Last week Jessica Martinez was booted as chair of the Board of Education. This week removed as chair of the Finance Committee. Next year she could be gone from the board altogether.
The mercurial force on the board who’s dealt with a number of personal and police issues in the past year is now engaged in a personality quagmire with her board peers including Chair John Weldon who replaced her from the leadership position after board members grew weary of all the drama. Call it Jessica fatigue.
The latest chapter centers on Weldon dropping her as chair of finance, a key committee that oversees school district spending, citing her new job commitment at a New York hospital.
As an elected board member she cannot be removed from her public position, but board rules allow changes in leadership positions and grants the chairman the power to appoint committee assignments.
Martinez’s four-year term is up in 2021. Unknown if Democratic Party leaders will support her for another term or if she’ll try to stay in the game. If she does, voters will decide her fate.
Meanwhile, the give and take between Martinez and other board members continues. See the email thread below that starts with Weldon announcing his decision to make a change to finance committee leadership. He has replaced Martinez with Joe Sokolovic.
From: Weldon, John R. <jweldon@bridgeportedu.net>
Sent: Wednesday, April 8, 2020 11:03:51 AM
To: * BOE Board Members <BOEBoardMembers@bridgeportedu.net>
Cc: Testani, Michael <mtestani@bridgeportedu.net>; Valle, Rita <rvalle@bridgeportedu.net>; Grasty, Timothy <tgrasty@bridgeportedu.net>
Subject: Upcoming Board Meeting
Hi Everyone,
I hope this e-mail finds all of you healthy and doing well.
There are some items we’ll need to take action on, so I wanted to touch base with all of you regarding meeting in the near term. I am planning a Special Meeting for Tuesday evening at 5:30 p.m. to address those items. If that time is not good for anyone, please get in touch with me and I’ll try to adjust the time. Items that will need to be acted on include an award of the refuse removal contract, approval of a few Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) and authorization for staff to solicit bids/proposals for some items the Nutrition Center needs. If you think there is any other actionable business that needs to be transacted, please let me know.
Also at the Special Meeting, I will be publicly announcing the revised committee memberships. Late last week, I reached out to as many members as I could to try to determine their satisfaction with their committee assignments and then made adjustments based on what feedback I received. I also made a change in the Chair of the Finance Committee in deference to Ms. Martinez recently taking an overnight job and the effect that could have on holding Finance Committee meetings as we move into the time of year when that committee will need to meet frequently to work with the Supt. and CFO to balance the FY 2021 budget.
Going forward, I would like to resume our regular meeting schedule, even if there is not actionable business, so we can at least receive updates from the Superintendent and be able to have any questions answered about how the District is moving forward given our current circumstances under the COVID-19 pandemic.
Please let me know if you have any questions and, as always, stay safe and healthy.
Regards,
John
John R. Weldon, Chairman
Bridgeport Board of Education
jweldon@bridgeportedu.net
From: Martinez, Jessica <jmartinez@bridgeportedu.net>
Sent: Wednesday, April 8, 2020 2:11 PM
To: * BOE Board Members <BOEBoardMembers@bridgeportedu.net>; Weldon, John R. <jweldon@bridgeportedu.net>
Cc: Testani, Michael <mtestani@bridgeportedu.net>; Valle, Rita <rvalle@bridgeportedu.net>; Grasty, Timothy <tgrasty@bridgeportedu.net>; Mmayko@ctpost.com <Mmayko@ctpost.com>
Subject: Re: Upcoming Board Meeting
Mr. Weldon,
You are a blatant liar and a political pawn. You made a political move to remove me as finance chair as deal with Joseph Sokolovic to get his nomination, vote and support as chair.
You may be able to fool someone like Mr. Lombard who knows abosultely nothing about Bridgeport politics and drinks the koolaid of your lies and dictation but you can never fool me.
1. I do NOT have an overnight job in NYC. Who gave you that false information?
2. My BBOE responsibilities has come before anything and my position as Chair of the board was foolishly removed and now my position as Finance Chair removed even more foolishly when I have been, that leader!! I have a background in finance and have advocated in spaces you have NEVER been on behalf of equity for our children.
3. When have you called me to discuss these changes? When have I shared with you that I will not be available for the finance committee meetings? NEVER. So please stop lying.
