The notion Mary-Jane Foster caused Bill Finch’s Democratic primary loss is a fallacy. Bill Finch cost Bill Finch the primary. If Finch were a popular mayor would Ganim have traction? Also, whether you like Joe Ganim or not, blaming Foster for the loss also devalues Ganim’s backbreaking effort to win.
There’s no solid data to show if Foster were not in the race Finch wins. But let’s argue she swiped votes from Finch. What’s a reasonable percentage she would poach? It’s not 100 percent. Some Foster voters shared on primary day Ganim would have received their vote if Foster were not on the ballot. So for argument’s sake let’s say two-thirds of Foster’s votes, assuming all of them would have voted in the first place and not stayed home, go to Finch. Ganim defeated Finch by 405 votes. Foster received 1,177 votes. Two-thirds of that is 785 votes to put in Finch’s column. The rest, 392, go to Ganim. (Math geniuses, feel free to check my numbers.)
Adding 785 votes to Finch’s 5,859 equals 6,644 votes. Adding 392 to Ganim’s 6,264 equals 6,656. Ganim wins by 12 votes. Let the recount begin.
WHO CAME CLOSEST TO ACTUAL NUMBERS, LENNIE?
Jeff Kohut.
No steak dinners on Lennie. Lucked out there, Mr. Politico.
Where does the City post a list of the annual values for the Net Taxable Grand list over a ten-year period?
Where does the City share any data on Capital Budget Projects for the five years following approval by the City Council?
City taxpayers see more of their local property tax dollars go to the Police Department each year than end up as BOE operating dollars for teachers, paraprofessionals and those who help all the kids steadily grow to adult responsibility. Why is this so?
Counting numbers every two to four years at election time is important. True. But when are we going to look at financial numbers more regularly and honestly for the benefit of all. Vive all watchdogs. Look, listen and bark when values are being attacked. Time will tell.
Finch is Goliath with all his money and Ganim is David. Ganim had less money than Finch and has a felony record. Finch used Ganim’s felony to his advantage and tried to make Ganim look worse in public. But the underdog Ganim won this round.
You see the difference is, say what you want to say about Ganim but he got shit done. Everything Finch does, Ganim does better, and with less money. This is the type of mayor I want, someone who gets the job done. Not a mayor who only works hard during election years.
Thanks for the numbers and analysis. As much as we want to blame someone else for our candidate’s loss, true analysis of spoilers shoud cause those with sour grapes syndrome to learn for the next battle. Now if city voters could recover from Stockholm Syndrome and use reason rather than nostalgia when casting votes in November, this city might just be saved.
Jennifer, Rick Torres and his Black Panther tattoo are not going to do it.
To be clear, it is a power tattoo, the outline of a raised fist, Cuban coffee-colored in this case.
To be perfectly clear about this, the tattoo he bragged about is the black power symbol of the black panthers. Cuban coffee??? Really, that is such BS.
JB, go back on Lennie’s blog for October 30, 2014 and that will explain the tattoo.
Points taken, Andy. I do understand your issues with the tat. Thanks, sincerely thanks.
Andy, please try to see some humor in my post. If a tattoo and the message of power to the people is not your cup of tea, so be it. Body art is a personal choice, getting inked with a symbol of one’s strong belief, while being more and more popular, I am not a fan of any tattoos, message or pure decoration. Said the mother who has three adult children all with ink.
It is not my cup of tea after being shot at and being in riots or having my friend a Bridgeport cop put on a black panther wanted dead or alive poster.
There are things other than putting a racial symbol on one’s arm you can do to help the poor and downtrodden.
I’m one Foster voter who would have voted for Finch.
Without Foster in the race, Finch wins. She may not have planned on being a spoiler but it sure looks like she didn’t plan to win judging by her campaign. Ross Perot redux.
