Four years ago Democratic political operatives were feeling cheeky toward city Republicans. The Connecticut Working Families, a party split off from Democrats financed largely by labor unions, featured two candidates for Board of Education, Sauda Baraka, a Republican who had a falling-out with local GOP leadership, and newcomer to politics Maria Pereira, a city school parent. The mighty local Dems were going to stick it to the Republicans with a clandestine effort to help elect the WFP candidates to the two state-mandated minority-party slots. Why? All in the name of political extinction. Just about everyone associated with the local Democratic Party apparatus was in on the action. With a wink, a nod and a few absentee ballots too from the Democratic establishment, Baraka and Pereira, who worked hard on the campaign trail, won election. Baraka and Pereira did not wink back, not once they were elected to the school board, anyway.
The decision came back to kick Democratic operatives in their collective cashews. Every now and then if the political atmosphere is angry and the timing is right, insurgents can turn a toehold into a groundswell. That happened last Tuesday, across the city, in every corner–black, white and brown voters alike sent a mighty message to political and government leadership: we don’t like the direction of the city. All the endorsed school board and City Council candidates were defeated.
Would the rancor on the school board the past two years been the same without the election of Baraka and Pereira fanning flames of discontent? Who would have been there to challenge the state takeover of city schools? Who would have built alliances with the insurgent political operatives opposed to the Finch administration and political leadership? Who would have attracted additional support from the Bridgeport Education Association that aided the field operation and the independent expenditure of the Connecticut Education Association that helped finance the case to elect the challengers over the party-endorsed Democrats?
Other groups aided the insurgent cause. For instance, Citizens Working For A Better Bridgeport was part of the Tuesday night victory party as well. It was formed early this year to serve as a watchdog over government taxation and spending.
In politics strength builds strength, and for this moment in time at least, a coalition has come together in ways many of its insurgents didn’t comprehend Tuesday night. There wasn’t a lot of gloating Tuesday night. Winners were too stunned by the size of the victory.
State Rep. Jack Hennessy, part of the anti-establishment coalition, was at Winthrop School in the North End for the results when the polls closed at 8 p.m. He was delightfully stunned by the news. The three school board challengers averaged 70 percent of the vote at Winthrop. To quote the late great sports announcer Jack Buck, “I don’t believe what I just saw.”
The results were particularly satisfying for the City Council’s former resident curmudgeon Bob “Troll” Walsh who for years must have felt like a lonely voice in the political night raising questions under his bridge in the West Side 132nd District. Days after the victory Walsh was not gloating, however. He was more interested in keeping the coalition together and looking down the road for its next move. And this raises a question. After supporting the Working Families Party candidates for school board in 2009 what’s the Democratic political establishment’s next move?
The school board challenge slate that won the primary, Andre Baker, Howard Gardner and Dave Hennessey, will be elected to the school board in November. That would make it four anti-Paul Vallas/anti-Finch administration members on the Board of Education. If the Working Families Party wins just one of the two minority-party slots in November it will have coalition control of the school board.
Gee, wonder if the Republican candidates for school board–Joe Larcheveque, John Weldon and Steve Best–are looking pretty good now to the Democratic political establishment?
Just remind the voters the last Republican to occupy a BOE seat voted to dissolve the Board of Education and let the State appoint a new board. Put them all on the next train out of town.
www .youtube.com/watch?v=5R4dGlKtriE
Or maybe this one?
www .youtube.com/watch?v=3ZC6JuTlOVM
I was wondering myself how the Democratic Committee apparatchik gets away with supporting the Republicans without leaving fingerprints.
Lessee, I’m guessing some people leave the wigwam from the 130th, 132nd and 133rd at Central, 134th and 138th. Anything missing?
They did it for years. Shays got elected for years due to the fact the local Democratic leadership did nothing to increase voter turnout in Bridgeport, that was not coincidence. Both times Diane Farrell ran and lost, the voter turnout in Bridgeport was pitiful. And let us not forget the GOP candidates support Finch’s education plans. This is like when Lieberman ran for re-election to the Senate last time … most organization Democrats gave public lip service to supporting Lamont but were quietly but not even subtly urging people to vote for Lieberman. And Finch was certainly one of them. Expect Finch to pull another sleazy move, the local leaders who are strongly allied with Finch will not be sitting this one out. But looking at the results on anything involving the Board of Ed this time Finch is going to be in for a rude awakening. WF control of the Board of Ed is here. Holy Moly, your control of the Board of Ed is over …
*** Bpt voters are in a position of “damned if you do and it don’t work out,” or “damned if you don’t and things stay the same,” No? There are no guarantees when it comes to local politics. You get a smile with a song & dance along with some promises to do certain things; then once they get in office, they either forget or find out they can’t do any of them for a number of legal reasons! However, all the changes voters have seen lately this past year bit by bit are a “political blessing” in itself. And if the political twister can maintain its voter strength and continue to get the “real word” out ’til Nov, this movement can affect the new DTC, the RTC and other independent-type parties towards becoming other “political alternatives” for voters to choose from in Bpt! Shows what people can do if they work together towards a common goal that can be beneficial for all in an urban type city like Bpt CT. *** HERE WE GO! ***
Mojo, if only you shared the “common goal that can be beneficial for all in an urban type city like Bpt CT.” Sounds like buyer’s remorse.
