A day after Mayor Bill Finch won the Democratic Town Committee endorsement over Joe Ganim, Mary-Jane Foster says supporters are fanning out across the city to secure signatures for a September 16 primary, asserting “Bridgeport deserves better than incompetent and corrupt mayors.”
Finch’s announced challengers Foster, Ganim, Howard Gardner and Charlie Coviello must secure roughly 1900 certified signatures of Democratic voters to make the ballot. Foster, an executive at the University of Bridgeport and co-founder of the Bridgeport Bluefish baseball team, was Finch’s 2011 primary opponent.
Foster statement:
“We have an incumbent mayor who had to struggle to get the endorsement and in the end only secured it by wheeling and dealing in promises and raises to city employees. The fact that the mayor could barely prevail over a challenge by a man convicted of sixteen of twenty-three counts of public corruption shows just how unpopular he has become.
“As I gather signatures across the city, I will make a direct appeal to the residents of Bridgeport that I am the candidate of change. Now is the time to move forward with a fresh and honest administration. Bridgeport deserves better than incompetent and corrupt mayors. I look forward to hearing the concerns of Bridgeport voters and sharing my thoughts for the future with them.”
Let the hunger games begin. Now that a primary will be forced, it’s every candidate for his- or herself. It is more than obvious the Finch campaign is deathly afraid of Joe Ganim. Mary-Jane Foster is not perceived as a threat. She ought to be. While Maryli Secrest and Adam “Pecker” Wood carry on about Joe Ganim’s racketeering convictions, Ms. Foster and Enrique Torres will be pointing out Bill Finch has been lackadaisical as mayor, claiming, falsely, the city is safer now than it has been in 40 years. Excuse me while I vomit, Mr. Mayor. The violent crime statistics are up more than 150% over last year.
Mr. Finch also claims to have improved the local economy and created “many” jobs. If you consider minimum-wage service sector jobs an improvement to the local economy, okay. That’s an improvement in whatever la la land you inhabit.
The economy in Bridgeport will improve only when EVERYONE is doing well, not just the fat cats who own everything.
Bridgeport deserves better!
The people of the city of Bridgeport deserve way better than what they’ve been getting from the feckless administration of Bill “You can call me Ray” Finch. Anyone but him, please. Time for the cheap electoral shenanigans to be put to rest. Let the cream rise to the top. Shit floats, Bill Finch can take the river out of town.
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OK MJF, time to separate the wheat from the chaff. You passed the smell test, Testa did not touch you by his corruption and Ganim will draw from Finch. Tell the citizens how you will give them a hand up, not out!!!
Unemployment has increased 41% in Bridgeport during Finch’s administration.
I don’t usually comment much as I don’t consider myself a professional at some of the things spoken about here. I will say though, it is clearly evident the current Mayor’s camp is nervous about Mr. Ganim. Why open a site the truth about Joe, why is it the only thing I keep seeing them say is about his previous interpreted wrongdoings? Gives me the vibe the knees are knocking. I can sit here ’til I’m blue in the face to tell you all the goodness of Finch or the goodness of Ganim, but truthfully it would be a total waste of time. This will be interesting, by far or at least extremely entertaining. I will say though, when things are starting to happen many people think it’s all during the current term, many things are way beyond the current term and sometimes works that have begun from maybe two terms before. The trust between Hartford Governor and Finch are already coarse, whether they admit it or not after Finch endorsed the other candidate when Malloy ran for Governor. So we don’t necessarily have Hartford on our side either … geesh. So all in all, let’s just all agree these politics are nothing short of a circus and evidently the care for the public they are. You’re gonna tell me you can’t get someone to help a poor man on a street but yet they wanna serve the public … aha okay, or can we at least admit they are all in it for some other reasons and some truthfully start wanting to serve but end up like the rest.
Good luck to all, but as a voter, I have to admit, voting for Finch as of this point I will question due to seeing all he is spitting out is what I already know happened years ago. The fact he tries to utilize that to discourage me to vote for Mr. Ganim makes me even more doubtful that he can even deal with the real stresses that are coming down the pike. i don’t know, I just know that if elections were today, I don’t think I would vote for him, just because I don’t appreciate the negative campaigning and lack of positive campaigning from his side. I’m sure the Mr. Joe Ganim Camp can open a site the truth about what Finch has done but even if they did, I wouldn’t like it either, and I do know he, Mr. finch, has lied to the public on certain aspects of taxes which HAVE increased. Thankfully I have not seen that so far about negative campaigning from that side. Not that Mary-Jane Foster can’t win, I just don’t think there is a connection between the citizens of Bridgeport and Ms. Foster. She seems like a nice lady but there isn’t a connect, there is a gap, somehow, for some reason, but the race anyone can clearly see is between Ganim and Finch. Good Luck to all.
Just Amazed, great post. I do not believe the Finch camp is nervous at all based on polling. Curiously, you mentioned Finch’s relationship with Malloy. First, you would expect Dannel Malloy would be extremely upset with Finch supporting Ned Lamont. I think the Mayor and Malloy have long put that behind them.