Another example of your back door dealings as you did when you suggested I remove Sokolovic from all of his committees.
You and your back door dealings will be exposed. You are NOT the leader for the Bridgeport Board of Education. You do NOT give a damn about Bridgeport children and the voice of their parents. If you would have it your way you would desire not another public comment or acknowledgement. As you always roll your eyes and suck you teeth when I speak with passion, conviction, truth and suggestions.
I am a Bridgeport parent FIRST. I am a taxpayer and a voter….don’t you ever forget that!!
If you want this board to continue to focus on the wrong fight then you got that! Just be prepared for what is coming because as I stated before I will NEVER sit back and allow any MAN to hinder the true change needed for our children, the parents and staff of this deserving city. Their future may mean absolutely nothing to you but you just crossed the wrong mama bear for the last time.
Fyi, CT POST is copied on this email. Trust this won’t be the first of exposing to CT Post and News12.
Yours truly,
Jessica Martinez
Bridgeport Board of Education Member
Bridgeport Parent Leader
Sent from my Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note10.
From: Weldon, John R. <jweldon@bridgeportedu.net>
Sent: Wednesday, April 8, 2020 2:45:24 PM
To: Martinez, Jessica <jmartinez@bridgeportedu.net>; * BOE Board Members <BOEBoardMembers@bridgeportedu.net>
Cc: Testani, Michael <mtestani@bridgeportedu.net>; Valle, Rita <rvalle@bridgeportedu.net>; Grasty, Timothy <tgrasty@bridgeportedu.net>; Mmayko@ctpost.com <Mmayko@ctpost.com>
Subject: Re: Upcoming Board Meeting
Ms. Martinez,
I tried to reach out to you several days ago, but was unable to get through. Your own social media postings that I saw on Facebook state you have started a front-line healthcare job at a hospital in New York City and the postings indicate you have 12-hr. shifts commencing at 6:00 or 7:00 in the evening. That was the reasoning behind the committee realignment. As for Mr. Sokolovic being made Chair of the Finance Committee, Mr. Lombard was asked first, but declined due to other commitments he has. I’m sorry you are as upset as you are about recent events. I am only trying to move the Board forward in the best way that I can. Per your request, I will make your sole committee assignment with the Governance Committee.
Congratulations on your new job. It’s a very admirable thing that you’re doing. Please stay safe.
Regards,
John
John R. Weldon, Chairman
Bridgeport Board of Education
jweldon@bridgeportedu.net
From: Martinez, Jessica <jmartinez@bridgeportedu.net>
Sent: Wednesday, April 8, 2020 3:11 PM
To: * BOE Board Members <BOEBoardMembers@bridgeportedu.net>; Weldon, John R. <jweldon@bridgeportedu.net>
Cc: Testani, Michael <mtestani@bridgeportedu.net>; Valle, Rita <rvalle@bridgeportedu.net>; Grasty, Timothy <tgrasty@bridgeportedu.net>; Mmayko@ctpost.com <Mmayko@ctpost.com>
Subject: Re: Upcoming Board Meeting
Liar. Please stop lying. Your entire email is a lie. Move this board forward? You have proven previously that is not your focus and intent as a so called leader in the board.
You tried to reach out to me? Strange as so, I am on my phone daily recieving phone calls but have not missed one of your calls, emails or even a voice message. Furthermore, my facebook post was posted AFTER my removal and there are no details for you to base your so called righteous decision.
Don’t you work in NYC? Has my personal life or jobs ever hindered my position on the board? NO! NO and NO! Has anyone’s career been a factor within the Committee assignments? NO. NO and NO. Cut the BS John. A lie is a lie and you have been caught out!
Sent from my Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note10.
From: Weldon, John R. <jweldon@bridgeportedu.net>
Sent: Wednesday, April 8, 2020 4:07:43 PM
To: Martinez, Jessica <jmartinez@bridgeportedu.net>; * BOE Board Members <BOEBoardMembers@bridgeportedu.net>
Cc: Testani, Michael <mtestani@bridgeportedu.net>; Valle, Rita <rvalle@bridgeportedu.net>; Grasty, Timothy <tgrasty@bridgeportedu.net>; Mmayko@ctpost.com <Mmayko@ctpost.com>
Subject: Re: Upcoming Board Meeting
Ms. Martinez,
I explained myself once about why I made the changes I did to the committee assignments and will not engage in a tit-for-tat exchange about it any further. Again, I am sorry you are having the degree of difficulty that you are with respect to the various changes that have occurred over the past couple of months. However, it does not justify you making abusive remarks and baseless accusations of wrongdoing toward myself or other board members. Having said that, I consider this discussion closed and will not respond to any further communication from you regarding it.
