Ed Gomes, The Warrior, Fights For Reelection

State Senator Ed Gomes is a youthful 76 with an engaging crocodile smile. It’s a smile that can transform into a sneer. On the night of May 21, after seven years serving in the State Senate, Gomes finished third among three candidates seeking delegate support at the Democratic Party convention. One by one Gomes heard delegates, some of them he considered friends, shout out the name Newton or Ayala. Ernie Newton was endorsed that night and when the results were officially announced Gomes sat back in his chair like a man betrayed. This was not a time to say hello to Ed Gomes. He walked out of Testo’s Restaurant that night knowing he’d have to fight for his political life.

Gomes is no stranger to a fight. “If there’s a fight between me and a bear you better help the bear,” he says. He was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, the second of nine children in a Cape Verdean family. His family moved to Bridgeport in 1944, he attended public schools and joined the Army in 1958 and spent two years stationed in Korea before an honorable discharge in 1963. He was influenced by civil rights leaders and joined in marches for equality. He became active in the local union of the United Steelworkers of America while working at Carpenter Steel. He became shop steward, then secretary and then president of Local 2215. In 1977 he represented all of New England as an international representative of District 1 of the United Steelworkers.

He fought for jobs, better pay and health care. He stepped up for folks and his union. If Ed Gomes is going to win this tough primary fight the union folks he’s helped through the years will need to step up for him.

A number of delegates who didn’t vote for Gomes say the incumbent was tardy in asking for support. Gomes had fundamentally decided while the General Assembly was in session from February through May he would stick to legislative business and do the politics after. He did not form a candidate committee to raise money until after the session. Meanwhile Newton and State Rep. Andres Ayala were raising money and schmoozing delegates. Gomes had a lot of catching up to do.

Although a loyal Democrat who votes regularly with party leadership in Hartford, Gomes does not have strong relationships with Mayor Bill Finch and Democratic Town Chairman Mario Testa. He doesn’t suck up to the party brass. There could be a silver lining in all of this for Gomes. It could allow him the freedom to run anti-establishment while highlighting his voting record. Although Gomes’ detractors claim he’s ineffective, he’s got a lot to crow about in seven years and in the last year alone he supported education reform that will fund low-performing school districts such as Bridgeport, add school-based health clinics and funds for early childhood slots; he voted to crack down on racial profiling; shepherded hundreds of thousands of dollars of improvements for Bullard Havens; voted to abolish the death penalty which plays well in the makeup of his district and he too has been a champion of urging second chances for offenders caught up in the state’s corrections system.

Timing can be everything in politics and Gomes caught a bad break last year when a piece of his district, the Wilbur Cross voting precinct, was carved out of his district and into that of State Senator Anthony Musto who represents the north and western sections of the city. While Gomes was in a hospital bed last fall recovering from heart surgery, Hartford political insiders who decide these things added reliable Democratic voters to Musto’s city/suburban swing district. Reliable votes in Gomes’ backyard were snatched from him. This matters in a primary.

Still, there are enough votes out there for Gomes to be a threat to win the Aug. 14 primary. He’s the incumbent with a record to deliver who can work the district’s thousands of senior citizens who tend to remain loyal to incumbents. He has a reputation for honesty and his word is good. Chris Caruso, the two-time mayoral candidate and long-time State House member before accepting an appointment from Governor Dan Malloy, is gearing up to support Gomes. If Caruso weighs in heavily for Gomes he has the ability to bring along campaign workers and a former constituency to the cause. A key for Gomes is qualifying for Connecticut’s public financing system that would avail $100K. He’s dialing to raise small donations to reach the public financing threshold.

If he raises the moolah he should be in the game. He can frame himself to voters as the antidote to the Newton haters and the reliable independent-minded incumbent to party insiders supporting Ayala.

(Footnote on video: our friends at www.doingitlocal.com caught up to Gomes and Newton at an anti-violence rally last weekend.)