Finch Endorses Clinton For President

City Politics, National Politics, News and Events41 Comments

From the Finch campaign:

Today, Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch announced that he is officially endorsing Hillary Clinton’s campaign for President of the United States.

“Hillary Clinton is a strong and effective leader who has proven herself to be a true champion for hardworking Americans,” said Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch. “I’m proud to announce that I’m officially supporting her campaign to be the next President of the United States.”

Mayor Finch also noted that Hillary Clinton is the strongest presidential candidate to carry on–and build upon–President Barack Obama’s policies, including issues like growing jobs and fighting climate change.

Growing jobs and our economy
On creating jobs and growing our economy, Hillary Clinton’s vision for the American economy and its future is a key reason for Mayor Finch’s support.

In her first major policy speech as a presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton laid out a populist proposal that does right by hardworking Americans. Her proposal includes: raising the minimum wage, supporting unions, defending and enhancing social security, further investments in rail transportation and clean energy, giving fiscal incentives to businesses that create jobs, and holding businesses accountable.

“In order for cities like Bridgeport to continue growing and thriving, we need to double-down on making smart investments in the future,” said Mayor Finch.

“President Obama has done tremendous work in bringing back our economy from the brink. I’m confident that Hillary Clinton will continue making smart investments in the future that will help make Bridgeport a place where our kids and grandkids will choose to live, work, and raise their families, too.”

Due to Mayor Finch’s strong leadership, and a significant investment from President Obama’s Administration, Steelpointe Harbor is finally under construction. Once complete, it will be a 2 million-square-foot regional waterfront urban destination.

Spanning 82 acres, Steelpointe Harbor will feature more than 750,000 square feet of retail, restaurants and entertainment, a 12-screen premium theater, two hotels, 1,100 mid-and-high rise residential units, 30,000 square feet of office and a 200-slip, full service, deep water marina. It will also be the first time the peninsula will have public access for Bridgeport residents in 100 years.

“I’m confident that Hillary Clinton will continue the trend that President Obama started in helping cities like Bridgeport make smart investments in the future, growing jobs, developing our economy, and moving toward a better tomorrow.”

Fighting climate change
On Climate Change, Hillary Clinton has stated that a top priority for her administration will be to fight efforts to roll back–and to expand upon–President Obama’s Clean Power Plan.

“As the co-chair of the U.S. Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Task Force, I know all too well that growing cities like Bridgeport–which account for significantly less pollution than suburbs–are the key to a sustainable future in the U.S.,” said Mayor Finch. “That’s why we need leaders like President Obama and Hillary Clinton to lead our country. They understand that growing green jobs, and producing clean energy so our kids can breathe cleaner air, is key to winning the fight against climate change.”

President Obama’s recently released Clean Power Plan aims to beat back carbon dioxide emissions in the United States by 32 percent from 2005 levels by 2030.

The Clean Power Plan will help Connecticut and the rest of the country reach 30 percent more renewable energy generation by 2030, creating tens of thousands of jobs, lowering the cost of energy, and ensuring our kids and grandkids breathe cleaner air.

In Bridgeport, Mayor Finch has been focused on creating jobs and producing more clean energy through his sustainability efforts. His efforts have made Bridgeport a national model, according to fellow Hillary Clinton supporter and U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal.

“Clean energy, our energy future, and our economy all depend on what’s happening right here in Bridgeport, and that’s why I’m going to be inviting my colleagues to come here and see Connecticut’s and our nation’s energy future,” said Senator Blumenthal. “Connecticut is the fuel cell capital of the world, and here in Bridgeport, fuel cells have been applied to save money, save on pollution, drive the economy, and create more jobs. It’s really a win/win and Bridgeport is leading the way.”

In regards to green job creation, Bridgeport’s Eco-Technology Park–a long-neglected industrial area on the West Side–has been transformed by dozens of green job creators, resulting in hundreds of new jobs and more than $10 million in annual personal income.

