reputation for corruption, pay to play politics and backroom deals. And now we have the embarrassment of this scandal that leads right back to our Mayor, and rumors that his former protégé may have engaged in the same types of chicanery.
“I know this will be hard. Very hard. The powers that be will do everything they can to stop us. But I also know that we are right, we are strong, and we have the grassroots power – the power of the people – to bring about this change.
“Together, we’re going to build a Bridgeport we can all believe in,” he concluded.
Go, Lamond!! Thank you for fighting for the future of this city!
Shame on the Working Families Party if they don’t step up and support you in your fight for a new beginning for Bridgeport…
Reach out to the people, Lamond. They’re ready to join your fight!
I think Lamond is a great alternative, he is likeable, smart, and well put together. would be a great face and ambassador for Bridgeport. my advice is that he needs to come across less stiff, more comfortable and relaxed, and just let yourself shine and come across. also no reason to have your cell phone in your hand. it awkwardly switches back and forth and it’s distracting from the message. but again, wish he was more front and center and aggressive. he could have had the opportunity to do his own press conference and so forth.