A piece of property along the Pequonnock River once home to a jai alai fronton, dog track and OTB destination, does not have Governor Ned Lamont’s blessing for a professional soccer stadium and 1,000 units of housing.
So, for Bridgeport’s nine-member legislative delegation, the largest in Connecticut, it’s time to lobby the governor in an election year to open up the coffers for other projects, including more dough for the city’s underfunded school system.
From Brian Lockhart, CT Post:
If Andre Swanston wants to build a minor league soccer stadium in Bridgeport, he will need to do so without state aid.
Late Friday afternoon Rob Blanchard, spokesman for Gov. Ned Lamont, along with state Economic Development Commissioner Daniel O’Keefe confirmed that after a few years of leaving the possibility open, the administration will not help finance the proposed lower East Side sports venue.
Advocates were aiming for significant progress on that matter during the just-started 2026 legislative session at the Capitol in Hartford.
O’Keefe attributed the decision to the need to curb state borrowing or bonding and to Connecticut’s experience with professional sports in general, from maintaining aging infrastructure — Hartford’s People’s Bank Arena recently received a $145 million renovation — to the mercurial nature of the sports industry.
“We just lived through working incredibly hard to keep the Connecticut Sun here,” O’Keefe said, referring to the likely move of the Women’s NBA team to Texas from the arena at the Mohegan Sun casino.
Full story here
It’s time to give Lamont the boot. He needs us. We do not need his scraps that he gives us.
How many of those who understand politics, which is the exercise of power, withing current statutes and governance structure, believe what Matt McCarthy says? Is he looking for a different Democrat? Or is he supporting a Republican candidate as there likely will contest in a primary from Fairfield County but are specifically weak in recent years in the City of Bridgeport itself?
And Matt is a CPA used to dealing professionally with financial numbers. Yet he refers to ‘scraps’ as a description of the funds from State taxpayers that are returned to State-City taxpayers without detailing, for the benefit of informing the public, the amount of State funding received annually, and what those funds have meant in terms of Housing, Education, and Energy considerations to name a few areas of critical importance going forward.
Matt McCarthy and Scott Burns represented the 130th District until for their own reasons they surrendered the seats with Nicole Nelson and Galen Murray, recently elected to the City Council. They heard my comments in public speaking sessions twice monthly regarding the information, that reliably and truthfully can get exchanged in Casual Civics Conversations (CCC) held throughout Bridgeport’s ten districts. Perhaps there is time for them to attend one of the CCC sessions that now exist in the City once a month to answer questions based on their knowledge and experience and answer specific questions of interest to citizen-voters-taxpayers. The next session is at Wood’s End Deli on the third Saturday monthly at 8AM. All are welcome. Time will tell.
John, how many of those who understand politics, which is the exercise of power, within current statutes and governance structure, believe what Matt McCarthy says?
What is Matt saying? From my perspective, perception, the use of the word “US” tends/seems to be used in that code/side word game within the frame of political vernacular, perhaps beyond.
So it can be understandable for many to speculate on Matt’s intention, as to who is getting the scraps, the Port in general, or the “us” the coded side it aligns with. Is that fair to say, if such coded side vernacular exists?
As to face value, it has been said that Port tends to get scraps for Hartford, from many Port pols inside and outsider/voters, of Port’s political sphere.
Perhaps he is seeking the support of a Republican, like a Rowland. However, it is clear that he is not in support of the current Democrat Gov holding the Purse strings. 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/N5taAQHOc5E
That being said, according to Malcolm X, America’s political game is no longer Democrat vs Republican, and if Lamont were a “polished/persuasive public political speaker, he would make an ideal candidate to court the independent voters who lean right. Thought, not sure if the D party is ready to move away for thier entranced extreme Mamdani, considering the R’s would by default move away from “extreme” retardedness of Trump 🙂
Not sure how American politics would look or work after Trump, but I am betting the R’s in CT will not rig/corrupt and throw it as they did for Lamont when they “picked” Walter, AKA Bob S, over Mark B, and who then “surrendered” his mayor position to join Lamont’s administration. (I believe that’s how it went down) So we may be looking at R regardless of trying to read the political tea leaves of Matt.
Perhaps Matt and Burns “surrendered” their seats for the Democrats’ racial identity politics and for Big Balls. logically speaking.:)
At any rate, try to play nice, Port Pols/people
The Prophet — AI style.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g0aw_PbewnQ
No surprise with a 7000 page bad soil analysis 🤣
From my perspective it was in the wrong location in the Port. It needs to be by the other Port sport/entertainment venues, the coal power plant with the name of the team laminating down the stack/ billboard. Swanton needs to be in contact with those parties and the Port elected officials needs to put some weight behind it in unity. This is were corruption corrupts upward, people 😀
Good luck with that Port- the prophet.