Hindsight being 20/20, the Finch campaign should have had a 3-point message:
1. The Ganim corruption damaged Bridgeport terribly and the effects were very long-lasting. While everywhere else was being developed, Bridgeport was passed by.
2. Now after all the criminal trials, convictions and finally the absence of a pay-to-play City Hall, Bridgeport is finally getting the significant investment activity that has been missing for so long.
3. But Bridgeport is still in a very fragile place as far as investment goes. Still a tough place to develop given brownfields, etc. Now is not the time to even think about bringing back the memory of corruption. It’s too easy to blow the momentum.
Why risk the change?
If Joe Ganim were being honest instead of self-serving, he’d know he would be doing far more for Bridgeport by staying. But like the shark he has always been, he smelled blood in the water.
Feel better? The game changed when Joe Ganim became the endorsed Democrat. Ganim is the Democratic candidate. Wrap your head around it. Cross endorsement is not going to happen at the State level. It would take a visit from Christ Himself to eradicate the stink off that. This primary was likely Finch’s to lose and he did a damned fine job of it.
Denis, if Finch were a popular mayor Ganim would have no traction. Finch did not lose because of Foster. Finch lost because of Finch. How’s UB doing?
I do not think Foster was a spoiler in this election. Mary-Jane Foster was a very credible candidate and the votes she received were genuine. Joe Ganim ran a great campaign. His volunteers were extremely supportive and went with him everywhere. The communication was very clear and all the volunteers knew what was happening. He had a very engaging group of supporters, I can tell you first hand.
The energy in an otherwise boring campaign was definitely with Ganim when Finch had the story to tell. A few misfires on campaign literature was not helpful to Finch. Ganim’s headquarters were well signed, huge banners, balloons and excitement. Marketing a candidate is like marketing a product. You think signs don’t vote? Well how about campaign headquarters without huge exciting banners? These are ” mistakes” we learn from. Lennie may believe Ganim has the wind at his back, but I believe Finch will emerge wiser and more engaging telling the city the facts. What’s happening all over the city and the University of Bridgeport would be a big start. There are so many projects going on there. This general election should favor Bill Finch, I expect a top-notch positive campaign. The future of our city is at stake. I just do not see Ganim as our ticket to the future. I didn’t see Foster as the spoiler. Had she gone after Ganim months ago, her support would definitely have been stronger. I certainly do not believe it was her intention to be a spoiler. I certainly do not believe she and Joe shared a plan. I do believe the outcome of the primary offers Bill Finch and the voters to become more engaged. Joe had his moment and now Mayor Finch will have his. I do not want to be dismissive to Rick Torres or David Daniels and Charlie Coviello. I just believe it is going to be a two-man election. I expect fireworks.
I don’t see how you can come to that conclusion. Finch is short-circuiting. He is fuming that the people of the city of Bridgeport and their police department would rather have a crook as mayor.
Finch has the money, he has the organization but his message is still a lie!
We all know Joe’s past, and people still trust him!
Joe will bring this city to greatness, while holding the line on taxes!
Finch will tax us into insolvency, if we’re not there already!!!
For eight years Finch has cooked the books on our budget!
Now he’s hiding the daily police reports!
Step down now Mayor Bill Finch and back Joe Ganim, do the right thing for our city!
I don’t believe 1/3 of Foster votes would be Ganim votes. The Foster camp is anti-status quo, buddy-buddy Bridgeport. They perhaps consider themselves “smart” or “educated” people. Less than 10% would have voted for Ganim as an anti-Finch vote. Foster caused the vote difference. However, the pathetic 15,000 or so voters out of a city of 160,000 is apathy personified. These people have that many friends on Facebook. Bridgeport will most surely continue to get the same results. As in the definition of insane.
You are correct. It would have been more like 40%.
Bill Finch lost because of Bill Finch. All that money in the bank couldn’t defeat The Crook. Joe Ganim is JOE GANIM, 24/7. He is the man of the people all day, every day. Finch couldn’t be bothered to get out of the office.
