From the Finch campaign:
Here’s what business leaders and investors had to say about Joe Ganim and whether or not he hurts business development and investment in Bridgeport just by him moving back to Bridgeport and running for office again:
“I started my economic development career as Vice President of Recruitment for the Bridgeport Economic Resources Center back in 1998. The Bridgeport Economic Resource Center was created as a public private partnership to help take the economic development function out of the reach of elected officials; a trend that was developing throughout the country. In most cases public officials were getting themselves in hot water due to economic development deals or arrangements they would insert themselves in. In was no different in Bridgeport. The Mayor of our city was under indictment for numerous offenses which he subsequently was found guilty of and went to jail. I was hired because I had been a CEO of a company in Stamford and could relate to senior executives and understand their needs and requirements. I can tell you at that point in time you could not encourage anyone to consider moving their company into Bridgeport. It has literally taken over 15 years for our area and city to shake off the reputation of being corrupt of having the “pay to play” label” (Jeff Bishop, Center for Sustainable Business Growth. “Testimony on H.B. 7052: An Act Concerning Restrictions on Persons Running for Public Office Who Have Violated the Public Trust.” March 27, 2015. Link: www.cga.ct.gov/2015/juddata/tmy/2015HB-07052-R000401-Bishop,%20Jeff%20-%20Center%20for%20Sustainable%20Buisness%20Growth,%20Bridgeport%20Regional%20Buisness%20Council-TMY.PDF).
“Public corruption hurts businesses and keeps investors away. I see positive momentum with the state moving forward and these laws would help ensure we don’t slip backwards … The state is moving in the right direction and we are happy to be doing business in Connecticut. Many of our projects have received support from Governor Malloy and his administration, and Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch. We’re happy to be working together with two supportive and business-friendly administrations in our efforts to revitalize downtown Bridgeport” (Brandon Hall, Co-Founder of Forstone Capital. “Testimony on H.B. 7052: An Act Concerning Restrictions on Persons Running for Public Office Who Have Violated the Public Trust.” Link: www.cga.ct.gov/2015/juddata/tmy/2015HB-07052-R000401-Hall,%20Brandon-TMY.PDF).
“We are acutely aware of what past acts of public corruption can do many years after the fact. We have on one occasion been told outright by a large potential joint venture partner that they refuse to do business in Bridgeport based on the bad experience they had years ago with public corruption for municipal services. We are all very aware and extremely impressed by the improvements that the City of Bridgeport has made in this area over the number of years that corrupt public officials have been removed and punished. Mayor Finch and his team are both creative and responsible and are leading the country in their renewable and sustainable efforts” (Daniel Donovan, Co-Founder of NuPower Thermal. “Testimony on H.B. 7052: An Act Concerning Restrictions on Persons Running for Public Office Who Have Violated the Public Trust.” March 27, 2015. Link: www.cga.ct.gov/2015/juddata/tmy/2015HB-07052-R000401-Donovan,%20Daniel%20-%20NuPower%20Thermal%20LLC-TMY.PDF).
“We believe that one reason why our state has not advanced quickly enough in terms of job growth and economic expansion, is because potential investors, developers, and business leaders, in general, lack sufficient confidence in the State of Connecticut. They lack that confidence for a number of reasons; not the least of which are the troubles we have had over the last five to ten years in terms of corrupt politicians. Far too many of our elected officials have ended up as convicted felons. This state of things has, in our opinion, resulted in a lack of investor confidence. Investors, developers and business leaders like political stability, they like political ability, and they like above board dealings with political decision makers” (Paul Timpanelli, President of the Bridgeport Regional Business Council and Joe McGee, Vice President of the Business Council of Fairfield County. “Testimony on H.B. 7052: An Act Concerning Restrictions on Persons Running for Public Office Who Have Violated the Public Trust.” March 27, 2015. Link: www.cga.ct.gov/2015/juddata/tmy/2015HB-07051-R000401-Timpanelli,%20Paul%20S.%20-%20President%20&%20CEO,%20Bridgeport%20Regional%20Buisness%20Council,%20McGee%20and%20Joseph,%20McGee%20-%20Vice%20President,%20The%20Buisness%20Council%20of%20Fairfield%20County%20-TMY.PDF).
“It is a privilege to serve citizens as an elected official and once you betray the trust citizens should not have to worry if the same person is going to abuse that trust again. In my hometown and home-state political leaders have returned from jail sentences for political corruption only to commit similar crimes again. If we allow convicted elected corrupt officials to serve again we’re sending the wrong message to developers, investors and citizens alike” (Frank Borres, President of American View Productions. “Testimony on H.B. 7052: An Act Concerning Restrictions on Persons Running for Public Office Who Have Violated the Public Trust.” March 27, 2015. Link: www.cga.ct.gov/2015/juddata/tmy/2015HB-07052-R000401-Borres,%20Frank-TMY.PDF).
Statement from Finch Campaign Manager Maryli Secrest:
“Joe Ganim is interested in creating one job: his. Ganim’s criminal acts and corruption set the city back decades in terms of its ability to create jobs and grow.“As mayor, instead of seeking out businesses and investors that would do what’s right by hardworking Bridgeporters, he spent his time as mayor figuring out new ways to profit off his own.
“Ganim agreed to an illegal no-bid contract to a developer at Steel Point in exchange for kickbacks and hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal campaign cash, serving as the biggest setback to creating jobs on the waterfront and costing the city millions in attorneys fees.
“He also agreed to an illegal no-bid contract at the Father Panik site that included hiring the same fellow criminals to develop the land in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks, and work on his house.
“Joe Ganim’s corruption killed jobs. It enabled Joe to buy himself his own million dollar life insurance policy using taxpayer dollars, and in kickbacks he took cases of expensive wine, designer clothes, jewelry, a home gym, and free construction for his home. He even planned to retire from politics if a $10 million kickback he was trying to get had not fallen through, according to testimony given at his trial.”
