The election season is churning toward a September Democratic primary as four candidates eye the party endorsement for mayor and three likely to petition onto the ballot via signatures.
On Tuesday July 25, the 90-member Democratic Town Committee will cast endorsement votes with Joe Ganim the prohibitive favorite. Opponents Lamond Daniels, John Gomes and Marilyn Moore know the expected tally and are largely focused on the signature drive that starts the next day to bank more than 2,000 verified signatures of Democratic electors.
Moore had a perplexing week coming off campaign finance report revelations that the conflicted political group Bridgeport Generation Now Votes plans to wire nearly $100,000 in dark money independent campaign expenditures, the source of the money so far undisclosed, to Moore and political allies, setting up suspicions of illegal coordination and tarnishing Moore’s ad nauseum “honesty and integrity” mantra.
Gen Now Votes spent thousands of dollars at a public endorsement of Moore last month with the swag-wearing candidate in attendance, Moore’s 2019 mayoral campaign manager Gemeem Davis, a Gen Now Votes leader, front and center. Under state law it’s illegal for Gen Now Votes to coordinate independent expenditures with candidates it supports.
See BPT GEN NOW VOTES Form 26 long July 10th
The $95,998 expenditure was obligated but not paid as of June 30 wired to benefit Moore for the presumed September 12 Democratic primary for mayor.
Activist political consulting group Rally, according to the report, will be the beneficiary of the investment to carry out voter outreach on behalf of Moore and candidates for City Council and school board. The report does not show how the expenditure will be financed, be it a number of donors or one gigantic pocketbook.
That money will supplement the money Moore will spend from her candidate committee for mayor.
Gen Now Votes and its sister organization Bridgeport Generation Now, has impaled itself on the sanctimonious pursuit of power, dragging along well-intentioned activists under the guise of the “people’s platform” preaching transparency of government officials but not doing the same.
Case in point an OIB reader who donated money to Gen Now’s promise of non-partisanship to see the money spent on the complete opposite.
“It’s shady,” as he noted.
The cozy relationship between Moore and Gen Now Votes Leaders Davis and Callie Heilmann will be part of the campaign narrative playing out this primary season.
Political activists are examining the finance reports and Moore’s comfy relationship with Gen Now leaders for potential complaints filed with the State Elections Enforcement Commission that oversees elections.
Moore has willingly aligned herself with Gen Now and has done nothing to separate herself from the dubious relationship. It’s just not one thing, but a series of gaffes that have created a number of trap doors that raises more questions about Moore’s competency to lead. All of these are self-inflicted wounds that started in 2019 and growing, from a misfit campaign organization, hiring to lead her absentee ballot organization an operative who just one year prior entered multiple felony pleas to absentee ballot abuse in connection with a Stratford municipal race, Moore fined $300 for illegal circulation of petition sheets, to alienating past supporters who have gravitated to other campaigns and now the latest revelation that totally hamstrings her so-called independence and imprints she’s wholly owned by Gen Now Votes.
You can’t sermonize, undercut your own pledge and then not expect observers to notice.
Each campaign has its calculus for how they want the primary ballot to match up.
With Moore on the ropes, the candidate best able to cast himself into the mantle of reformer is Daniels whose campaign swag displays “A Fresh Face, A Fresh Start.”
Gen Now Votes has criticized Daniels, claiming dubiously he has no grassroots support. They don’t want him in the race fearful he swipes votes from Moore.
Politics is a screwy business. Let’s see how this plays out.
A Fresh Face, A Fresh Start?
Daniel’s claim as his qualification to be mayor was having served under mayor Bill Finch Wood–barely a “Fresh Face, A Fresh Start”.
Daniel’s degree in public administration is the perfect qualification for being mayor.
His job under Mayor Finch was an ideal preparation for his current job and the next job he envisions.
Life is a progression — you should know that.
Lennie, you were Joe Ganim’s campaign manager? What was that like?
Yes, for the decade of the 1990s. Joe and I had an agreement: you run the city, I’ll run the campaign and that’s pretty much how it went.
That sounds like a workable agreement. Oh, to be young and idealistic again.
A Fresh Face / A Fresh Start, I like it, as far as it goes. No doubt that this is the brainchild of Kierra Powell, the Daniels campaign’s new campaign manager and their last best hope for a decent showing. She’ll need to raise a lot more money fast and spend it just as fast to get Lamond’s message out across all media, hire a paid staff to work directly with her and whip this campaign organization into shape. This campaign needs what all campaigns need, the MOM touch. Money, Organization and Message.
A Fresh Face/ A Fresh Start
And likely a HOPE filled reception from voter residents who are tired of the oft photographed, but rarely spoken with in City directed conversation or even more rarely, listened to respectfully on subjects of taxpayer interest. Emphasize MOM but keep your ears open to HOPE for better leadership!!!
How many folks are out introducing the new candidate? Daniels is offering a ‘clean slate’ opportunity to voters this year. What happens when someone is used to listening regarding public issues, with respect and opportunities to enlist citizens to participate, and comes to the office with administrative experience in municipal governance and their own clean slate? Time will tell.