Governor Dan Malloy on Saturday visited Bridgeport Democratic campaign headquarters Downtown whipping up supporters to hit the streets to share the word about his crucial reelection bid against Republican Tom Foley whom he defeated by the slimmest of margins four years ago in the city ballot shortage that made national headlines.
Mayor Bill Finch, State Senate candidate Marilyn Moore who defeated incumbent Anthony Musto last Tuesday, State Rep. Auden Grogins, 2011 Democratic mayoral candidate Mary-Jane Foster and former City Councilman Steve Stafstrom were among a crowded group of campaign operatives in attendance.
Speaking at Democratic headquarters on State Street next to the Connecticut Post building, Malloy emphasized his investment initiatives for Bridgeport during his first term such as school construction, Steel Point redevelopment area and financing for the initial stages for an East Side train station, and his commitment to school funding and increasing the minimum wage. He added that Foley will turn the clock back if he gets in.
Foley has promised more campaign visibility in cities this cycle, citing an urban agenda he has yet to produce. Foley in general has been short on specifics and long on rhetoric. Will he actually share what he will do as governor?
Statewide four years ago Malloy won by roughly 6,000 votes out of more than one million votes cast. Malloy defeated Foley in Bridgeport roughly 18,000 to 4,000 in 2010, a number it appears he’ll need once again in what is shaping up as a close general election contest.
In 2010, President Barack Obama packed the Webster Bank Arena two days before the election in a campaign stop pushing Democratic candidates. A number of city precincts ran out of ballots at the midpoint of voting, leading to long lines and short tempers. City officials were pressed into photocopying ballots prevailing upon city police officers to deliver ballots to the polls. Election officials had undercounted the number of ballots needed for several precincts. As a result they now print one ballot per each voter.
Will Barack be back in October? Or maybe Michelle Obama? A Clinton?
If he is good enough for Auden and Marilyn, then he is good enough for me!!!
Seriously, anyone who thinks Foley can’t do THAT much damage is kidding himself. And anyone who believes the Democratic General Assembly will be a firewall against conservative Republicans had better go back to the Rowland years and ask if Bridgeport was better off with Rowland or Malloy.
Moore, Grogins and Malloy …
It’s got a nice ring to it!!!
Malloy will not receive 18,000 votes in Bridgeport. And I for one am going to do as much as possible to peel every vote away from Malloy I possibly can. I truly hope Bridgeport delivers Malloy his defeat, not his victory.
You go, woman! On this issue I agree with you.
Jennifer,
That’s because you are a Republican. Not only is Maria supposedly a Democrat but also the former chair of the B’port Working Families Party. And she supposedly voted for Foley four years ago. Come to think of it, Maria is a Republican, too. Thanks for helping me sort this out.
Bob Walsh misunderstands value-based politics and remains constricted by his partisan ways.
Bob, I find it so interesting you seem to be so interested in my political leanings and whom I choose to support, or not. Funny enough, I have no such interest in your political leanings.
Not too hard to figure out Bob Walsh is a Malloy ass-kisser.
She went from WFP to WTF???
As you probably know, Grin Ripper–it’s a woman’s privilege to change her mind.
Foley had better engage McKinney and Walker in a visible and meaningful way or he is TOAST here. The McKinney/Walker team losing just made it a whole lot easier for a whole lot of Bridgeport voters to choose whom to vote for. Good for Dan Malloy.
Mustang Sally–I believe Malloy will win the large cities hands down because of the predominance of Democrats. The suburbs, maybe not so much.
Maria Pereira, you can peel away as much as you want, there will be only a very, very small number of Bridgeport Democrats voting for Republican Tom Foley. Malloy more than likely will not get 18,000 votes in Bridgeport. Local Republicans have the problem of being tagged with what the national Republicans stands for, they had a chance to make inroads in Bridgeport but they limited themselves to just Black Rock instead of reaching out. They could have started their outreach right in PT Barnum but no way.
Ron, I never stated I was going to peel away votes for Foley. I circulated petitions for Pelto.
Maria Pereira, thanks; I should have said peeling votes away from Malloy but you didn’t mention Mr. Pelto’s name.
I am not a Republican but the faster Malloy is gone the better the Park City will be!!!
The ghost of Machiavelli jumped into JB’s car at the corner of Malloy Street and Foley Way.
Local Eyes–I’m not trying to be offensive, but what the hell are you talking about? Please put into laymen’s terms so I can decipher it.
Bob Walsh is throwing around the same old Democratic bullshit. Stay with the Democrats, they will help you and God help you if the Republicans get into office. We hear this same old crap from Democrats from the federal level to the local level. Sure Bob, we are doing great under Obama and Bridgeport has become the redevelopment center under Malloy. NOT.
He throws a few wasted millions at the city and Stamford gets the developments and the developmental dollars, same old stuff from Malloy.
Here’s why I’m writing: Balance the budget at any cost–that’s why I’m a fan of Dan. The prior Republicans were big spenders who left deficits while Malloy is my kind of thoughtful liberal.
