Citizen budget watchdog John Marshall Lee keeps score of Joe Ganim’s promises in this ode to Joe.
There are many in Bridgeport who today insist
Mayor “Trust-me Joe” oft said things, now subsequently missed.Not pointing to a Billion-plus lost from the taxable Grand List
But rather, campaign promises made. Joe just couldn’t resist.
Revaluation cut owner equity through the entire city,
Increased mil rate for all and taxes for most; it hasn’t been pretty.Ganim’s pre-election chatter, “stop taxes,” never quit.
Budget 2017 up! Taxes up too! Is Joe just a hypocrite?Widespread loss of trust? Defenders now contend
That all such lies are a politician’s too frequent friend.Could it be instead that Joe, his own words forgot?
And patiently awaits word from you, on what you sought?P.S.
Patience! Tax decreases were never in the cards
Though advertised often by signs in City yards!!!Looking for governance that’s transparent and accountable?
It’s an uphill battle, but with enough seekers, it’s not insurmountable.John Marshall Lee
Sadly, it would seem the answer my friend is blowing in the wind.
He should have looked at the city’s books to see if his promise was even possible. He failed with the public safety thing, too. No cops in the projects and no open precinct on Reservoir Avenue. Shootings in the city are almost a daily occurrence. He tried to make Finch and Gaudett look bad but things on his and AJ’s watch haven’t been easy either. Where is the tax relief going to come from? There are few jobs in the city that pay a decent wage you can live on. Somehow other cities were able to turn around, like Stamford and parts of Norwalk.
Hartford seems to be holding its own but Bridgeport is lagging behind. You can only blame the previous administrations for not having a plan in place to replace the factories with something else that would keep the mil rate steady. Squeezing a house on any vacant space is not going to do it. Bridgeport is very close to what happened to Detroit.
A reminder to all, we are fast approaching ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARIES of the return of Joe Ganim. This time last year, the Democratic Primary was close to happening or had happened making Ganim the official candidate of the Democratic Party. We had already seen months of his “personal redemption.” We are weeks away from the one-year anniversary of his election. We are little over two months away (one-year anniversary) from his actual assumption of office. This December 1st will mark the one-year anniversary and 25% of his four-year mayoral term. Time for reflection and possible decisions to be made going forward.
Hello Frank,
Here is a general rule of thumb. Don’t elect any political office seeker who tells you he/she is going to lower your taxes. They are obviously clueless about the financial state of Bridgeport. David Walker is a professional bean counter and he speaks frequently about the precarious situation in Bridgeport and our state. He knows the “grim reaper” is knocking at our door. Do people really care enough about our city and state to listen? They haven’t so far. David has offered his help to both our city and state, but no politician has yet wanted to face any financial realities. Much easier to kick the can down the road. My thoughts; Elect the person who seems most honest and sincere. Elect the person who puts forward solutions that seem reasonable. Elect the person who says they will do their best to run the city governance at a lower cost while providing necessary services. It’s easy for someone seeking office to be a backseat quarterback and talk after the fact of how you would have handled things differently. Can you imagine how much better a world we would live in if we elected the best qualified, most intelligent person instead of the loudest voice in the room or the one who promises us the world? One has to be an idiot if this comes as a surprise. Bridgeport has no easy way out. There are hard decisions that need to be made and unfortunately if any office seeker speaks of such, there will be no political future for them. Fairy dust and hocus-pocus win the day with most voters. I hope one day in my lifetime this changes and people truly want to make this a better place for their children.
Joe and Company could mine political power and gold if they were to reach out to the people in pursuit of the creation and implementation of a comprehensive plan for turning this city around. Sharing knowledge about the city’s condition and needs, pursuant to creating a city renaissance, is the only way Bridgeport is going to survive and thrive again.
There is no “us” and “them” among Bridgeporters. In a small, crowded place like Bridgeport, if any part of the city or system suffers, we all feel it. Likewise with progress. True for our resident politicians and public servants as well as the rest of us.
If Smokin’ Joe wants job security, he’ll step up to the plate and keep his campaign promises. He spoke at a City Council meeting prior to the election, threatened the aldermen “I’ll knock on everyone’s door to tell them you voted for a tax increase.” We’re still waiting, Mr. Mayor. The Jehovah’s Witnesses have been here several times, where the fuck are you?