Gomes: No X-Rated Entertainment

From Democratic mayoral candidate John Gomes:

GOMES STATES THAT BRIDGEPORT IS NOT THE PLACE FOR X-RATED ENTERTAINMENT

Bridgeport Democratic Mayoral candidate John Gomes stated that he will “work to keep all x-rated stores and clubs out of Bridgeport. This is not an issue of free speech, but rather a case of protecting our children and sending them right message.

“It is a case of building a climate for economic growth and creating the prosperous city that we want it to become. It is about keeping crime down–not providing an atmosphere that promotes it. Our prosperity does not include pornography or prostitution. This means that pornography should not be on our billboards or in our libraries.

“This will be a top priority in my administration and I will devote the resources not to compromise with these people, but to tell them you are not welcome in our city and then to create the restrictions that will help to convince them to locate elsewhere.

“I understand that this may cost me campaign contributions from this industry, but that is not support I want or need. The solution is certainly not to concentrate these industries into certain and limited zones. The solution is to just say no.

“The City of Los Angeles has extensive experience with the secondary effects of multiple-use adult businesses, and has also conducted a study which demonstrates that secondary effects intensify when adult uses are concentrated together.

“Based on this information, the City reasonably concluded that the increased patronage of combined uses would lead to additional secondary effects.”

Gomes concluded, “to paraphrase Albert Einstein ‘the definition of insanity are cities that do the same thing over and over and expect different results’.

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23 comments

  1. As if Bridgeport has not been turned into enough of a cesspool, just what we need is a Red Light District! Imagine the element it would attract. Who would want to live anywhere near it and how do we attract reputable businesses and new homeowners to invest in our city when crime increases as a result? Saying no to X-Rated Entertainment is a no-brainer!

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  2. John M. Gomes, candidate for Bridgeport Mayor will appear on the Bridgeport Now TV show on Tuesday July 12. MJF is scheduled and we have reached out to the other candidates including Mayor Finch.

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    1. You’ll have to go to one of the clubs and find him hanging over the bar to ask. While you’re there check his pockets for one-dollar bills …

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  3. I think what Gomes fails to realize is having a red light district will give the 67% who drop out of the public schools a target area to hang out in. Since Finch and Ramos won’t make the schools better, Finch wants to make a playground for them.

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  4. Mr. Gomes:
    I do not frequent those establishments; however, it is my choice. Not the decision of some politician who never in my wildest imagination would ever dictate my moral ethics or behavior!!!

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    1. No one is telling you or anyone else they can’t frequent that type of establishment. We’re just saying we don’t want them in Bridgeport the same way we said we didn’t want a jail in Bridgeport or a halfway house in Bridgeport. There’s a difference. Do you want to live next door to any of them?

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    2. Charlie (and others),
      There are some Bridgeport businesses that have been “established” for over a quarter century. Little is said about the spas and massage parlors. How well certificated, supervised and/or licensed has not been the subject of any Mayoral white paper for at least 20 years. Evidently landlords get paid monthly, reportedly in cash and above market rate rents are paid. All of a sudden in 2011 there is interest in promoting more of these businesses in Bridgeport. What does OPED leader Don Eversley say about this development (based on his Providence experience)?

      What’s the reason for current action? Are these businesses great taxpayers? Assuming the businesses do not own the buildings then the only revenues to the City may be licensing fees or certification fees. I do not expect there is much personal property in the spas and parlors to swell the Grand List. What revenue comes into the City at this point? How much money comes in from the four massage parlors in Black Rock for instance? (Meanwhile there is a retailer in downtown Bridgeport who reports the value of her fixtures has swelled from $14,000 to 3x as much for tax purposes. No one going into her store would believe that. And she will have to go to court to fight this. Welcome to downtown! What is going on?)

      Are the people working in the adult entertainment business of great service to the community beyond the things they do which bring in revenue? Do they belong to the Chamber or Bridgeport Regional Business Council? Do they participate proudly in service projects? Probably not. So what is the upside reason Bridgeport should encourage such establishments? To accentuate personal freedom of choice? I don’t think we want to carry the dialogue there today, Charlie.

      Do we have enough of these businesses today? (Let’s assess what the new ordinance is likely to effect from current establishments.) If not, let us take a look at a public hearing for local taxpayers and residents who patronize these firms to stand up (with collars down, sunglasses and hats removed) and tell us why we need such “businesses.” That is their right, their “freedom of speech.” How many of the patrons for the present establishments have abandoned Bridgeport as residents and taxpayers to live in the suburbs but return to the City for a certain type of “adult entertainment?” Well, let these expatriates see how the Zoning groups in Stratford, Fairfield, Trumbull, Easton and Monroe feel about the subject.

      In this case, if the businesses do not bring in beaucoup $$$, if they do not participate in civic service or assistance, and if they do have an apparent (or provable) negative effect on quality of life for City residents as well as act as a deterrent to other business looking to relocate that offer good jobs as well as goods and services desired by the entire community, then our community answer seems clear.

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      1. B2:
        I don’t condone nor reject the business of adult entertainment. What I do condone very strongly is the individual’s right of choice. I am a libertarian and I will never consider myself wise enough to decide what is appropriate for an adult’s behavior. I believe this fundamental principle. ALL PEOPLE ARE BORN WITH UNENDING RIGHTS AND FREEDOMS, WHICH CAN AND SHOULD BE EXERCISED UNTIL THEY COME IN CONFLICT WITH ANOTHER’S.

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  5. Seriously? Do the few decide for the many? Where is it established the geniuses in this town are permitted to define what is appropriate or not? I haven’t been in strip joint since Sally the Shape messed up my adolescence at Patty’s National.

    We live in a free-choice economy. We have no right to interfere with a businessman who has the resources to open an enterprise so long as that enterprise operates within the laws of the land.

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  6. Patty’s national! Wow, that goes way back. The problem with these clubs is not so much what takes place inside, it’s what takes place at or around closing time.
    We had one of these establishments in my neighborhood and what the neighbors were subjected to at closing time was not right. They were subject to noise, screaming, people hanging around outside with drinks they brought with them when the clubs closed.
    The kids who walked to their school bus stop were greeted with used condoms, drink glasses, empty booze bottles and trash in general.
    People in the neighborhood who had to get up early to go to work were awakened at 1 or 2 AM by these drunks leaving this establishment.
    If they are going to exist it should be in a neighborhood where there are no residential units.

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    1. Valid point though insufficient to ban a business license. The key is to ENFORCE the law by arresting such after-hours behavior. Multiple infractions are certainly grounds to shut a place down. But there is no law I know of that can ban a strip club from opening up anywhere.

      Is Sally the Shape retired?

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  7. Can you believe we are reduced to discussing this issue? We need to expand this industry like we need to have a dick growing out of our fucking foreheads. This madness must end. The moral fiber of this City is being tested, and we had better step up to the plate. It is one thing to be perceived as the armpit of Connecticut but proving it should not be our obligation.

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