UPDATES: In an Only In Bridgeport moment, Ed Farrow, the chair of the Democratic convention to endorse a candidate for the February 24 special election for State Senate, broke a tie on behalf of his client City Councilman Richard DeJesus, creating havoc Thursday night following the nomination and cries of conflict of interest from supporters of Ed Gomes at Testo’s Restaurant.
Following a second consecutive 26-26 vote among delegates, Farrow, an attorney serving as the moderator broke the tie throwing the nomination to DeJesus. Delegates asked Farrow to break the tie fearing a marathon round of voting. Farrow is also a member of the city Police Commission appointed by the mayor.
After the vote OIB and CT Post reporter Brian Lockhart asked Farrow about his relationship with DeJesus to break the tie on his behalf. Farrow said he’s a private attorney who has done real estate closings on behalf of DeJesus.
Farrow balked when asked if he should have recused himself over a conflict of interest. He acknowledged DeJesus is a paying client, then bristled when pressed about the relationship. “I’m not talking about this anymore.”
Democratic Town Chair Mario Testa said “This appears to be a conflict.” Testa added that Farrow as moderator should have recused himself and another chair would have been assigned.
Former City Council President Lisa Parziale, a Gomes supporter, after the vote got in Farrell’s face. “You’re a disgrace! You should have disqualified yourself.”
Other Gomes supporters chimed in arguing the nominating convention was rigged for Farrow to break the tie on behalf of his client.
Because the 23rd Senatorial is a multi-town district that includes Stratford, Bridgeport Town Chair Testa did not serve as the chair for the convention. The Democratic State Central Committee has jurisdiction in these matters and assigned Farrow to serve as acting chair of the meeting.
The delegates then voted for Farrow to serve as permanent chair of the meeting.
The endorsement for DeJesus is key because it provides him a measurable fundraising advantage to qualify for public financing over opponents. He has the backing of Mayor Bill Finch’s political operation.
East End District Leader Ralph Ford, a Gomes supporter, shook his head after the vote. He said he has been friends with Farrow for years, and nominated Farrow to serve as chair, but Farrow had not previously disclosed that he represents DeJesus.
Gomes would have to file a written complaint with the State Central Committee to challenge the results but with the election six weeks away it provides a tight timeline to make a difference.
After the meeting Gomes, a former State Senator said, “Now I know why you call it only in Bridgeport.”
The 26-26 vote ran largely along ethnic and racial lines with Latinos voting for DeJesus and African Americans for Gomes.
Connecticut’s 23rd Senate District covers about two-thirds of Bridgeport and a portion of western Stratford. The special election was called after Andres Ayala was appointed commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles.
Barring intervention, DeJesus will appear on the ballot as the Democratic candidate. Gomes will appear because he won the endorsement of the Connecticut Working Families Party. Had he been endorsed by the Dems he’d have placed on two lines. Challengers may petition onto the ballot by securing 103 certified signatures from registered voters in the district. The deadline to submit signatures is 4 p.m. Friday.
Oh. My. God. Did this really happen? Getting the stink off this will take a visit from sweet Jesus himself. Did the Central committee vet this shyster? DISGUSTING. There is no hope for this hellhole we call our home. NONE.
Isn’t it peculiar how some traditions slowly fade away?
www .youtube.com/watch?v=055wFyO6gag
Sometimes you are given a nugget of gold and it is placed right in the palm of your hand. If every Ed Gomes supporter and canvasser shared this information with voters and also shared the extensive SEEC complaint pending against DeJesus, you would be easily able to defeat him.
Not only should a complaint be filed with the SEEC, there should be a formal complaint filed with the ethics commission for attorneys.
Attorney Farrow clearly made bad choices this evening and should pay a significant price for this unethical behavior.
The next time someone questions how corrupt this administration is, remind them of tonight. The good news for us is when we wake up tomorrow, we won’t look in the mirror and be Ed Farrow. The bad news for Farrow is for the rest of his life he will look in the mirror and know he took a dive.
This is totally outrageous. The nomination makes it far more easier to get state campaign funds and Gomes should file a complaint tomorrow. The state should withhold any funding until this is adjudicated.
I heard it was Ruben Felipe who called on the chair to break the tie. This ties the convention results directly to Bill Finch and his administration.
We know Bill Finch would do anything to keep Gomes out of the senate. Not because Ed was a poor senator but because Ed would not take orders from Finch, which he should not be expected to do.
But who would have believed Finch would have rigged the convention to ensure a one-year wonder City Council member be elected over an experienced legislator with decades of experience? This is not about what is best for Bridgeport but what is good for Bill Finch. Disgusting. Totally disgusting.