Regards,
John
John R. Weldon, Chairman
Bridgeport Board of Education
jweldon@bridgeportedu.net
From: Martinez, Jessica <jmartinez@bridgeportedu.net>
Sent: Wednesday, April 8, 2020 4:11 PM To: * BOE Board Members <BOEBoardMembers@bridgeportedu.net>; Weldon, John R. <jweldon@bridgeportedu.net>
Cc: Testani, Michael <mtestani@bridgeportedu.net>; Valle, Rita <rvalle@bridgeportedu.net>; Grasty, Timothy <tgrasty@bridgeportedu.net>; Mmayko@ctpost.com <Mmayko@ctpost.com>
Subject: Re: Upcoming Board Meeting
John,
I could careless what you consider! I consider you EXPOSED!! No need to respond to me at all.
Sent from my Sprint Samsung Galaxy Note10.
Well, it’s official. The Bridgeport Board of Education is as dysfunctional as ever and Waldon is as bad as a leader as Bradley and Martinez were.
God to see we still have some games to be played.
See what happens when you don’t wear your N95 mask!
OIB is a germ-free platform. Nobody has ever been hurt here.
However, falling out of their chair while laughing at jimfox’s humor has sent many embarrassed and innocent people to the hospital for injuries that require medical attention.
I’ll bet Maria is sorry she is missing out on these fun and games!
Wow! Just wow. So many people owe Maria Pereira a huge apology! The entire time she and I were on the Board together, everyone blamed all of the Board’s dysfunction on her! Now that she is no longer on the Board, the wheels have fallen completely off. I can’t imagine a worse collection of people to occupy a governing body. Sure, there are some who, to varying degrees, have the actual business of the Board as their focus, but without a strong person like Maria to hold their feet to the fire, it’s become Thunderdome. I can’t count the number of times that I read on this very blog how Maria had to go! Well, be careful what you wish for.
If it weren’t for the fact that the children will suffer, this would be laughable. But, with a totally unqualified and unprepared superintendent allowed to turn amok with absolutely no oversight by a proactive Board, things can degrade swiftly. Pray for the children.
Ben, let’s say that everything you said is true what did “holding their feet to the fire” accomplish?
Meetings were held, the public was involved and encouraged to participate, students were able to give reports on activities of importance at their schools, committees attended to the development of curriculum, safety reports were presented and questioned, suspensions and expulsion data was disseminated, attendance issues were disected and possible solutions explored, finances and spending were scrutinized, projected budgetary needs were hammered out, transparency in the bidding process was maintained, contracts were written and awarded, the superintendent and her staff were evaluated on their performance, lawsuits were addressed, parent and student concerns were addresses, reports were presented to keep the public aware of the business of the board, new policies were developed especially in the Special Education area and with our most vulnerable students, there was general oversite of the district, …need I continue?
Ben, the BBOE could not get a permanent Superintendent to run the Bridgeport school system, there was no improvement with grade score, in fact the BBOE has been dysfunctional for more than 20 years with the Bridgeport children paying the price.
Ben, with all due respect most of the people on this forum that disagree with Maria did so with the understanding that others were just as bad, just as dysfunctional and contributed to the mayhem of that which is the BBOE, just like Maria. Not many on this forum thought Dennis Bradley was worth a damn and sure that his tenure moved the education of Bridgeport’s youth backwards.
Not many on this forum thinks that Chris Taylor is worth a damn and sure that his tenure moved the education of Bridgeport’s youth backwards. Most of the people on this forum thinks that most of the people on the BBOE are worthless who has an agenda, governed by Mayor Ganim and Mario to the detriment of the education of Bridgeport’s children. Most of the people on this forum thinks that six or seven current members needed to follow Maria the hell off the BBOE so that the children of Bridgeport are given a better chance to succeed academically.