Lennie made an important point. What is Malloy’s ‘urban agenda?’
Does he support fully funding PILOT payments for example, or will he make appearances to announce the funding of engineering studies for train stations by adding the cost to the State’s debt?
Sounds like the Democrats know they must get the urban vote at any cost.
“Europe pessimistic on income equality but Americans still cling to the dream” is a heading (above the fold) on this morning’s Financial Times. It goes on to describe the reality of the US today where over 30% of Americans have incomes of 60% or less of the median. That is a much larger group of fellow citizens than we perceive.
How does that affect CT and Bridgeport? Well with job seekers not finding work that fits or settling for underemployment, they cannot function as consumers as a healthy economy expects; except when they go into debt (and bubbles of various kinds occur). People cannot buy a home and real estate values drop, for the most part.
Can you remember the last time any elected leader talked about the increasing value of “government-owned” assets that would appear on balance sheets? We hear a good deal about recognizing debts, liabilities and long-term responsibilities that reduce the value of assets and therefore tend to reduce the net worth of the public. Since we are not planning to sell today, perhaps asset values are unimportant, but we need to remain conscious of these values and how they are calculated since times are a-changing, and the City has sold off Beardsley Park and Beardsley Zoo in the past. And a regional approach to sewage treatment and transfer would sell our infrastructure, for how much? And transfer ‘taxing’ responsibilities to a new entity where we have no vote?
The point is whatever attention is directed to municipal finance is solely focused on the City operating budget, with a little attention left over for BOE, but who is looking at our City balance sheet, as revealed in the CAFR (the annual external audit), at our Capital Budget, bonding and debt? Can you find any details on the City website (or would it turn taxpayers a sickly ‘green’)? Time will tell.
Bob Walsh, Ron Mackey, you are not standing alone. I am voting for Malloy for these reasons. He has been extremely supportive of Bridgeport considering our Mayor supported Ned Lamont. Does anyone really believe Bridgeport has not been the recipient of Millions under Malloy? The Republican party is dead in Bridgeport. Malloy will do fine in Bridgeport. Considering how Walker and McKinney did in the primary, it’s not like Foley has huge urban support. That could change but so will Malloy’s positions. I will be voting for Dan Malloy and there is nothing that would make me support Foley. It is painful to have to agree with Bob Walsh. 🙂
Steven Auerbach, I’ve never said I was supporting Malloy, I said I looking very strongly at Mr. Pelto.
Nice wasted vote.
See what happens when politicians take out ads on OIB!
Sonny, you don’t advertise on OIB and I’m nice to you. I’ve run plenty of articles about Foley going after Malloy.
I’m talking about Moore and The Banshee!
Not Foley and Malloy!
You’ve always been nice to me.
Next year I’ll take out an ad!
Why wait that long! You can start the Sonny Fox Simon Says independent expenditure PAC.
Maybe I can get Andy to underwrite my PAC?
Here’s why my Spanish-speaking friends think I’m an expert on Bridgeport politics: Solo uno puede ser el mejor.
Malloy to Pryoritize!
Governor Malloy has made his first move to maybe get votes from Bridgeport by getting rid of Stefan Pryor, the controversial state Department of Education commissioner who along with Mayor Finch attempted a big power grab in trying to take the voting rights away from Bridgeport voters with the takeover of the Bridgeport Board of Education. Time will tell.
Speaking of the Bridgeport BOE, they are spending a ton of money renting the Arena for next Tuesday. This is a feel-good meeting for ALL BOE employees. Glad to see we are rolling in dough.
I despise Commissioner Pryor, but to be fair, he was not the Commissioner when the illegal takeover of the BBOE took place. It was Commissioner Coleman. I think the vast majority of voters will see this for what it is, a last-minute election gimmick.
So I was at a dinner the PR night at Joe and Lennie’s Fishtail. And I wasn’t surprised, not one person knew who Pelto was. It must be a Bridgeport centric, teacher centric, Board of Education centric wasted vote. If I were Foley I’d throw some money Pelto’s way as his shelf life is extremely limited.
I was never one to throw my vote away and I have never missed an election. Anyone voting for Pelto in Bridgeport obviously has no problem wasting their vote. He will probably get the same number of votes as Agnes Thundercluck. She is more popular than Pelto.
Are you saying every four years I waste my vote when I write in Pat Paulsen for president?
Who is Pat Paulsen? Is that Pat from Saturday Night Live? 😉
Oh you adorable child. Sock it to me! Laugh In.
Steve, the great thing about democracy is it is their vote to “throw away.” 99% of the votes Pelto will receive will be votes lost by Malloy. Those Democrats and unaffiliated voters who cast a vote for Pelto are sending a very purposeful and clear message to Malloy. We are angry, disgusted and will not support you under any circumstances. We absolutely will not allow you to betray your core constituencies and we will not allow you to take our vote for granted.
We’ll teach him a lesson even if we end up screwing his core constituency in the process. So there, Dan Malloy!!!