Does Rubin think he is on the mayor’s staff because he is smart? If he does, he is delusional.
I am very pleased with the results. If Farrow supported GOMES they would have no problem. Finch is going to be reelected, sorry if I stand alone on this blog in suggesting the Mayor have a support system. Marilyn Moore will prove to be a strong state Senator without being in Gomes’ shadow. Bridgeport will continue to move forward and I hope Mr. DeJesus can make his case. I do not think Mr. Gomes’ age should be an issue. But I’d like to see youth with new ideas and pro-Steelepointe. It is sad the vote went along racial lines. Being that Hispanics are the fastest growing community in the City and country, I’d assume that gives DeJesus an edge. I do not vote. Marilyn Moore is my state Senator. I expect great things!
You are a pompous ass, Steve. You know nothing of DeJesus. You know nothing of his voting or attendance record on the council. You are not in his City Council district and you are not in the state senate district. So for you to say you expect great things is ludicrous.
Bob Walsh, when I said I expect great things I was referring to Marilyn Moore. Bob, I do not support your group. Get over it. Bridgeport needs change and new blood. Gomes is tired and doesn’t support the Mayor. I am in my 50s, I do not have years to play politics at the expense of Bridgeport’s prosperity. I want to see results.
How can you be pleased with the results of a rigged outcome? The end does not justify the means. For the record, if Mr. Farrow would have flipped and voted for Gomes, I imagine the same thing would have happened. The DeJesus folks would have called a conflict. I know if I were them I would have. Think about it. This guy had no business chairing the meeting. None whatsoever.
So Steve, you see nothing wrong with DeJesus’ attorney breaking the tie and giving the nomination to DeJesus?
Since the result served my purpose, absolutely not. Now let him and Gomes state their cases. I realize Finch has requested none of his supporters comment on this blog unless they are specifically paid to do so, it gives everyone the impression nobody likes DeJesus. I never met him so I cannot judge him. I have met GOMES and had voted for him in the past. I wouldn’t again. I do not have to make that decision. Gomes/DeJesus are running where I have property but do not reside.
Steve, you are a self-centered asshole. You don’t care about Bridgeport, you only care about yourself. All the other bullshit you write on this blog is BULLSHIT, the true you came out in this post.
So Steve, you see nothing wrong with DeJesus’ attorney breaking the tie and giving the nomination to DeJesus?
Since the result served my purpose, absolutely not. That says it all.
This is the same Ed Farrow who serves on the Police Commission and was appointed as a member of the Governing Council/Board of Directors of Great Oaks Charter School, which just opened this past August. He sounds pretty sleazy!
I believe that is the one and only.
And how will the state SEEC vote to give DeJusus funding while he has the complaint hanging over him? Talk about a cloud of suspicion. If they give him the funds, should we honestly believe they will later find him guilty of voting fraud? I don’t think so.
This was a total disgrace. Ed Farrow is a total disgrace. I’ll leave it at that, as I’ve already personally informed Attorney Farrow what I think of him.
Read the article on the CT Post website. It is an incestuous cesspool. I think I need to shower.
Bob, you need to shower anyway. 🙂
The endorsement check is in the mail?
I hope John Marshall Lee was at the voting so he could see first-hand how the system works and how changes can be made. Educating the City Council members is one thing but to get them to act is different. Last night was a lesson on how the DTC is control.
Ron,
I have no place at the DTC and do not need to attend such events when such good coverage of these events is always available.
What I do need is company at every City Council meeting. If I am the only one speaking, I can be easily dismissed as a gadfly, crank and such by those who are comfortable marching in status quo order, never reflecting on their own conflicts of interest and failure to represent the taxpayer on a regular basis. A legislature such as ours has come to be a laughingstock. OIB writers and readers other than me should be there, filling up the six five-minute time slots on the first and third Monday.
Your comments are televised. Your comments can be heard by the conscientious quorum who attend at 6:30 PM. You can put your written comments into the record and I email mine each time to the City Clerk. THE COUNCIL CAN NEVER SAY THEY HAVE NEVER HEARD THE SUBJECTS I HAVE DISCLOSED. They can say I am wrong, but NO ONE HAS EVER SAID THAT BY RETURN EMAIL, a PHONE CALL, or TO MY FACE. Where is their honor or their courage? They depend on the Mayor, Council President Tom McCarthy, and Finance staff to hold their hands, tell them they are OK and not to worry about JML.