It pleases me to hear you say that others were also responsible for the apparently dysfunction of the previous two iterations of the Board. I also wish there was a way to do a word search of this forum. If that were possible, I dare say that the incidences of blame pointing at Maria would be overwhelming to the combined venom attached to other former and present Board members. And maybe I’m just too sensitive to this issue. For more than three years I sat next to Maria on the Board and several of it’s committees. I heard the venom. I witnessed the personal attacks. Yet, I never saw any former or present member who worked as hard, did as much research, and was as prepared for the work than Maria.
I wasn’t always the best friend to her. There were times when I felt overwhelmed by her. I feel shame that I was not as strong an advocate for the Bridgeport Public Schools as her. The fact remains that right now, since Maria has moved on, this Board is a dumpster fire.
Ben, contemptible’s
You’re absolutely right Don! Most of us here on OIB know and agree with everything that you posted. We’re all aware if the dysfunction of not only the school board but the common council as well as others in Bridgeport’s governance.
I am a fan of Maria for reasons that I stated on numerous occasions. Others here who are not so fond of her would be kissing her ass had she endorsed Miss Moore. I guess that’s just politics! LOL!
Cheers!!
*** The Bpt. BOE is just as dysfunctional today as its been in the past 30 plus years regardless of whom’s been on board. Someone please fact-check the boards last 30 yrs. & there outstanding accomplishments compared to there BOE failures? Please make me eat BOE-crow if they’ve done more positive things than negative! Lets not give credit for someone else’s work on the positive side, please. OIB investigative bloger’s, go to work! ***
Rich
I have grown bored with Maria’s antics. She is of no use to anyone but herself.
Tell me, what have you read about her in theCT Post? Nothing.
What has she offered on the City Council?
I have seen nothing.
She attacked other council members with attendance when she first was elected but since then nothing.
The council has ignored her and moved on.
As far as your statement as to all of Marilyn Moore supporters wanting her support, you are wrong again.
I for one did not encourage it nor did Ed Gomes. Nor did her campaign manager. We have all seen that once you welcome her aboard, you will regret it sooner or later. And I am not talking about after the campaign, right smack dab in the middle of it.
So as I have said no Maria is just fine with me. She is simply not worth it.
And if she had supported MM it would have ended up her withdrawing her support, speaking poorly about Moore and being a tremendous draw on the campaign.
Marilyn has enough problems. She didn’t need another like Maria.
The problem, if you call it that, is how one looks at the facts and how one interprets what has happened. You say that she attacked people on the council. I say she simply pointed out the inequities that she immediately observed upon being on the council. It would seem that people that criticize what she did in that particular incident would maybe prefer that she do nothing about anything that is wrong with the system, as most other councilmembers do. That being nothing. Secondly I did not say or intimate that anyone in Moores campaign including possibly Moore herself wanted Maria‘s support. I simply pointed out that people on this blog that complain that Maria did not support Moore would have been happy to have had her support. If that were not true then why do we read about all the complaints against Maria for not supporting more and for what some people deem was support of the Present administration? Thirdly, the fact that you say the Connecticut Post has written nothing about her might just mean that there is not enough investigative reporting going on, as is the usual, to inform the public of what goes on behind the scenes. That is exactly what I always looked forward to when I read about the things that Maria was uncovering. If people such as yourself cannot at least agree that some of what she did was a whole lot more than what anyone else has done to expose this corrupt system then there is nothing further That I or anyone else can say to you to make you understand. I have never said that she is the be-all and end-all, but she was the only one to do anything about anything. She is always unafraid to speak the truth no matter whether or not you or anyone else cared to hear it.
Cheers!!!!
Bob, I’m in agreement with you, Maria will never accomplish anything as a member of the City Council because she can not and will not be able to form a coalition to have a majority to pass anything with the City Council. Maria is a legend in her own mind and she has made it know that she doesn’t really need to have friends. I suggest that Maria read “How to Win Friends and Influence People” by Dale Carnegie that was published in 1936. Well, here are two of the topics that are in the book, “How to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment” and “How to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment” are just a few ways to form a coalition but not Maria.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Win_Friends_and_Influence_People
Wrong. She’s remarkable, which means her contributions are worthy of a remark.
She has fans.
After all, Maria is even mentioned by her detractors. She has the kind of style and personality that are not easily measured but readers repeatedly miss.
What has she done that the voters would know about?
In her short tenure Maria Pereira has done as much as any other member of the CC.