“I’m still contemplating on “whom to vote for” on the BOE; however I do have an idea! Though he’s not a spring chicken for this day and age and just happens to be my Rev. from the “GOOD SHEPHERD’S CHURCH” on Hancock Ave, I feel the BOE really needs a Latino who can reach “all Hispanics” be they from Mexico, the Caribbean or South and Central America, etc., especially a man of God and Rev. S. Castillo is that man! My next possible pick is a guy who’s proven to “not” ride the bandwagon just ’cause everyone else is when making a hard decision, and that’s City Councilman A. Baker. And last but not least, I can’t decide between Ms. K. Bukovsky or Mr. D. Hennessey; however one or the other will get my vote, no doubt. I hope the challenge slate campaign workers really know their political information on both sides of the fence about the candidates in general ’cause it’s important to sway the voters with facts, not fantasy. And Lord knows some of the “BIMBOS” the DTC-endorsed candidates have working for them sound very uninformed about the candidates, their platforms and just general political information past or present! *** ZOMBIE POLITICS ***”
??? Sounds like something might be missing in the message, no? ???
Question, if the challenge slate was endorsed by the Working Families party and they lose the primary they go up again in Nov. in the general election as the minority slate. Who now runs on the WF line, since they (the challenge/working families endorsed slate) are now not the minority party but the majority party slate?
Hector: The only candidate of the three on the BOE challenge slate who is endorsed by the WFP is Andre Baker. He will appear on two lines in the general, Hennessey and Gardner will only appear as Democrats. The three WFP candidates will be Andre Baker, Sauda Baraka and Eric Stuart Alicea. The Democratic line will show: Andre Baker, Dave Hennessey and Howard Gardner.
*** Que Pare’ en la Puelta del Supermelcado a sel la compra del Remorse, No? *** “HUY QUE POTE” ***
Mojo? Portuguese? This is not Spanish.
It’s Spanish street slang. If you want some help, puelta=puerta, Supermelcado=Supermercado. And “Huy Que Pote” is a song from Ismael Rivera & Cortijo Y Su Combo, roughly, “Wow, what a dish/pot/predicament”
Ripped from the headlines of the CT Post:
BRIDGEPORT — Less than a month after he was given a suspended sentence for three felony charges, an 18-year-old city man was charged Monday with murdering another man last week in the city’s North End.
On Aug. 19, Rogers pleaded guilty to racketeering, conspiracy and sale of narcotics charges. He received a suspended sentence and was placed on five years’ probation.
During the sentencing hearing in that case, state prosecutors urged the judge to send Rogers — who was already on juvenile probation — to prison. But Rogers’ lawyer, Bridgeport state Rep. Auden Grogins, argued at the time that Rogers had no background of violence.
Grogins acknowledged that man she defended and the man arrested Monday are the same person. She declined to comment further.
Be careful of what you wish for.
More from CT Post:
Finch commended police for making an arrest within a week of Pettway’s death. But he expressed surprise on hearing that Rogers had recently been released from custody.
“I don’t know the conditions of that case,” Finch said. “All I know is that as mayor, I’ve got to keep people safe. The more of these hoodlums that are locked up, the better we’re going to be.”
Did you get the license plate number of that CT Transit bus, Auden?
And if anyone is going to tell me Auden is just doing her job I must ask what job is that? State rep or criminal attorney? You can’t tell me as a state rep you are tough on crime and then seek a suspended sentence for a punk like this.
Bob Walsh, well there goes her hope to be judge down the drain.
Ron. Nah. If Auden wants to eventually be a Judge, it will happen. Paul Ganim is a Judge, right?
As much as it pains me to disagree with my old friends Bob & Ron–Anyone who questions Auden’s integrity as either an attorney or legislator is way off base.
John from Black Rock, I am NOT questioning Auden’s integrity as an attorney, that is her right to represent her client and fight for them the best way she can BUT the public has the right to show their distrust in her for representing a client whom they don’t like, do you remember the OJ Simpson case? Sometimes the public dislikes the attorneys as much as their client.
Hey Ron,
At the risk of walking into Bob’s “she’s just doing her job” trap, Auden, was in fact “just doing her job”–which is to give her client (no matter how repulsive) the best possible defense, just as it’s the prosecutor’s job to do his/her best to gain a conviction. Our judicial system is far from perfect but without this adversarial relationship between the defense attorney and the prosecutor it wouldn’t work at all.
I can understand some people’s dislike or distrust of a defense attorney doing his/her job. That’s just human nature, I guess. But it also demonstrates a lack of understanding as to how our judicial system works.
John from Black Rock, I agree with everything you said except your conclusion. I DO have a understanding as to how our judicial system works. What I do think is a lack of understanding as to how the voters think about crime and that they have a right to dislike an attorney, a mayor or anyone else.
Hey Ron,
Voters most certainly have the right to like or dislike anyone they please. Personally though, I believe any distrust, animosity or feelings that Auden is “soft on crime” because of her work as a defense attorney is misdirected and unfair.
Just my opinion, Ron. Nice “talking” with you.