There is an audience outside Bridgeport that is beginning to look and listen and they may be part of action to STOP the poor and sometimes illegal representation offered by some City Council persons. In the meantime, come to Council chambers on Tuesday, January 20 for public speaking. My subject will focus on taxpayer funds spent by the City without even minimal oversight or understanding by Council. Time will tell.
So this guy, Farrow … I never heard of him. Do I understand correctly he is not a DTC member but was specially appointed because Testa could not chair the committee because Stratford is involved? For what it’s worth, I as a City Councilman do not want to be associated with this crowd. I will urge all my constituents to get out and vote out this administration in 2015!
A grievance complaint should be filed against this pathetic excuse of an attorney. I asked him to his face if he was DeJesus’ attorney and his stupid answer was “Yes, but I know everyone in this room.” I have no idea what that answer was supposed to mean, but my response to him was “but they’re not paying you for services rendered.” He just looked at me with a blank look on his stupid face. And yes, thank the administration for unleashing another loser on us. Who he broke the tie for was a conflict of interest and immoral, and it would still be that if he broke the tie for Ed Gomes and the same circumstances existed. I can’t wait to start working on the Mayoral campaign. It may take divine intervention to get rid of this incompetent administration, but I’ve seen it happen many times before and, more importantly, I believe there is a God.
Liza, I love you. I’ll be there to help you with that fight. Thanks for courage and fight to go face-to-face with Farrow and letting him know what he did was wrong.
Mustang,
I’m guessing the deal was signed, sealed and delivered and checks cashed or favors promised long before last night.
Steve Stafstrom: What do you think of all this?
Tainted vote (whoa whoa whoa whoa)
Tainted vote (whoa whoa whoa whoa)
Endorse me please …
Because my lawyer is such a sleaze!
Past chairman of the DSCC, John Wrabel, would have never let this go down this way! Now the DTC has blood on the floor.
And this guy is a lawyer? What a disgrace for a lawyer. I hope this hurts his credibility as a lawyer among his peers. He knows what he is doing and took no responsibility for his actions. I know lawyers who are very careful with this sort of thing and honor the letter and spirit of the law. This would have never happened in the suburbs. I hope this is challenged.
i think there is a lot of internal strife within DTC and this internal fighting is good because it creates more subgroups which then weakens the machine. The more problems and bitterness, the weaker the machine. This also shows the Finch machine is desperate. More and more the Finch machine only conquers by coercion and shady tactics, which is the last step in the long line of strategies when you have little loyalty. This is where you get closer and closer in the continuum to corruption, when you have no other strategies.
I just received another piece of intelligence. Attorney Farrow also serves on the Board of Directors of FSW with Adam Wood.
Finch and his cronies strike again! But I think this time it will come back and haunt him. He was probably thinking he could undermine this process, get “his guy” nominated, and no one would notice what happened. WRONG, Finch thinks the people in this city are ignorant of the day-to-day manipulations of the system he masterminds. Well guess what, we’re not. Come November, you’ll see.
Consistently, it seems, if Bill Finch can find a way to try to rig a supposedly Democratic process or to disenfranchise voters (even if members of his own town political party committee), he will–and under a veil of progress and of doing it through fearless (and Tweeted about) leadership to better (the image of) Bridgeport, every day.
This will all but guarantee a victory for Ed Gomes.
This is fact, a DeJesus delegate was sitting at the same table as Ruben Felipe. Right after the ambulance chaser broke the tie, Ruben stated “it’s good to have a plan.” He knew it was rigged and was gloating. I remember Ruben coming into the Registrar’s Office while I was Registrar. He introduced himself as a liaison for Housatonic C.C. and was working on voter registration. He was humble, idealistic and I thought one day he would make a difference. Well he sure did now, didn’t he. What a difference a paycheck makes. I read somewhere a good politician is one who is bought and stays bought. Does that shoe fit, Ruben???
The actual quote is:
“An honest politician is one who, when he is bought, will stay bought.”–Simon Cameron, US financier & politician (1799-1889)
He is a real Ruben Askew. Did Adam ever disclose his lobbying conflict with Reynolds Aluminum with the PAC MEN???
Askew: With disapproval, scorn, contempt, etc.; disdainful.
OMG, every day more and more it is apparent we need Joe Ganim. How much longer can we deal with a do-nothing administration? We need the good old days. Joe Ganim, Ernie Newton and of course Ed Gomes. Run Joe, Run. We need an administration that is honest, sincere and transparent. We would also need Bob Walsh, his job would be to stick needles in Ganim’s eyes.
Thank you Booty for the correct quote. I knew I was close, but do you think dumb-dumb figured it out?