What she has done is equivalent to what she does which is “show up”!
You’ve slammed the door on her ability to form a coalition before she’s had the chance.
Voters approve of Maria and they showed it at the polls. Her star is rising.
Ron
Not only that but the CT Post has a limit on how much it can publish and I am guessing that she isn’t saying or doing much worth the effort to print it.
Troll, the Post will never give Pereira the kind of platform she had on OIB. I mentioned Jessica fatigue in this story. There is also Maria fatigue.
Troll fatigue is a problem facing the entire internet.
Some readers never understood why Maria no longer posts here. Please advise.
Rich, if you are alluding to Ron or me complaining that Maria didn’t support the Senator, nothing could be further from the truth! We merely called attention to the obvious, she constantly excoriated Mayor Ganim and Mario as well as the DTC, yet the only hindrance to a fair and transparent city government was the not supporting change and that change was only one person, the Senator.
We watched while Maria you, Harvey and others excoriate the Senator all the whole complaining about the big three of injustice, Mayor Ganim, Mario and the DTC! We constantly called attention to the hypocrisy of the unholy three and how you would have rather had the city’s unholy three instead of an intelligent, articulate and honest woman that happens to be Black. I know, I know it wasn’t about race until it was! You three seen to be reasonably intelligent people yet you vote against your own best interests just like the supporters of 45, who prove every day what fools they are.
Did I support the Senator hell yes with my speech as well with my money! Did I support MJF, hell yes, with my time, my speech and with my money! Well I support the next in line whom ever it will be to break the back of the city’s Unholy Three, hell yes irrespective of who that may be because my love for Bridgeport is that great and I know that for it to live up to it’s full potential the city’s Unholy Three must be defeated. If you’re not part of the solution you’re part of the problem! Get in where You fit in!
Hey Don, you better check your facts pal. I never excoriated Marilyn Moore, ……………..Ever!
I wanted her to win because anyone would’ve been better than Ganim, with Mario pulling the strings etc. etc. (Although the way Moore ran her campaign, now I’m not so sure!!)
Go back and check anything related to the election here on OIB and you will see that I am right and NEVER said a word against her!! The fact remains that she ran a terrible campaign. I mean Tony Barr!!! Really ??!!, and that’s just one example. She had no machine behind her and then what else went wrong?Not enough absentee ballots? Filing fiascos! It was almost as if it was a sham run for office. So before you go and tell people that certain persons such as myself were against a certain candidate please check your facts.
Thanks and……………… Cheers!!
And what I mean by not being sure, is that now after the fact, if she had gotten elected and became a mayor, I’m not so sure that she could have possibly done a good job. And I only base that on the way that her campaign was run.
Ron and Bob, Maria is an invaluable asset on the CC because the council nor the Mayor can hide behind the cloak of secrecy and inscrutability because she will let the residents of Bridgeport know. Now if they choose to ignore or dismiss things that are contrary to the betterment of the city and its residents, then that’s on them. If Bridgeport chooses to ignore the message because of the messenger, then again, that’s on them.
Ron we were the Maria’s on the Fire Department. Two things can happen, she can get tired and quit and it stays the same or she can fight until someone finally hears her and says enough is enough, let’s do something! We my Brother chose the later. If she does nothing else she has changed the business as usual attitude by going into meetings fully prepared and knowledgeable about every aspect of the subject matter being discussed. That can cause problems.
Maria is more prepared than any fighter pilot and more popular than a pizza on Super Bowl Sunday.
That’s not a problem, that’s an asset.
LE, the name of the game on the City Council is 50% plus one to get something passed and during Maria’s time on the council maybe you can tell us what council members would support her position on anything?
You underscore Maria’s power, prominence, grace, knowledge and charisma every time you mention her name. I think you build a monument dedicated to her in the corner of one of your rooms.
WOW!!!! LE, I don’t know how you knew that but you are right, every time that I get off the king’s throne and make that flush in my bathroom.
Why isn’t Maria all over the report that Ron keeps on talking about? I even told her how to FOI it.
Is it because she won’t go up against the mayor or the Police Chief? It’s easier and more fun to complain about fellow council members because she might lose against the mayor and the City Attorney???
Even in retirement you’re still guessing.