https://youtube.com/shorts/wC2mYv_k7x0?si=MtEV-waVR_1ytvnx
Devil Pricks, 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/wC2mYv_k7x0
My bad, 🙂 Pricks 🤣
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jxP73Zqvq0I
The plan for Bridgeport has been, since the abolition of county government (circa 1960), for it to be the repository for regional sanitary and power infrastructure, social services, and whatever else the regions needs but is considered undesirable for suburban location. The decision to build 25-8 — which obliterated much tax base, bisected the downtown, made a highway of half of Beardsley Park, and opened up the suburbs to receive the hemorrhage of our high-end tax base and middle class — was the political result of the political knee-capping of Bridgeport and the fulfillment of the goal to make the cities economic backwaters and servants quarters for the Connecticut suburbs. The abolition of county government was a decision to give the suburbs the option of cannibalizing the tax bases and political power of the cities. Bridgeport went from power and prosperity to political impotence and economic destitution.
That is Bridgeport’s story. Playing nice in state politics and supporting suburban oligarchs for high elected positions in state politics is not going to bring Bridgeport back. Only a political revolution and the smart wielding of our 100,000+ electoral potential can bring us back. That will take visionary leadership that presently doesn’t appear to exist in Bridgeport.
Bridgeport needs huge investment and state and federal advocacy and support. We will not get it from the present leadership in Hartford and DC. We need a Barnum — someone with vision, power, and resources to get us back to our rightful position in the context of being the largest city in the state.
I agree with you Jeff…but if I may,I’d like to add that in combination with what we need in Hartford,Bpt needs a mayor & councilors that are trusted by the taxpayers & in Hartford..our current administration continues to give Bpt black eyes.We haven’t had an honest election cycle in years and years,AB fraud continues to hamper every election.In Bpt,Mario,his followers and their Absentee operation,decide who wins elections,the taxpayers don’t.Bpt continues to be looked down on in Hartford with no end in sight…I would bet if Stamford proposed a soccer stadium,it would get overwhelming support in Hartford,but in Bpt?,the answer is always a resounding NO!
Harvey, that’s a fairly accurate assumption. That thermal device showed the Port that, with a State Rep showboating, it. 🤣
To be fair, (if my conspiracy theory is correct) G2’s a victim in what you have aforementioned, per se.
Ned wanted G2 out, so he is no fan of the Port, considering G2 runs against Ned and his many bathrooms. 🙂
While this current Port AB “black eye” has exposed it in a national light, it wasn’t to keep G2 in, but to get him out.
As time goes by and shit keeps coming to light, to Speedy’s point, I’m leaning less and less towards G2 champ of leaking/exposing Port’s AB operative working against him, and they were thrown under the bus to enhance the general and or a second bit after the first primary loss.
But once they opened that door, the G2 camp side opens to play it. Which says a lot about “Mario” camp, values. (If my conspiracy is valid)
They continue to play that black eye game, considering the current social media convo regarding the rag CT post article regarding Wanda being honored at city hall, which said she is facing 100 counts of voter fraud.
Still puzzled how Martinze skirted charges, considering they were both brought in to testify and pleaded the fifth. Well outside of, well?
You want to hear a crazy conspiracy theory based on the theory that most, if not all, the AB operative game was working against G2, and how G2’s AB game competed?
When “disingenuous.” 20,000 ballots of shade, Gen Now mailed them out to throw shade for the Port’s AB game on Steroids after Mario’s typical Port AB operation failed for Moore in 2019, and G2 won.
Fast forward, Gen Now throws Moore under the bus for Gomes, and Port’s AB game goes on steroids. Things that make you go hmmm, Good Job rooftop bar.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/419500589907963
Not to mention “disingenuous” is so disingenuous that they attached Wanda’s AB fraud charges to Gemeem as a means of attacking Port’s corrupt AB game and elections by extension, to“G2’s.” Because they won’t/can’t have “White” mama bear LV attacking a black person without coming off as a negative, the constituents they are courting as a target audience under the race game identity politics.
Similar to the psychology of four white cops restraining and kneeling on a black male who died, and four black cops beating a black male to death.
That is why I say that this Taste the Movement, Breath of Fresh Air, carpet-bagger, political organization is what it is. “Disingenuous”
https://www.facebook.com/BPTGenNow
Harvey; I agree with you in that the modus operandi of Bridgeport political leadership has provided an excuse for the state and federal governments to ignore and deny Bridgeport (albeit a flimsy excuse, since they owe it to the people of Bridgeport to address our governance problems as well as our socioeconomic problems, since they are inextricably related…). But we must also remember that one of the prime motivators to eliminate the county system of government in Connecticut was to allow the transfer of power to the Gold Coast oligarchy of Greenwich in order to allow them get out from under Bridgeport (Fairfield County) political dominance and create the primacy of Stamford as the state’s premier city even as the transfer of economic and political power in the state was deliberately shifted to Stamford-Greenwich. Just think about they have been able to thwart all of our casino and other major development efforts in order to maintain their economic development options and primacy status…