Mary-Jane Foster’s poll numbers were so dismal there is no way she was the spoiler. Joe Ganim ran a better campaign and had better election cheats than Finch. End of story.
Well, Bridgeport kid is so hopeful Ganim alone will run against Torres. Bill Finch will emerge victorious because now, all Democrats not just primary voters as well as unaffiliated and Republicans.
The city of Bridgeport is just not going to give the keys of the kingdom to Ganim.
Mary-Jane Foster is in a very strange position. She is not a fan of either Joseph or William. Her core constituency went for Finch. Mary-Jane can stay away and disappear forever or make herself relevant by supporting Finch. She knows the city is moving forward. Like Finch, Mary-Jane is an outsider to the corrupt politics of Mario Testa and Joseph Ganim. Mary-Jane for the sake of the city and her political future would be wise to support Finch. She would be more of the beneficiary than Bill.
Sometimes you just have to swallow your pride. John Gomes did when he gave up his campaign to support you. Only a handful of Foster supporters joined Finch, those who joined Ganim had their hands out.
I would urge Foster to not listen to any of her advisers other than her husband. I urge her to support Mayor Finch to save our city from the hands of a questionable character or I fear Mary-Jane Foster will disappear from the political landscape and that would be a huge loss for Bridgeport.
If ever there was a time to change the makeup of the machine, it would be now!
I do not want Ganim’s name on the ballot. Look who surrounds and supports him: Mario Testa, Ernie “Moses” Newton (another crook), Danny Roach. Most of the people on his ticket are the same old clowns from days of yore, clamoring to get back onto the city payroll. None of them is interested in serving the best interests of the people of the city of Bridgeport. It’s just a game to be played, a route to a privileged lifestyle paid for by the taxpayers’ dime.
If the people on Ganim’s ticket really gave a shit about the people of the city of Bridgeport, they would have run independently instead riding the coattails of a crooked disbarred attorney.
Steve, you are right about it being time to change the makeup of the machine. Perhaps you should support Mary-Jane Foster to save our city from the hands of Joe Ganim and Bill Finch.
Sheepthrills,
Mary-Jane Foster will not be running in the general election. I believe her taking a stand to support Bill would send a message the days of Mario and Joe are done! It is common sense. If Foster does not take a leap of faith now to support the independent Democratic candidate she will be remembered as a third-place candidate who is not bankable. I think if she polled her supporters she would find they would overwhelmingly support her choice to work against Ganim and Testo and support Finch. In the next week or so the primary race will be over and the masses will be out to crush Ganim, if not the city will suffer a paralyzing setback.
Finch and Ganim are just two branches of the Bridgeport Democratic machine that has been killing our city for years. As a Foster supporter, I would rather see her endorse Enrique Torres.
And that would be an awful shame. An end to her political career. Asking her supporters four years ago to support Torres went over like a lead balloon. Finch does not need her endorsement. She needs to make herself relevant. Black Rock is a bellwether. She didn’t lose support for endorsing Stafstrom.
I’ve spoken to a number of Finch insiders. Word from them is, if Finch’s third-party scam falls apart they will support Enrique Torres. This no bullshit.
You’re backing a losing horse, Steven. Stop making an ass of yourself.
Bridgeport Kid, there are no Finch insiders you would know who could ever possibly support Torres. He is a nice guy. There is too much at stake. It just isn’t going to happen no matter how much you click your heels. The majority of the Republicans will support Finch. In the real world Mary-Jane Foster was a stronger candidate than Torres and Mayor Finch won in Black Rock. But Bridgeport Kid, I will wish you luck in supporting Rick.
An upbeat note on Bpt–only 8% of the city’s population decided Bpt does not deserve better!
Come Back Bridgeport,
Does that mean 92 percent believed Bridgeport does deserve better?
Steve–My 92% includes children and non-primary voters. You caught my blown-up presumption.