City politics is a combative sport. Democratic Town Committee member Tony Barr, a passionate supporter of State Senator Marilyn Moore for mayor, is a candidate for City Council in the Upper East Side 138th District.
He claims, in this video, although he shows no specific evidence, that his September 10 Democratic primary opponent Maria Pereira is playing around with absentee ballots, something she vehemently rejects. From Barr’s Facebook page:
I caught Maria Pereira. I have never done anything to this woman. She’s tried to have me arrested numerous times. She’s tried to have me barred from attending BOE hearings. Had me in court trying to have a restraining order against me. For not agreeing with our kids having to walk an extra half mile added to the distance already dangerous for them. She’s call me a drug addict and a alcoholic. She’s attacked many African Americans every opportunity she get. Had friends of her go to someone home with a cake to secretly record his privacy. She doesn’t respect people of color. Had Senator Dennis Bradley and myself investigated by the SEEC for absolutely nothing. It’s call karma!
Barr and Pereira have gone at it pretty good over the past few years including dueling restraining orders that were tossed by Superior Court Judge Barbara Bellis.
In the video above Barr in his car confronts Pereira who’s not bashful about what she thinks of her opponent who has become active in city politics since doing a 20-year federal bid for drug gang activity. In 2016 he entered a guilty plea for threatening to blow Mayor Joe Ganim’s “head off.”
And now, for something slightly more elegant, we bring you professional ballroom dancers performing at Augustana Homes for senior residents, courtesy of Pereira. All sorts of ways to campaign. Do a little dance, get down tonight!
Ignorant threats and comments by Tony Barr.
The SEC is the security and Exchange Commission and regulates stocks and bonds
The SEC will throw Barr’s video in the trash.
The SEEC….State Election Enforcement Commission handles election complaints.
Do we someone who doesn’t know the difference on the City Council?
Tony Barr’s video proves absolutely nothing except that he is “trouble” personified. No evidence whatsoever. IMHO, Marilyn Moore should not have embraced Tony and it’s a mistake. The Moore campaign must absolutely distance themselves to a ZERO relationship with Tony Barr. Barr was just bizarre in that video.
Wheres the video he says he has with the ab??
This GOD fellow is a petty character, eh?
Barr is a subtraction by addition to the Moore Campaign. Moore or Less!
Barr get a life …….you are an embarrassment to the city of Bridgeport. Period
Here we have Marilyn Moore’s convicted felon attempting to smear my name without a shred of evidence.
I saw Tony Barr before he ever saw me. I saw him exit his home, walk down the front stairs and enter his vehicle. I knew he was recording me, and I couldn’t care less.
When you are doing nothing wrong it doesn’t bother you.
He is just an unhinged nut.
Maria, way you so angry? 🙂 You’re smart, by-the-way you look cute in a hat. You ticklish? 🙂
why 🙂
And that would be the face of a prospective Moore Administration?!
Maria ia a trooper. I was pretty good in my day, but I’d never want to go againt her.
“against”
The only difference between Maria Pereira and Tony Barr is he got convicted. They are both different sides of the same coin.
Not quite, Donald. Maria Pereira may rub some folks the wrong way but she stands by her beliefs and has the interests of the city’s school children at heart. I don’t agree with her methods but hey, this is Bridgeport. Go figure.
Tony Barr is a convicted felon, a thug with anger management issues.
Moore would be wise to distance herself from Barr,he’s not stable.
Donald Day,
Tony Barr served 21 years in federal prison for serving as an enforcer for a drug gang and trying to kill a police officer.
He has been convicted or plead guilty to numerous charges from serious felonies to misdemeanors.
He is also an alcoholic
Yet you have the temerity to compare me to the likes of Tony Barr.
You are biased, have lost any and all objectivity, and are simply angry that I am not working to elect Marilyn Moore
Oh, and I forgot, the one thing I will never be is Black. I believe most OIB readers know how the only lenses you view the world through is one of race./color.
At this point you have become a $1 frozen Banquet meal served on the lid of a trashcan.
Although our absentee ballots dropped on Thursday afternoon we did not go to one of our senior homes until Friday evening.
We started talking to voters who explained two Ganim teams were in the building. The team on the upper floor was a black and Hispanic female. The second team was a Male and a female.
.
On the top two floors the Black female and Hispanic female went into the homes of these seniors and filled out Row A straight across themselves.
On Saturday Samia and I ran into this particular team. One of them was longtime Ralph Ford and Tom Coble operative Tanya Whitley. I did not recognize the Hispanic woman.
They were at a frail, legally blind senior’s door speaking with her about her AB. I wasn’t worried about her AB because she can not pick up her mail. Her eldest daughter picks it up and handles all her finances and correspondence. I spoke with her on Friday night and she had her mom’s AB in her tote.
The issue was that although her daughter has repeatedly told her not to open her door to strangers she does anyway. I went to Harding with her son and younger daughter.
I politely explained she was legally blind and they should not be disturbing her. The Hispanic woman said I am not talking to you. I told her well I am talking to you.
Her children do not want her opening her door to strangers. It is an issue of safety.
Tanya Whitley became loud and obnoxious and started making disparaging remarks. I took out my phone and started recording them. She told her to stop recording her because it was illegal. I explained we were in public housing. She told me she was going to break my phone if I didn’t stop recording her. I let her know she would be doing no such thing
I am friendly with most of the security guards and one agreed to look through Thursday’s video footage after 1:00 PM. If I see Tanya Whitley and this Hispanic woman in the photos I am definitely filing an SEEC complaint.