Troll, why didn’t Maria take on the WPCA involving Juda Epstein’s fees and the foreclosure action? Paging Frank Callahan. Maria is all about challenging “integrity” until it hits close to home. And that one certainly did. She said nothing. So convenient because of her sugar daddy’s business relationship with Juda. Hmmm.
Why isn’t Maria submitting a resolution banning the CPAT test on the Civil Sevice testing for firefighters? She doesn’t have a personal grudge against David Dunn? It isn’t as sexy as accusing other council members of missing meetings?
Bob, it’s all there for any of the 20 City Council members but we know that 19 of them are scare to say anything, now let’s see what Maria going to do, because at some point in time they both will be front page news stories that will cost the taxpayers big money.
Rich, with all due respect, everytime you write I’m distracted by the Dog Whistle in the background.
That’s a good one Don, I even had to look that up. It’s unfortunate that every time you don’t like what somebody has to say, you turn around and make it a racial issue. This of course is your downfall, as it is with anyone who thinks like you.
Cheers!!!!!!
Would Maria rather seeing headlines about herself and her vicious attacks on other council members or would she rather work with other council members and achieve something that could actually do some good for the people in the city of Bridgeport???
Bob, explain to me how she is supposed to work with other council members when most of them are beholding to Mario and only do what they are told to do? Explain to me how a guy like Defilippo and others of his ilk with DIRECT ties to TESTA will work with somebody like Maria or for that matter any other person with ideas other than what the machine wants?
Rich, why didn’t Maria take on the WPCA involving Juda Epstein’s fees and the foreclosure action? Paging Frank Callahan. Maria is all about challenging “integrity” until it hits close to home. And that one certainly did. She said nothing. So convenient because of her sugar daddy’s business relationship with Juda. Hmmm.
Well Lennie, I was not aware of her connection to Juda. I was at that CC meeting when Judge Lopez spoke. My answer would have been that Maria didn’t have to get involved since A; she wasn’t on the council at that time and B; Eneida et al with Judge Lopez’s help were doing a good job with that. My point to Bob is basically this: when has a recent CC member championed a cause on their own that helps the “common” city resident? (Other than the WPCA issue?)
And: Happy Easter!!
Rich, Maria gets involved in all kinds of things when convenient to a personal cause, agenda or vindictiveness for the smallest slights. She’s not about anything except herself and how it satisfies her bloated ego. All she cares about is the applause. If she cared at all about the larger picture she’d not waste her time on Facebook with her bizarre preoccupation with my package (or the genital parts of others, so mature) because I dared challenge her for claiming on OIB that two people were hired by Bloomberg because of their color. Then she alleged I did that only because I wanted Bloomberg money. I didn’t receive a speck of Bloomberg money. Nothing. That is the genesis of her disappearance here. Sometimes she gets so far out front of her skis she ends up in Siberia. Your outrage of her “banning” here embraced her false narrative because you believe everything she says and writes without doing any of your own research in retirement. Rich, dust off your investigative skills. And, please, don’t blame everything on the bartender.
That flucking Bartender!
Happy Easter everyone!
Except For Stevie A.
Lennie, BINGO!!!!!!!!
For someone who can’t even post to OIB, Maria certainly gets mentioned a lot.
Personally, I think she’s an asset to the city. She’s fiercely independent, does her homework, loves Bridgeport and from time to time pisses people off. I’ve known 2 or 3 others like that and BPT is a better place because of them. At least 1 of them still posts to OIB.
John that’s great but “fiercely independent, does her homework, loves Bridgeport and from time to time pisses people off” does absolutely NOTHING to make change in Bridgeport. John, Lennie said it all in his post about Maria, it’s all about Maria, she really doesn’t understand politic because she not form a coalition of other council members to get legislation passed to help the taxpayers of Bridgeport, plus Maria is not doing anything to help take Mario Testa and Joe Ganim out of power, because it’s all about Maria.
John, while agree Maria is a valuable asset, but like I’ve said numerous times, Maria is like your favorite meal served on a garbage can top. Not very appetizing even though you enjoy that which was cooked.
Rich, in my America, that which has castigated Black people for over 400 years, that which lynched over 4000 Black people that we know, that which denied rights guaranteed by the Constitution of America, that which allows police to kill young Black men and women with an explanation of I felt threatened, that which still treats Blacks like second class citizens, where race plays a part of my everyday life. I speak about that which I know about because I’ve lived 69 years with that kind of racism and until it stops or I die, I will continue to remind you and everyone else about that which I know to be true. Rich, I will write something different to get something different from this America. You seen to think that my battle is against good and evil, but the real battle is between truth and lies.
