Hennessy, Brown State House Contest A Study In Contrasts

Jack Hennessy walk piece

This race has a bit of everything: young versus veteran office holder, changing demographics, disparate personalities.

State Rep. Jack Hennessy, senior member of Bridgeport’s nine-person legislative delegation, and party-endorsed City Councilman Marcus Brown have rolled out walking pieces for their August 9 Democratic primary clash.

Hennessy, primary-free since 2006, has a savvy campaigner backing him, City Councilwoman Maria Pereira who is listed as the contact person on the walk piece. Pereira has assumed a leading role in the campaign while another high-profile pol, former State Rep. and two-time mayoral candidate Chris Caruso has reduced his stature in the race, resigning as treasurer. School board member Joe Sokolovic is now the treasurer?

Maria Pereira helming Hennessy race.

What gives?

Unclear what’s going on but when two potent personalities come together in Pereira and Caruso, something’s gotta give.

When it comes to campaigning Pereira is something of a Swiss Army Knife with multi-tools to bring to the table. She can organize absentee ballot outreach, frame messaging, neighborhood canvassing and highlight issues. She has sharp elbows.

For Hennessy, retired after 32 years working as a FedEx truck driver, it pays to be a licensed massage therapist and low-key Reiki Master when balancing political personalities.

Brown, 30, has a lot more flourish to his personality with a tireless worker of his own backing him, his fiancé and mayoral aide Tom Gaudett in charge of the nuts and bolts of campaigning.

Marcus Brown walk piece

Mayor Joe Ganim and Democratic Town Chair Mario Testa are backing Brown. Pereira is anathema to both of them.

The demographics of the district have changed dramatically in the 18 years Hennessy has occupied the seat. Once heavily Italian and Irish American, the district is no longer predominantly White. Connecticut’s 127th State House District covers the North End and a piece of the West Side, Brown’s home carved into the voting area in the latest redistricting, an ambitious notation that certainly will emerge central in the campaign.

Two years ago, Brown came up short in a primary contest against State Senator Marilyn Moore. This time around, he’s battling Hennessy.

To many new district voters, Brown will be framed as a fresh face devoid of tired politics. If they don’t know Hennessy, will they gravitate to Brown? Yes, if you touch them enough times: door knocks, phone calls, mail pieces.

Hennessy is not known as an aggressive campaigner. In his defense he hasn’t had to become one generally facing voters in message-based general elections. Primaries are lower-turnout different animals with a premium placed on retail.

This race is a contrast-laden one to watch, with an emphasis on voting via absentee ballot. A new state law allows electors to vote by absentee simply by noting Covid as a health safety precaution. It will come up during door knocks and phone calls.

The campaign that runs the tightest absentee operation could very well emerge victorious.

 

 

 

0
Share

22 comments

  1. Marcus Brown is Bridgeport’s Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, push by hte white power brokers to run against a black female State Senator Marilyn Moore. Brown had the backing of Mayor Joe Ganim and Democratic Town Chair Mario Testa, both of whom faced a surreal 2019 reelection in which Ganim squeaked a primary win over Moore, so Testa and Ganim had to punish Moore and there was Marcus Brown ready and willing tofollow whatever Testa and Ganim wanted.

    8+
  2. Unsure what’s going on with Chris Caruso resigning as campaign treasurer?
    Not a power play or struggle. Caruso was kind enough to step up temporarily as the campaign started, but he does not use a computer and is not equipped to handle all the electronically submitted mandatory reports for the campaign. He like many people does not have a copy machine at home to copy all those checks before deposits can me made.

    But he is fully invested in this campaign.

    4+
      1. Considering Bridgeport has been running on empty for so long, it’s nice to be able to use a glass half full perspective .
        With SEEC and other legal actions against campaign treasurers in Bridgeport recently ( e.g. the Bradley campaign and trial and Anthony Paoletta’s $2000 fine) I think it prudent not to allow someone else to handle paperwork for a campaign treasurer and be legally responsible for the other persons actions, errors and omissions.

        I know I wouldn’t sign off on someone else’s work in this political environment

        5+
          1. Joel,
            Small campaigns don’t need Deputy Treasurers, and the Treasurer is still responsible for all the filed reports

            4+
          1. Joel,
            Not fumes….
            Bridgeport has been running on handouts from taxpayers in the rest of the state.