And Andy, I believe the erosion of the PILOT payments started under Rowland and Rell and was supported by a Democratic legislature. And the same can be said of the bastardization of ECS funding where the wealthiest suburbs were allowed to use their money for property tax reductions but we will blame it all on Malloy because we don’t like him. So there!!!
Look at what he has done for Stamford during the past four years. Then look at Bridgeport.
Maria, no offense, personally any individual who goes to the polls to throw away a vote is an idiot. No offense. But just being an idiot. People like to make their vote count. You do not like Malloy? You do not like Foley? Stay home and bake cookies. A vote for Pelto is just a Bridgeport-centric waste. I actually want Malloy to win. I am grateful for all the money coming to our city. By all means Maria, drag yourself to the polls and vote for Pelto. Most individuals get over their angst at election time and vote for at least the candidate who will serve their city the best. Nobody wants to throw their vote away. G-d knows we have thousands of sorry asses who complain incessantly but do not exercise their right to vote. Now Maria, I do not think you are an idiot so now that you have gotten your anti-Malloy BOE-centric crap off your chest, look at the bigger picture and ask yourself, “who will serve your personal agenda better being a Bridgeport taxpayer? Malloy? Foley? Vote accordingly. Pelto will only energize the Malloy camp. Foley doesn’t have a chance of making a showing unless of course Malloy runs his campaign like Anthony Musto and well we saw how that played out. 🙂 I will be voting Democrat across the board this November.
Steven Auerbach, if someone puts all their hope and faith with the Democrats and Governor Malloy and they turn away from what they promise, then who are you left to vote for? Pelto running could force the Democrats and Malloy to maybe change some of their positions. Remember, it was Bridgeport’s 6,000 vote margin that gave the Dems and Malloy their victory. Now if they don’t get those 6,000 votes and they lose, the Democrats will realize not keeping their promises and their word, voters won’t stand by them and they will understand they must talk to their voters and be honest with them.
Ron, Malloy’s plurality in Bridgeport was about 14,000. He won statewide by about 6,000, but I hear what you’re saying. Without New Haven and Bridgeport blowouts, it’s a different outcome.
So put a Republican in office? Who pays the price, Ron? The city. You may be right, Ron. Maybe, just maybe you and Maria can help Malloy lose the election. Then maybe one by one social programs begin to end in the City. Maybe life becomes some difficult for those who need help the most that they start leaving Bridgeport. OMG, utopia, maybe developers will see Bridgeport differently. Maybe we will be seen as a city worth developing. Maybe after a few years of Republicans changing Bridgeport’s landscape, more people will join the Republican party, we can become like Waterbury. You know Ron, I’m thinking maybe maybe we should keep attacking Malloy and help Foley. Maybe just maybe this was the divine plan for Bridgeport and your path was to help make it possible. Then maybe the Republicans will erect a grocery store. And let’s face it, if we let the Democrats continue we will all be paying a minimum of $10,000 a year in property taxes or in Black Rock $50,000 a year. St. Mary’s averaging $35,000. Yeah Ron, let’s punish Dan Malloy and bring about the real change that will bring misery and heartache to those already suffering in our city. Vote Pelto. Whoever he is.
Steven Auerbach, you might be right but one thing we all know will happen and that is the Democratic Party will see they need to change direction and listen to the voters who put them into office while they are sitting on their asses out of power.
Steven–I had a similar conversation with friends (not Bridgeporters) a couple of weeks ago, and not one of them ever heard of Pelto.
Yes Jennifer,
Since Pat Paulsen died in 1997, every vote you cast for him after that has been a wasted vote. Now other people on this blog might disagree with me but waste not want not. Even if you think you are making a statement it is falling on deaf ears or in this case dead ears.
Oh no! Paulsen is dead? I suppose I like Ike is out now, too?
And Jennifer, I don’t think Bond Girl is all that young. It may be the onset of dementia.
Remind me to whizz in your cornflakes the first chance I get. 😛
Witness the demographics Bond Girl’s hygiene as it relates to cornflakes!
He lost. Move on.
Jennifer–let’s team up and do a write-in ballot for Abigail Van Buren (Dear Abby) … oh wait!!! Never mind.
Erma Bombeck?
Pee Wee Herman
Oh well, I’ll offer my two cents.
Foley is wasting his time reaching out to urban voters. His message means nothing to most urban dwellers. His people should concentrate on getting out the vote in non-urban towns.
The challenge for Democrats is the number of votes in urban centers. Let’s see if Malloy’s people tap into the absentee ballot machine in Bridgeport.
I voted for Malloy in 2010, not this time around!!! Malloy will not get 80% in the city and for the first time ever since 2006 a Republican in Bridgeport will break the 20% margin.
donj, I hope you have changed your party by now and you are now a Republican because we don’t want you to be a slave to the Democrats. I look for you to be a real star with Republicans. Look, you are a young educated black male who lives in the area of Black Rock.