And, regarding clean energy, Bridgeport serves as home to North America’s largest fuel cell, which powers up to 15,000 homes with clean energy. Combined with the additional 5,000 homes that will be powered by a second fuel cell and 9,000 solar panels atop an old and unused landfill, the state’s largest city will be powering 20,000 homes a year with clean energy–ensuring Bridgeporters breathe easier.

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41 comments

  2. Okay, everyone notice Finch’s strategy. Obviously he is a Democrat so why wouldn’t he endorse Hillary? He makes it look like this was a big decision. The strategy is for people to associate Hillary Clinton with Finch, and if they do maybe the will vote for Finch. Every Democratic Mayor will probably support Hillary, so how is this big news?

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  3. The truth is Hillary has no idea who Finch is. Finch could endorse the Pope but it doesn’t meant the Pope knows who he is.

    The truth of the matter is Finch talks about SteelPointe but he has let go of the rest of Bridgeport. The North End is not what is used to be, nine people got shot, there is graffiti all over. The jobs at Steelpointe are low-paying jobs. Bridgeport needs to do what Stamford did and bring in REAL jobs. It’s been eight years and Finch had not brought in REAL jobs so this is more of the same. Lipstick on a pig.

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    1. This is another cheap cynical ploy to attract voters. Neither Finch nor Ganim is the best man for the job. Both are connected and beholden to the Democratic Town Committee. Neither Mary-Jane Foster nor Enrique Torres has any affiliation with entrenched political interests and so are the strongest reform candidates. I don’t know anything about the other Seven Dwarves running for mayor except to say Gardner is a member of the BOE, Daniels is a retired police officer and Coviello enjoys the rear echelon.

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  6. Excellent! Having Michelle Obama here couldn’t hurt, could it?

    Mid September. Timing is everything, no? Maybe a visit from Hillary? Barry Obamawitz?

    I am a huge Clinton supporter!

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  8. Obviously the gravity of a Presidential election more than one year away takes Mayor Finch’s attention from the Memo I provided to him on Wednesday at the “brown bag” lunch session. He indicated I would be hearing from him shortly after letting me know the June report was not audited (less than 5% provided by Finance routinely is audited) and should be checked for source. I showed him a highlighted copy of the final actual totals. This is important to voters and taxpayers and OIB readers.

    TO: Mayor William Finch, City of Bridgeport
    RE: JUNE 2015 REPORT –DRAFT- (7/24/15)
    A $16 Million Difference
    DATE: August 12, 2015
    FROM: John Marshall Lee, 30 Beacon Street,

    The June report has a different format than previous as it uses fewer line items to list City expenses and therefore fewer pages. Trees are saved. However, it is not yet an “executive level summary” as I hear members of the Budget & Appropriations Committee requesting because of inclusion of the entire BOE budget, the subcategories for Police and Fire that confuse routine monthly inquiry, and the failure to use the “variance” function for most line items. (The CHARTER calls for monthly reporting of ALL EXPENSES, REVENUES, and VARIANCES.)

    The most significant fault with the 12 month report, even if it is a DRAFT rather than FINAL, is on the second page of this “Monthly Financial Analysis.” DRAFT

    REVENUES $524,972,314.08

    EXPENSES $524,506,276.57
    Net Surplus (Deficit) $466,037.51

    That is what is summarized for the public, and one assumes that REVENUES represents the Revised FY 2015 Budget (Page 9 of Revenue Report) and that EXPENSES represent the FY 2015 Budget (Page 26 of Expense Report). Instead they represent FY Projection Totals and this is not noted in the report. At the end of a FY there are no further projections. The calculation using actual 2015 results as reported on those same pages:

    REVENUES $521,988,899

    EXPENSES $505,501,379
    Net Surplus (Deficit) $16,487,520

    Taxpayers expect leaders and elected representatives to know what is happening and to issue timely and accurate reports. Which numbers are accurate? What size surplus is correct? What numbers are misrepresented? How does a citizen trust such results? How can true results be verified? Were taxpayers taxed too much during the 2015 FY? Time will tell.