Mayor Finch has a very close relationship with Malloy. Malloy needs Bridgeport. There was a reason President Obama came to the city of Bridgepor, Mayor Finch hosted an all-star gala to get Malloy elected. Remember, Obama had been the guest of our city and Mayor Finch during another election at Harbor yard. Malloy was in our city yesterday. The city has been the recipient of money from the State due to their close relationship. I think the endorsements over the past few days with Democratic and Republican Mayors over the past 30 years supporting Mayor Finch speak volumes. I think Congressmen Himes Senator Murphy and Senator Blumenthal carry weight. I think the wind is at the back of the Mayor and Ganim’s past is the issue. Ganim was a fine Mayor before he fell from grace. Steelpointe has started under Finch and started with Mayor Paoletta. I do not think this election will be close. Not close at all. Nothing downtown, none of the activity, excitement, construction or reconstruction was started under Ganim. Developers have made it clear they would not support the city if Ganim were Mayor. Nobody who cares about the future of Bridgeport will vote for Ganim. I do agree this has become a two-man race simply because another campaign has allowed Ganim to get all the anti-Finch votes and they continue to allow Ganim to surge. Mayor Finch has solid support. Parks and playgrounds and waterparks may not resonate with all the voters, but downtown, Steelpointe, Pleasure Beach, new train station, new schools, first new city high school in decades on the former GE property on Boston Avenue just ripe for major development not to mention the 450 acres of Remington woods being cleaned by the DuPont family and the focus of the Seaview Avenue corridor. These are all great projects that will eventually alleviate the burden on the taxpayers. Not to mention the huge housing developments in the South End on the water, East End housing and new libraries.
If I were Joe Ganim I would promise the world to get back in the driver’s seat. Can you blame him?
If Malloy is so close to Finch why hasn’t the governator weighed in with an endorsement for hizzoner?
Steve, so anyone who votes for Joe Ganim doesn’t care about the future of Bridgeport. Do you truly believe the views you post here? That is pretty ridiculous.
Maria, I absolutely agree with that post as well as agree your support of Paoletto over Melanie is sad; and Leticia Colon, really? Hector responsible for Wes Matthews?
I absolutely believe anyone who cares about the future of this City will be voting for Mayor Bill Finch and all of the anti-Finch voters who have considered Joe will go to Mary-Jane Foster given that great endorsement she received from the same group that supported your man Ed Gomes. Don’t you agree? 🙂
Steve, I hope you are not insinuating I am supporting Leticia Colon.
I think what is truly sad is Melanie and Morton committed to deny the endorsement if Finch received it, and then broke their commitment to everyone who voted to support them.
I have made it absolutely clear I believe in holding politicians accountable to their commitments. Melanie and Morton cannot win. There isn’t a single community activist or politically active person in the 138th who will be working for them.
So I understand Maria, you are telling me Scott Hughes will not support a woman who worked for him?
The only so-called activist here in the 138th. She thinks people running for office must get her blessing or they are out. Quote “I have made it absolutely holding politicians accountable.” Who in hell are you, you pompous ass? You see Ms. all-knowing, James Morton has his own following and will beat either one of your candidates.
Make no mistake, Malloy barely tolerates Finch.
The Democratic party has only the goal of preserving their control in mind. That goal permeates the state and trickles down through to the municipalities. That party mentality is evidenced at every level of statewide government, with a few breaths of fresh air peppered in along the away.
My sense is this mentality is likely echoed in any case of putting party loyalty before the needs of the voter; party affiliation notwithstanding. All political party roads lead to this point.
Self-centered agenda pushing is the name of the game, and preserving personal livelihoods and career paths prevail. I think that is the reason the registered unaffiliated statistics are climbing so high.
The best anyone can do is try not to feel held captive by your party and keep fighting the good fight until critical mass is reached. Or move to another country.
Wicca, I wish I knew who you are. I think you are the most reasonable, intelligent poster on this blog. It wouldn’t matter to me which candidate you eventually vote for, assuming you live in Bridgeport. Keep your posts coming; I look forward to reading them.
Thank you Lisa, I am humbled. 🙂
Bill Finch is not pushing the party’s agenda. If he were, the city’s unemployment rate would not be topping 8.7%. If Bill Finch were pushing the Democratic Party’s agenda, Steelpointe would’ve been developed by now. As it is, he has been blaming it all on Joe Ganim, who left the mayor’s office 13 years ago. It requires too great a leap of faith to believe it took all that time to untangle the legalities. Fabrizi couldn’t balance a budget on his nose. Neither can Finch. He’s raised taxes at least three times, pimping off the property owners in Bridgeport rather than reduce the city’s payroll. All those municipal employees vote for him and the people of Black Rock “Need to learn why they have to pay higher taxes.”
Maybe not party agenda, but a self-centered agenda focused on keeping his job at whatever the cost to the taxpayer nonetheless. His personal livelihood is at stake and so is his career path.
Mayor Finch is weak on many issues–public safety, collection of delinquent taxes, emergency response, unemployment. If Joe Ganim won the DTC endorsement, the math would be different. A four-way primary would have resulted in a Foster victory. Finch won, by only four votes. Hardly a resounding endorsement from the party faithful. Charles Coviello bowed out (last place can be a tiring run) so that leaves Gardner, Foster, Ganim and Finch for the primary. Gardner and Foster will siphon votes from Finch, not Ganim. Joe is running well in neighborhood polling so he may well be the once and future mayor of the Emerald City in the merry old land of Oz. According to the Finch camp, Ganim is a convicted felon who cannot be trusted to do right. This is Bridgeport, City of Second Chances. The good folks who saw Joe repent before The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit will beg to differ with Finch, at the ballot box.
Bridgeport Kid, is it Ganim or Foster?
The folks who saw Joe repent before the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost are not completely stupid though the Rev. Stallworth would beg to differ. I have to believe you were being sarcastic. If you were serious, well I will not go there.