“Joe Ganim cannot be trusted. He’s a corrupt job killer who is only in politics for personal gain.”
To all business people of whatever persuasion. The local revenue engine in Bridgeport is the tax on residences. But in most years more revenues come to the City from intergovernmental transfers from State of CT and the Federal government.
As business people you look to regular financial reporting to tell you whether revenues exceed expenses and whether taxable asset values are increasing faster than the budgets and debt financing are. Business people depend on records of different types of data in a simple format that is trustworthy. For the taxpayer, this type of document is not available routinely. And nobody in the City stands in as a watchdog for the taxpayer. Since businesses become taxpayers and data is required for good decisions, how can a businessman support a fiscal system he could not afford to operate personally? Isn’t the tuition too high? Time will tell.
Just so much more bullshit from the gnome known as Finch’s campaign manager.
Again, Finch needs to look inward and try to see why his constituency is willing and even entertaining the idea of putting Ganim back in office. It’s a sad day when your chief executive has to put down his opponent with childish attacks, but can’t speak on his own accomplishments. That people actually respond to.
Everyone knows Steel point is a great thing, but does nothing to address the tax burden on homeowners and only provides low-wage jobs. I want a safe city I can afford to live in. Once that’s done we can talk about parks and green energy!
Finch only attacks Ganim for his conviction but the administration says nothing else because they can’t. Ganim makes sense and he was a Mayor longer than Finch so he knows what he’s talking about. He also has a law degree and is smart. Finch has no argument except for you are convicted. So what. If a convicted felon can make Bridgeport Better Every Day then give me the felon. Because Finch has no conviction and he hasn’t done shit. Streets look like shit, people getting shot, he tries to prevent blacks and Latinos from voting and choosing their own board of education members, he chokes a Latino council man, he is a joke in Trumbull because he sits on his ass and didn’t submit the grant for the bike lanes. I got no problem voting for Finch if he did something but he hasn’t done squat. I am impressed by Ganim because look at all he has done in 6 months just for his campaign. If a campaign is a good example of how he will run his administration, Ganim wins hands down. HE raised half of what Finch did but in 2 months and it took Finch two years. This means he will fix the city quicker than Finch could ever hope to do so.
BptPorter, that post summed it all up. How can any reasonable person dispute that critique?
Nice post, BptPorter!
Meaningless statements from people who were not around when Ganim was mayor, or did not have the courage to take action to address what he was doing.
Pimpanelli? Fibber McGee?? Secrest???
Seriously!
www .wiltonbulletin.com/49637/democrats-name-new-leader/
The business leadership of Fairfield County is interested only in maintaining the development and lifestyle prerogatives of Gold Coast/Suburban Fairfield County. BCFC Chairman, Chris Bruhl, his down-county handlers, and his BRBC lackeys (Paul Timpanelli and company) are conniving liars who have a vested interest in keeping Bill Finch in power.
As long as Bill Finch is mayor of Bridgeport, Bridgeport will remain the prison, waste-disposal dump, and cheap labor source/servants quarters for the Gold Coast.
Bridgeport needs to clean its house of its Gold Coast-lackey infestation (The Finch Administration, BRBC, state- and congressional delegation supporters, and Dan Malloy supporters) so we can leverage our political potential into political power and recreate the prosperity that was siphoned away from us by the aforementioned over the past five decades.
The people of Bridgeport have to realize it’s not about local corruption, it’s about elitist exploitation. Our local corruption is a by-product of our poverty, not its cause, as our exploiter/oppressors would have you believe.
Give another go, Joe! Only this time, don’t allow yourself to forget why you’re in the Mayor’s office!
(Bye, Bye, Birdie.)
I agree with JK’s analysis except his remedy of putting the FELON back into office. Bridgeport is the modern-day version of the plantation of the 1830s. Blumenthal, Himes, etc. need the minority vote but not their economic advancement!
There you have it, folks who read the blog but do not post. John Marshall Lee, your response to this post leads me to believe you are an idiot!
Every one of those statements to the state were facts and if you did not like Paul Timpanelli or Joe McGee then insert any name of any respectable person. I am shocked Mary-Jane Foster did not give testimony, seriously folks. Frank Borres? Forstone Corporation, these people have huge investments in the city.
I am grateful this went out and it is important people know very well-respected businessmen in the city believe exactly what taxpayers believe. Ganim is the worst possible fate for the city of Bridgeport. Even if Mary-Jane Foster endorses you it will not elevate you. This is not a popularity contest, this is about our future or lack of one.
BptPorter, why does Finch have to go after anything else? Another idiot! Isn’t 17 felony counts enough! Are you kidding me?
Steven Auerbach // Jul 18, 2015 at 7:00 pm
To your post
Steve,
Don’t panic. You seem to be pushing the panic button with a growing degree of hysteria. Relax Steve, just count the City-owned cars that leave Bridgeport every night.
Carolanne Curry, has dementia set in? You have made the same post over and over and over again. Are you crying? Do you see the end coming? Are you excited about the possibility of another press conference about a substation? Is the money slowing down? Have you read the latest poll? That should have a sobering effect, no? But alas, you are way ahead of Foster. I know I am shocked.
Yawn yawn, are you still speaking? All you say is sensationalized garbage, Ewww, 17 counts. You are using fear tactics. 99% of politicians are full of shit anyway. Are you saying Finch is the 1%? I don’t care about his 17 counts because they are both full of shit. But I know everything Finch does, Ganim can do better. He just raised half what inch raised in two months. At this rate Ganim would have had $5 million in four years to Finch’s $500,000. You got nothing to say except 17–whaa whaaa whaa.