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    1. JML showed me this discrepancy. It was shocking to learn, in a city with the highest rate of taxation in the United States, the Finance Director would be so sloppy in accounting for Bridgeport’s revenues and expenditures. There are so many mathematical errors, I was shaken but not surprised. What is the actual surplus, $466,037.51 or $16,487,520? I’m hoping it is the higher figure. The Finch administration will find a way to make off with it.

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  9. Andy Fardy,
    What does Budget Oversight Bridgeport (BOB) think about this latest revelation? Have we waited patiently for responses from City Hall previously? Time will tell.

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  11. What, you did not see Finch? A blog including bloggers who hide behind a fake name. My personal opinion, a blogger who can’t blog under their real name is irrelevant. You may not like or understand my blogging style but it’s relevant to me and those who may understand it. I voice my opinion in my own way under my own name. You voice your opinion in your own way under a fake name. The cartoon is very relevant to Bridgeport’s image, don’t you think? This is what the nation thinks of Bridgeport. If I wrote what was said about Bridgeport by The Family Guy would it be relevant? What do you think the nation and investors think about a person convicted and sent to jail for corruption, racketeering, bribes and so forth? This is not a personal attack on Joe, these are facts that need to be confronted, not hidden from. We need to look outside the Bridgeport bubble. Every issue Finch is facing is also plaguing many cities in Connecticut and across the nation. I’m sorry my blog is not in line with your views. Just because I’m not in line with your view doesn’t mean you can subtly ask me to give up my First Amendment right. My blogs are relevant, political in nature, just a different style. Do what I do to your posts, don’t read or click my links if you are offended in any way.

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  12. Robert Teixeira,
    First, let me say Thank You for the Family Guy post. I am a huge Seth McFarlane fan and appreciate his unfiltered non-politically correct humor. There is not one minority, religious or political group that is spared his brand of humor.

    Bridgeport Connecticut was depicted in a very bad and extremely hilarious light. This cartoon was done after 10 years of Joe Ganim and the image the Clergy endorsed! This is the image the green Mayor is trying to change.

    Bridgeport Kid is not an alias. He is in fact my evil twin who is better looking. We were separated at birth. His name is Derek Brown from Black Rock and he is known as an amazing guitarist.

    Do not take it personally. Derek is just against anyone who supports Mayor Finch. It is the weirdest thing.

    He is a favorite of Lennie Grimaldi so we have to tolerate him.

    Maria Pereira will chew off his leg when he comes out in support of Mary-Jane Foster.

    Everyone knows Mary-Jane Foster is having a meet and greet at 6 pm at the Sterling Lofts Arts space formerly known as the Reads building. Does anyone know Mayor Finch, then State Senator was one of the biggest supporters of this project?

    This is what we are hoping Marilyn Moore and Ed Gomes will deliver to Bridgeport. I am certain they will.

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  14. I thought Finch said Felons should not be allowed to run for office … she will be wearing the silver bracelets soon.
    Steve, you keep a laundry list of Finch’s accomplishments, can I please see your list on Hillary? That should be good reading for a Friday afternoon laugh.

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    1. Marc Delmonico, first, welcome back to the blog. Second, I will not be giving you Hillary Clinton’s laundry list at all during the next year. If she is running, she has my vote. If she gets to go to the Clinton Correctional Center, I will still support her as will the clergy in Bridgeport. Bernie Sanders is a wonderful guy. Not for me. Joe Biden, not a chance. I do like Martin O’Malley and I was impressed with one moderate Republican Ohio Governor.

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  15. I was going to make a comment questioning why Lennie would participate in Finch’s self-important comments by posting his release. Anything for attention.

    It appears Finch is starting early in promoting himself for a job in the Clinton administration. He praised Obama every chance he had but never got a job.

