Get Ready For Some Sunday Football And Mayoral Debate

City politics can be a contact sport, so why not a mayoral debate with sharp elbows to compete with Sunday afternoon football? The 1,400-seat Klein Memorial Auditorium, 910 Fairfield Avenue, will host a forum this Sunday from 4:30 to 6 p.m. presented by the League of Women Voters of the Bridgeport Area.

With two weeks left to the general election, all seven candidates appearing on the Nov. 3 ballot have committed to participating, according to organizers. The Bridgeport NAACP, Council of Churches and Bridgeport Public Library are also coalition partners.

The ballot lineup is Democrat Joe Ganim, Republican Enrique Torres, New Movement Party Charlie Coviello, followed by petitioning candidates Tony Barr, Christopher Taylor, Mary-Jane Foster and David Daniels.

The Klein is a fascinating venue with a Broadway-sized stage celebrating its 75th anniversary. How many voters and campaign enthusiasts will trek to the Klein for this forum? Fire up the troops.

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42 comments

  1. I won’t be attending this debate, it is a waste of time. I am interested in what Foster, Torres and Ganim have to say. The other candidates, Not so Much. The other candidates take up too much time and really have nothing to say.

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    1. Andy, that is not true. Charlie has been paid by Joe to attack Foster. Isn’t it worth listening to his pathetic attacks while giving Ganim a free ride?

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    2. Thank you Mr. Fardy for listening to all three candidates. For me, that is the right thing to do. In my opinion, you will hear Torres lead the debate, with his two runner-ups following his talking points as they have done on both WICC and NEWS 12.

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  2. I plan to attend but would strongly prefer it be limited to the only three candidates with a real chance to win. There have been prior debates involving all seven candidates.

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        1. Claude,
          Are you suggesting the law firm AND the real estate interests of the numerous Ganims are the real candidates when you vote for Joe?
          Joe has only one “bubble” to darken by voters as the party candidate. But trailing behind him are an array of candidates who qualified for Line A. City Council candidates B&B are on that line for the General Election.

          Having been placed on the Ganim line for the primary where Ganim scored 411 votes at both polling sites while Tyisha Toms and I ran ahead of him with about 570 votes. B&B from the relative safety of the Finch line where the Mayor scored 685 to the Ganim 411, will they seek to separate themselves from the “leader of that pack?” In the forum the word “independent” was used more than once by the B&B team. How can you be independent when you carried petitions for Ganim? And how independent can you be when your brother is a Ganim campaign manager? And just how much training have DTC-supported past Council members shared with you in terms of the duties and responsibilities you will face? And what if, per the courtesy of voters, Joe Ganim ends up in the Mayor’s office once again (and brother Danny Roach gets on the City payroll), how can you possibly say NO to Joe at that time? Time will tell.

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  3. *** I can’t wait for the Mayoral elections in the worst city in CT “to live in” (Bpt) to be over! Because even if “Jack the Ripper” were running as a Democrat for a political office, chances would be very good he would win! The city DTC is filled with the same old family & friends groups that have always been shuffling back and forth looking for a bigger piece of the pie in every election! A regular city resident who would like to get involved in the day to day city activities in their district does not stand a chance getting on any committee or board without knowing or being related to a present member. So is it surprising to anyone when our political reps. get in trouble, or go to jail, then pay their dues and come back to represent us again only to get in trouble again? Who’s to blame in the end you ask? You the voter who votes for them and those who don’t vote at all. ***

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    1. Mojo, as you know the main way to make positive change in the Democratic Town Committee is to change the membership and that starts now with putting together people who want to make changes to run a slate of like-minded people to run a slate of candidates to be on the DTC in March 2016. Change can happen but you have to be in it to win.

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      1. Excellent post, Ron. I agree wholeheartedly. And you are correct, planning needs to begin now, not sometime in January or February. It may well be the best opportunity to loosen the grip the “machine” has on Bridgeport’s political system.

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      2. Ron, this tide is turning. Yes, people have finally realized they need to get involved. People must run against any candidate they can find. However, you know my position on getting it all started. Torres. He is a fair and honest man who is much more socially aware than any of his opponents in the visible ranks. I say that with respect to the candidates who are getting less attention but have great commitment to Bridgeport. At a certain point there is commitment that goes beyond politics and personal gain, we each must sort out who is whom. Regards.

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    1. Mojo and Mackey,
      Well said on all counts. Hats off to M & M. They regale us with history frequently and ask us to weigh the lessons that are there as take-away. Will we learn? Time will tell.

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  4. I will sit this one out. There is nothing new I need to hear. There is no excitement in the streets. Sunday is movie day. If there is nothing better to do I may attend. I expect I will have something better to do. Though I would like to see Torres go after Ganim. 🙂

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      1. That would be a nice change for sure! I’ll wait for the News 12 and the CT Post front page Monday. I will let someone who needs information take my seat. I am voting for Foster, line G.

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  5. I just saw some brilliant yellow sweatshirts.

    Latinos
    Alcalde de Bridgeport
    Por Torres
    un Hombre Sincero

    They certainly got a lot of attention.

    The color couldn’t be any louder. But clearly worn with pride. Much nicer than the Democrats for Torres tee-shirts.

    I may go to the debate if only to go to the Chimneys afterward. I have not been to the most exclusive mansion in Bridgeport since they had a redecoration. We will see. Sunday I see my mother. 🙂

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  6. Lennie, I know Bill Pelletier has been talking about ads for Torres on OIB. Though I have yet to see one. He tells me they have received a massive number of hits, yet I don’t see any Torres promotions. That does not add up. I see the Foster banner every day on top. To me, that is obvious in more ways than a horizontal advertisement needing to run horizontally. Aside from asking Bill, which I will do. What’s up? No contacts from our campaign?

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