So Lennie, it just appears to me that what’s going on between you and Maria is personal.
And Don, with you the beat just goes on. My whole life has been a battle between good and evil and truth and lies but I take everybody at face value and I’ve never blamed anybody for sins of the past vis-à-vis their family history. I learned that from my father Who spent time and then escaped from a Russian concentration camp but he what would be the first person to tell you that the Russian people were a great people. It was their leaders that were evil. And as far as the bartender is concerned you know what happened there and so does everyone else, and that was a battle for justice. Politics prevailed for one person and hurt many others as a result. Speak with Ernie and ask him if that zoning change can negatively affect the black community. He knows exactly what happened and he came before the zoning board and spoke against it because he knew what was going on. I didn’t see you there.
AND Lennie you know as well ! I don’t blame everything on Defilippo, Just that particular incident. Everything after that is gravy!
Happy Easter fellows!!
Rich, your good and bad and the experience that your father had is much different than my experience and that of my father which results in a different look at America. My father enlisted into the Navy during World War II and service on a submarine duty, after the war my father didn’t have the same rights and benefits of your father. My father by law had to go to all black schools in North Carolina with a inferior school system among other social disparities. It was the evil of leaders who cause those disparities and it has taken civil rights protest, marches, sit-ins where some people were killed, arrested to make America to live up to its own words from the Preamble of the United States Constitution, “WE THE PEOPLE of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” Those have been empty words for years but the fight continues.
Amen.
Short story. Back when I was on the council, my partner was working on a tax break for handicap vehicle. I noticed where the enabling state legislation allowed for municipalities to grant a lifetime exemption from real estate taxes for the widower of police or firefighters who died in the line of duty.
Made sense to me so I wrote an ordinance to that extent. I went first to a select number of council members I could normally count on to cosponsor the ordinance. Truth be told my father was a firefighter for the city so it had a personal reason too.
Then I expanded the effort to a few council members who might have a personal connection. I did not reach 11 but felt as if it was a large enough minority that I could get the rest sooner or later.
Needless to say my greatest opposition came from the City Attorney. From families trying to profit, from firefighters with heart and hypertension issues, to Bridgeport having a 9-11 type of disaster to finally including language saying that the ordinance could be repealed. I overcame all of the obstacles placed before me and managed to get it passed.
A few years later two brave firefighters died while in a building that was on fire. I did not go about seeking praise. I did not go about seeking thanks. Just knowing that it was there was enough.
I only mention it because I believe it points out you can be an irritant AND an effective council member if you want to. It’s harder but it is possible.
But if I wanted to be a lone wolf and fight everybody on a personal level I don’t think it is possible. You need to pick you fights and you can not fight everybody all of the time and expect them to join you on legislation.
Bob, there are a number of items that you, Ed Gomes and Lisa Parziale worked hard to get pass that were much needed for firefighters were you guys sought no fanfare because it was about doing what was right, thanks.
There’s Nothing like reaching common ground!!
Hallelujah!!
That’s the art of negotiation.
I’ve shared my 2 cents worth on the “Maria” topic. Stay save everyone and for the observant, Happy Easter 🐣.
Happy Resurrection Day
For all of those Maria Pereira fans here is someone that Maria and any and all City Council mirror should mirror, U.S. Representative, California Katie Porter. Rep. Porter is one of the best at doing her duties for all voters in America.
https://youtu.be/qHEH3TnRmrQ
I agree Ron. She is a pit bull. I saw her rip apart the director of the CDC at a congressional hearing. You underestimate her at your peril. Too bad she is the exception rather than the rule in Congress.
Katie Porter has been a tenured professor at the University of California, Irvine School of Law.
In March 2012, California Attorney General Kamala Harris appointed Porter to be the state’s independent monitor of banks in a nationwide $25 billion mortgage settlement. As monitor, she oversaw the banks’ implementation of $9.5 billion in settlement reforms for Californians. If Maria is such a good researcher then maybe someone could use Maria as a fact finder on political research of issues and problems, oh wait a minute, that would mean that somebody else would get the credit instead of Maria.