    Unfortunately, Hillary, Finch and Steve Auerbach may be disappointed as the Justice Department and FBI move forward with their investigation.

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    2. Tom, thank you for using the Mayor’s last name, the Presidential candidate by first name and I get the celebrity status.

      It would be terrible if Clinton were unable to run. We are all held prisoners of our past actions. I know the demise of the Clinton empire would excite you beyond words. I can see that grin from ear to ear. I am hopeful. Only in America could a self-absorbed, self-promoting billionaire rise in the polls like Donald Trump. The fact he is rising, Hillary is falling and Ganim gets endorsed by the FBI and clergy makes one wonder if we are in fact living in the end of days.

      There are many options to choose from if Hillary does not move forward. However, the Republican party doesn’t look at all appetizing and Bernie Sanders is a little too extreme for me.

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  18. A day in the life of Mayor Finch

    Mrs. Finch: Bill, how can you endorse Hillary Clinton after all the bad things you said about her over the years?

    MF: What did I say about her?

    Mrs. F: You said she treated Monica Lewinsky like a Middle Street hooker and if Hillary stayed home a few nights a week, Old Bill wouldn’t have to park his cigar in someone else’s humidor! Whatever that means.

    MF: Now honey, I’m trying to get Hillary’s endorsement, or even Bill Clinton to come to Bridgeport to endorse me!

    Mrs. F: Honey, what’s the matter with all those other people who’ve endorsed you?

    MF: Oh! Like Blumenthal? He would endorse roadkill and then endorse the crows for eating it! Jim Himes? His endorsement is as credible as the promise he made on replacing the Congress St. bridge, talk about someone on the way out! Fabrizi is scared shitless if Ganim gets in and investigate him and his brother, hello Fort Dix!

    Mrs. F: How about those old mayors like Paoletta, and Bucci’s endorsement?

    MF: Yeah! I need their endorsement like a box of their flucking urine drip pads they keep replacing every hour! Malloy? “Let me make it perfectly clear,” the guy’s the biggest liar I know!!! So what does that tell you? Malloy is so out of it, he still thinks he’s the flucking Mayor of Stamford!

    Mrs. F: Honey, come to bed, it’s getting late.

    MF: And let’s not forget my campaign manager, I pay her a lot of money to tell me Joe Ganim’s been to jail, over and over again, what the fluck is she thinking?

    Honey! Honey! I got it!!! If I can get John Marshall Lee to endorse me, then I don’t need the Clintons!!!

    Mrs. F: ZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZ this is getting scary zzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzz

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    1. Jim Fox,
      Bill Finch hasn’t asked me to endorse him. Perhaps it is the mountain of questions I have asked in recent years that have gone without response other than smugness. However, the $16 Million surplus difference may just be another story. I raised the memo with him on Wednesday at lunch. Today he and Andy Nunn were at PTPartners backpack event at PT Barnum where Tyisha and I were serving as volunteers.
      I asked Mayor Finch whether he had an answer to my question yet. He told me I would be hearing from Finance Director Anne Kelly-Lenz. He also suggested it was merely some confusion with the Board of Education budget. The Mayor needs to take a remedial course in “Agricultural Economics” if he thinks the BOE budget answer will bail this issue out of the news.
      Farm byproducts from raising cows, chickens and other animals are rich in nutrients when they are properly aged. Perhaps that is where the Mayor Finch’s “economic” education began and ended. Using B.S. as a political nutrient to make himself look better. Farms, large and small, just as businesses and municipalities need to have viable financial records and reports to satisfy bankers, bond issuers, credit agencies, the IRS, and other regulators including the Accounting Standards Boards. Can Bill’s grasp of City finances be any poorer than he is showing this moment in not having a personal answer for why the City looks like it has a $16,400,000 surplus, and the Finance Director is using projected revenues and expenses at year end when there are no more time periods in this budget? Time will tell.

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