Fire up the pipers, school bands, officiators and various accoutrements for commencement ceremonies of elected officials Dec. 1, 6 p.m. Klein Memorial Auditorium.
While many communities host low-key, perfunctory inaugural ceremonies, Bridgeport’s tradition drags out for hours with most every elected official preening a personalized swearing-in, photo op for ego preservation. This cycle features elected officials for City Council, school board and sheriffs.
Why not select a legal officiator to issue the oath of office to all 20 council members at the same time to streamline the proceedings as is done with other legislative bodies? Some council members prevail upon friends to recite the pledge, others political pals, still others rope in a high profile official to reassert their community significance. And the same obligatory oath drones on and on.
Intravenous feedings of caffeine, please.
Awaiting word on mask protocol and public invitation to the 1,400-seat venue. Two years ago, led by the mayor’s oath, the event took place in City Council chambers.
The first meeting of the City Council will take place virtually Dec. 6, 7 p.m. with the expected selection of Aidee Nieves for another term as president.
What if nobody — including newly-elected CC members — shows up because they know Wanda Simmons, the anti-vaxxer, will be there?
I encourage all municipal office holders to de-KLEIN their invitations.
Just because Wanda Simmons won the election doesn’t mean she has to take the oath.
If she passed on a vaccination, why not pass on the opening ceremonies, too ?
What a joke, the Klein, you got to be joking, who the hell do they think are. Show us you know how to perform your duties.
Will we assume that the NON-virtual swearing in presages meetings in person once again at City Hall? What is the oath of office individually articulated by Council members? Has a Council person been administratively accused of breaking their “oath of office” or does there have to be another defined illegal act charged?
Will public speaking continue to be limited to 3 minutes, down from five minutes, before this recent Council formed? (With summer months limited to one Council session per month, only one Council session in November of an election year like 2021, and introduction of Committee leaders and other designees in the first December meeting, actual public speaking opportunities were reduced 40% per session and an added 20% in total number.)
Did that change actually provide more opportunities for the public to address the Council, or was it merely theoretical where most public sessions ended up with Council members gaveling the public session closed and more time for them to talk among themselves rather than with members of the public? Would a return to five minute public sessions or even four minutes create more than an average of less than one hour monthly for “public listening”? How can Council members, especially the newer ones show that they care about public comments and credit for listening? Time will tell.
Dear Lennie,
Will my personally prepared Public Address comments to the City Council continue to be ignored by OIB as articles for non-inclusion or disregard as has been your right forever, and your action for many months now? Whatever specific subject I have addressed falls within the boundaries of OIB, I am fairly certain. At least they met your standards for several years in the past decade.
Perhaps if I have not served enough time outside in the cold of “editorial exclusion,” at least it has not been behind cold bars, nor are my comments likely to cause others to be so comfortable about public actions where they transgress, and end up with indictment histories.
Perhaps I should be content with permission to enter ‘comment’ content? Time will tell.
I think they should all go down to Seaside Park and stand next to the untenanted Columbus pedestal
and take pictures of each other.
So hundreds can gather last month at Mario’s for a fund raiser,and now everyone can gather in a venue that holds 1400 people to get sworn in no less,but the CC meetings are STILL remote??
Board of Education has been in person for months now. It’s really not that difficult and quite embarrassing that the city is basically closed to the public while our schools are open full time.
Today I had to drive to fairfield in order to get something signed by a probate judge. Bridgeport probate wanted me to MAIL the form. I was in and out of Fairfield probate in 3 minutes In person.
Open the city!
And “Preen” I shall.
Having no control over the venue of my swearing in ceremony, I will in fact be attending the ceremony. I will be sworn in by my Pastor in front of my wife and child. This is my selfish moment before giving hundreds upon hundreds of unpaid hours in dedication to the city of Bridgeport taxpayers and children. I gladly do so. It is a chance for my son to see his hard campaign work come to fruition.
In the next four years (if anything like the last four years). I will be called countless names including stupid, racist, and race traitor (again), be told that I don’t care about the kids. I signed up for another four years of unpaid hard work because I believe the City of Bridgeport can do better and want to be a part of it. I signed up knowing what I was in for. T
On December 1st after a hard fought campaign I shall PREEN!
Guaranteed, come January,because of families getting together for the holidays, there will be a slight spike up of Covid cases and the CC will remain remote. It’s no secret Joe hates having to go to these meetings,he runs them line he has to catch a flight. Much easier for him to sit home in Easton and zoom the meetings.All the other surrounding communities have been open for months now,the fact that Bpt is still closed is ridiculous.