            1+
          1. @Lennie
            Because that doesn’t relieve the Treasurer of responsibility.
            JS is more than qualified for this job, was willing to take it on and will do it diligently and accurately,

            3+
          2. Form 1 and SEEC Form 1A (if applicable) is required with any changed information. Use
            of eCRIS expedites this process, and ensures compliance.
            F. Treasurers and Deputy Treasurers
            Each committee must appoint one treasurer and should also appoint a deputy
            treasurer. A treasurer or deputy treasurer is an individual who is a registered voter
            (elector) in Connecticut who is appointed by the candidate to serve as treasurer or
            deputy treasurer for the campaign. The treasurer and deputy treasurer, if applicable,
            are the only individuals who hold the authority to deposit funds into the committee’s
            depository account and the only ones who can authorize expenditures from that
            account and file the committee’s financial disclosure reports. Designating a deputy
            treasurer on the candidate committee registration statement (SEEC Form 1A) is
            important: if the treasurer is unavailable or resigns for any reason during a campaign
            and there is no deputy treasurer, the committee’s financial operations come to a
            complete halt until the committee registers a new treasurer. For more information, see…

            0
        1. Agree. If I’m doing the work I also want my name on it and be accountable for my work. Although my first filing, I do have an accounting degree and know my way around paperwork.

          I have great trust in the honesty and integrity of the candidate and his campaign manager. I thank them for having trust in me for taking on this task.

          6+
          1. Jo-so, are you still a Registered Republican? Did you circulate any petitions for this ‘Democratic’ primary? Does party rules allow a registered Democrat to serve as Treasurer for a Republucan candidate, vice-versa?

            2+
      2. Lennie, not having the skills, software, hardware, and access to effectively communicate electronically may be a good thing for Caruso. Maria Pereira can’t insult and attack him or his family via social media.

        2+
  3. Lennie.
    Why haven’t you taken Brown to task for his Big Lie news release of April 25th, which you featured on OIB, stating he had raised all the necessary funds to qualify for CEP. His later filings with the state proved he is a liar and you were used to spread Brown’s lies.
    No one needs Joe G’s lackey in Hartford collecting another taxpayer funded paycheck.

    9+
    1. MM, that release preened what many campaigns do – declaring enough dough was raised to qualify for public funds. As I noted, the State Elections Enforcement Commission has the final say. We’ll find out soon enough if the campaign qualifies.

      0
      1. Brown’s campaign did not file with the Secretary of State’s office until June 8th.
        On the afternoon of April 25th when he issued the FALSE press report you published he was short $840 of the minimum $5800 required to qualify and that does NOT included the required buffer to cover disqualified contributions,

        See the actual filing for backup Can’t guaranty my copy can be opened by OIB readers.
        file:///C:/Users/Marsh/Downloads/Brown%202022%20Form%2030%20(1).pdf

        A liar is a liar and Brown was FOS when he made his press release touting an accomplishment he did not accomplish.

        You may call it preening, I call it lying. the proof is in the legal documents filed.

        5+
        1. If the Brown campaign was short in raising campaign contributions, that on itself is not a bad thing. The way I see it: It shows that the Brown campaign is following the SEEC rules. They could’ve tried it the Dennis Bradley way and infused $1,000 of their own money to reach their fundraising goal.

          1+
          1. Joel
            Running short is not a bad thing
            Issuing a press release and lying that you had met the required goal is a bad thing
            Why would anyone trust a proven liar?

            Oy yeah, this is Bridgeport where they send convicted felons back to office.
            Barnum was right about fooling people…Bridgeport is full of fools who sent the Ex-Con JG back to the Mayor’s office,

            3+
  4. Form 1 and SEEC Form 1A (if applicable) is required with any changed information. Use
    of eCRIS expedites this process, and ensures compliance.
    F. Treasurers and Deputy Treasurers
    Each committee must appoint one treasurer and should also appoint a deputy
    treasurer. A treasurer or deputy treasurer is an individual who is a registered voter
    (elector) in Connecticut who is appointed by the candidate to serve as treasurer or
    deputy treasurer for the campaign. The treasurer and deputy treasurer, if applicable,
    are the only individuals who hold the authority to deposit funds into the committee’s
    depository account and the only ones who can authorize expenditures from that
    account and file the committee’s financial disclosure reports. Designating a deputy
    treasurer on the candidate committee registration statement (SEEC Form 1A) is
    important: if the treasurer is unavailable or resigns for any reason during a campaign
    and there is no deputy treasurer, the committee’s financial operations come to a
    complete halt until the committee registers a new treasurer. For more information, see…

    1+
  5. Joel G
    I can’t speak for Republican Party rules, but the CT Democrat Party rules do not address who may or may not serve as officials of a campaign.

    0

Leave a Reply