Fabrizi: Let’s Bring ‘Real Green To The Pockets Of Bridgeporters’–Lampoons Finch

In a commentary first published in the Connecticut Post, former Mayor John Fabrizi contrasts his years as mayor with Bill Finch claiming “The present administration’s approach to economic progress uses a technique to show progress by color chart.” Fabrizi has formed an exploratory committee for mayor. His commentary follows:

How many cities, anywhere, can boast of anything resembling Seaside Park–300 green acres on beautiful Long Island Sound? How many cities have a Beardsley Park–a beautiful wooded place that contains a historic zoo that maintains an endangered species breeding program? And then there’s Veteran’s Memorial park–another beautiful wooded space with state-of-the-art playing fields that benefit the entire city. I’m very proud that my administration created those playing fields for the youth and residents of Bridgeport.

Bridgeport is the home of two world-class hospital/trauma centers–Saint Vincent’s Medical Center and Bridgeport Hospital. How many cities of our size can boast of two such facilities?

Of course, we must not forget our very own university, the University of Bridgeport–one of the most innovative institutions in the country–an institution at the very forefront of alternative medicine, distance learning and engineering, not to mention the other cutting-edge programs and national firsts, such as their renowned nutrition program and dental hygiene program. In addition, this university is the economic driver of Bridgeport’s South End.

Bridgeport is a very special place–a city purposefully carved-out of its surroundings by serious people of vision as a place of prosperity, beauty, and opportunity.

Consider our proud history as we were once referred to as the premier industrial city of the world, the Arsenal of Democracy.

Now, I’m not a person who sees the world through rose-colored glasses. I’m a realist and a problem solver. I know how far we have fallen since our glory days. While I remember how Bridgeport shined in the past, we have descended from a place where factories crowded our developed areas and jobs outnumbered workers, to a place where square miles of industrial land remain fallow and where real unemployment is sky-high, with Bridgeporters having to travel hours a day to other cities and towns to make a living.

Where we used to have clean, peaceful, orderly neighborhoods populated by working families, we now have large blighted areas populated by the unemployed and underemployed.

These places in our city cause me great distress when I drive through them. These places make me comment to myself, this is not the Bridgeport in which I was born and raised and have chosen to spend my life here. This is not the Bridgeport that I envisioned and worked hard to revitalize as Mayor.

Some would say that we are on our way back. While we do have pockets of prosperity in our city, unfortunately the vast majority of our residents are in a state of protracted economic distress.

When I served as mayor, I made bringing good jobs to our city and expanding our tax base my top priorities. I brought in the Urban Land Institute to begin the community discussion and governmental planning in helping plot Bridgeport’s future. I talked to major corporations about locating facilities and jobs in Bridgeport. I lobbied hard for help in Hartford and Washington to get the Steel Point project in motion. I brought in the Royal Bank of Scotland and hundreds of good jobs to downtown Bridgeport and even convinced Pitney Bowes to locate facilities here, employing many Bridgeporters.

These gains, and much more have been lost by an administration that puts much more stock in appearing “green” and enlightened to the suburbs than in bringing jobs and real “green” to the pockets of Bridgeporters.

Cities such as Stamford undertake development in the billions of dollars at a time. Since I left office, Bridgeport can’t even hold on to the determined Bridgeport businesses that had previously struggled successfully for decades to remain. The current city administration just lost the RBS jobs that I worked so hard to bring here.

The progress that I made with the state and UI in regard to the Steel Point development project have since been replaced with complications and false promises of ground-breaking and building–but not with the type of lucrative development that was poised to occur under my administration. Instead of mixed-use to higher-end housing, hotels and restaurants, we’re getting a lower-return anchor that will bring few jobs and little in the way of taxes.

The present administration’s approach to economic progress uses a technique to show progress by color chart. How “green” are we? What is our carbon abatement in this regard? How much “green power” are we producing? I’m left with one question: How much in the “pocket” green have residents saved?

We need real development and tax-base growth in the billions of dollars. The present city administration, even with help from the State, has not created the development that we need and in addition have not grown the tax base.

It appears that a catastrophic tax hike awaits us. It’s my estimation that our tax increase for our real estate property and cars will increase by double digit percentages for many of us residing here. Why do you think that the delay in implementing the new property assessments have been delayed to right after the next mayoral election and not right before it?

This administration takes credit for progress in education and school construction that were actually put in place by my administration. Check the records: the only progress made by this administration in regard to the public school system was in getting outraged citizens to turn out in record numbers to vote against the mayor’s attempted take-over of the democratically elected school system. Thank goodness that his illegal, state-assisted, anti-democratic, anti-public school coup d’etat was overturned by the courts and the people of Bridgeport.

While I served as Mayor, I had a grand vision for our city that needed nurturing and direction.

As mayor, I envisioned a city that would once again be the destination of technological innovators and visionary capital. A place where jobs outnumbered workers and where the tax-base allowed modest taxation of business and residents while providing for a strong level of funding for public education, public safety, and all other sectors of City government. I want to serve Bridgeport as mayor again. Today, I am still the same man with a passion and vision for Bridgeport, but I am a wiser man that has been tried by fire and learned the important lessons of life in the process.

I want to take Bridgeport to the same type of magical place that P.T. Barnum saw for us 150 years ago and that I envisioned for it as your mayor.

I don’t want Bridgeport to be sold short by those that would exploit us for political gain.

I want to bring the real “green” back to Bridgeport. The kind of green that you can take to the bank and put in your pocket, the kind of green that can make Bridgeport a better place to live, work and raise a family.

I envision a Bridgeport that would make P.T. Barnum proud. Bridgeport needs innovators, inventors and motivated citizens to get our city back on the path of prosperity.

As Bridgeporters, let’s all work together to build a better Bridgeport, a place where hope lives and promise beckons.