Today I was in Fireside. I literally knocked on a door and another Gsnim person,,a Black female, walks up with her clipboard and is standing there less than three feet away.
I asked her if she was waiting to speak to the same voter. She said she was. I indicated it is uncomfortable and intense for voters to have two different campaigns on their door at the same time. I asked her if she could work on a few other doors and come back after I was done. She was adamant she wanted to wait. After a minute or two she drifted off. She was not rude at all.
Best moment of the day was speaking with an elderly male voter at Fireside.
I don’t know him as well as some other voters, however I immediately noticed he has lost alot of weight and looked a bit frail. We had an indepth conversation about his illness and the crazy amount of medication he was taking.
He is very independent and knows exactly how to complete his AB. I asked him if alot of people have been knocking on his door. He said a Black man was banging on his door on Saturday yelling that he had to vote for Mayor Ganim. I told him you don’t have to vote for anyone.
I was about to leave and he suddenly said you and your friend are going to win. I was surprised and asked “why do you say that?” He said “because everyone here loves you guys.”
That really made my day. 🙂
It’s obvious that Maria wants Joe Ganim to win this Democrat primary because there are only two candidates, Joe Ganim and Marilyn Moore. Again, it will be either Joe Ganim or Marilyn Moore who will be the Democrat candidate for mayor in the general election and Maria with her comments help only Joe Ganim and Mario Testa.
Once again, Ron. YOU do not speak for me on ANY matter.
I speak for Maria Pereira NOT YOU!
I didn’t vote for Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton either. 🙂
Why are Marilyn Moore loyalists so concerned about who I am or am not supporting?
I am just one person.
Marilyn Moore has a huge supporter in the 138th District by the name of Tony Barr. The amount of votes he receives will be a fairly accurate reflection of how many votes he will bring to Marilyn Moore. We shall have to wait and see. 🙂
If I were those poor elderly people at Fireside or another elderly residence I wouldn’t even answer the door. Can you imagine what a pain in the ass these people knocking on their doors must be to them??Then when these poor people answer, they have to deal with AB bullshit. I would bet half of them just fill the dam things out to get the person out of their apts.
The whole absentee process is flawed, and because of it, the general elections are rarely a reflection of the popular vote, especially on a local level.
I agree entirely with your assessment of this situation. Intimidation is a tool of the trade for these obnoxious AB people.
Early voting failed to pass a few years ago because some good people were not astute enough to recognize its importance on the ballot but it is a solution!
Oh poor dumb Maria, you’ve become caricature of yourself with that post to me. You and Tony are just alike minus the convictions. You are both loudmouthed blowhards who are replete with stinkyousity. Neither one of you could form a coalition to get anything done to benefit your district or the city as a whole if your lives depended on it.
Your tenure on the BBOE was filled with arguments, lockouts, hostilities, discourse, discontent and police involvement while nothing that would benefit the education of the children of Bridgeport. Aren’t you a little dismayed that none of your so called friends on the BBOE came out in support of your council run?
Don’t you find yourself somewhat bewildered that Marilyn Moore would rather ally herself with your words not mine, “someone who was convicted or plead guilty to numerous charges from serious felonies to misdemeanors and a alcoholic rather than an upstanding person like yourself? It appears that she would rather eat shit and die than have your support, my words and not hers.
John Ricci, that $1000 was money well spent in bringing that loudmouthed blowhard into the Ganim/Mario camp because should she win no one will ally themselves with her for anything until or unless Joe tells them to. I’ve said that you’re a good meal served on a garbage can top and now in retrospect I see you’re just a meal served on a garbage can top. Not very appetizing and just a waste of time and energy.
You’re the blowhard. All you do is post on OIB and chauffer Marilyn Moore on election day.
I have helped many people in my District and have done more for the residents of the 138th District than all others combined.
There are those that have so much to say about me, however I honestly believe that those that want to be perceived as credible would refer to me as “dumb.”
You are so angry that I will not tell voters to vote for Marilyn? Why?
The vast majority of OIB readers know why. The reason is I have hundreds of voters who trust me enough to take my lead.
Well, if Marilyn Moore wants to “eat shit and die” that is certainly her decision. 🙂
Bon appetite! 🙂
Driving Miss Daisy!
Would NOT refer to me as dumb.
Don, there are a few things that are going to happen, first either Marilyn Moore or Joe Ganim will be the mayor elected in November 2019, so Council member Maria Pereira would just one of 20 City Council members who will be all Democrats. Maria doesn’t have the skills and abilitiy to form a coalition of 50% plus 1 to get anything pass with the City Council, nothing. Mayor Moore or Mayor Ganim will have anything to do with Maria along with the other council members. Maria will just be the mayor of the 138th district with no power to help the voters in the 138th district, those voters are just throwing their vote away by voting for Maria. Don, you are right, the only way the council will vote for anything from Maria is when Joe Ganim and Mario Testa tells the council to vote for, the two people Maria hates.
Mayor of the 138th District. Hmmm…. I like the way that sounds. It’s got a nice ring to it.
🙂 🙂 🙂
Succession is what is needed in the 138th district to form a new town called, “I’m Always Right” named after Maria Pereira.
Maria it is, then. There are no convicted felons endorsed by the DTC.
Maria, you will be very effective as mayor of the 138th district.
The city council will be the same circus with a few new clowns.
Bridgeport residents have been fortunate to have a few competent people on the city council over the years, such as Pete Spain, Trish Swain and Donna Curran for example, but Maria’s toxicity may be an effective way to address issues by exposing the clowns.