The city’s eight-member legislative delegation will receive the oath office on Wednesday including Andres Ayala as the new state senator for Connecticut’s 23rd District and his cousin Christina Ayala who’ll replace him as the state representative in the 128th State House District covering the East Side and Hollow. The session will last into June and feature a new two-year budget, proposals for gun control as well as Republican legislators positioning for a possible challenge against Democratic Governor Dannel Malloy next year.
You’ll be hearing a lot from Republican Senate Leader John McKinney and Republican House Leader Larry Cafero as they draw a contrast with the governor’s proposals. McKinney and Cafero are among several Republicans eying a gubernatorial run including 2010 GOP nominee Tom Foley and Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton.
Closer to home, how the city’s delegation works together is key to bringing home the bacon to Bridgeport. In recent history the state’s largest city does not enjoy a delegation reputation with a lot of juice in Hartford.
Andres Ayala defeated incumbent Ed Gomes and former State Senator Ernie Newton in an August primary before winning the November general election. Christina, juggling an assortment of legal issues that include misdemeanor charges for leaving the scene of an auto accident and a domestic altercation with her boyfriend, also won an August primary against community activist Angel Reyes before winning the general election.
The other members of the city’s delegation are State Senator Anthony Musto and House members Auden Grogins, Jack Hennessy, Don Clemons, Ezeqiuel Santiago and Charlie Stallworth.
If you look for it, there is actually more information available regularly on the State of CT than we have available for the City (Town) of Bridgeport. Look it up. I cannot necessarily explain why, though one possibility is our State of CT is the only state in the Union that has TWO sets of internal auditors, one for each party. Moral: Who will check up on the ‘checker uppers?’ So info gets out usually, unless it embarrasses all parties equally, maybe?
My point is there should be less BACON in our diet going forward. Keeping what you have and fighting to maintain funds for the most critical City issues should be the focus. In that regard do I see Representative Auden Grogins representing West Side, South End and Black Rock sections has some significant leadership and committee assignments? Is this for real, Lennie and other analysts, or is it eyewash? Auden has brought Rep Brendan Sharkey to Bridgeport in the past as she has worked for the City. Under Sharkey’s leadership, which of the City Democrats may have fared better in terms of appointments and power to maintain or improve ‘bacon’ shopping? Time will tell.
I’ll give a few brownie points to Auden Grogins. She was instrumental in passing legislation that allowed the city of Bridgeport to close up the whorehouses masquerading as “massage parlors.”
*** Maybe just a few boiled eggs with toast, juice and coffee (no sugar) but don’t expect any kind of meat from these vegans, no? ***