Joe-So On November Ballot For School Board Irrespective Of Primary Result

No matter the results in next Tuesday’s Republican primary for Board of Education, incumbent Joe Sokolovic will have a second bite at the ballot courtesy of an endorsement from the Connecticut Working Families Party.

The WFP on Tuesday announced endorsements for City Council seats in advance of the September 14 Democratic primary, as well as school board candidates it’s backing in the general election.

Sokolovic is going it alone in the primary challenging GOP endorsed John Weldon, the board chair, and Mary Gaits and Peter Perillo. Sokolovic, hoping for voter candidate splitting, is matched up against Gaits on the primary ballot. The WFP is backing him in the primary and general election.

The WFP endorsed City Council candidates Tyler Mack (131st District), Dasha Spell (132nd District), Aikeem Boyd (133rd District), Wanda Simmons and Victoria Majewski (139th District).

For the Board of Education, in addition to Sokolovic, WFP endorsed Jose Lopez and Khalid Muhammad in the general election

“Bridgeport should be a place of opportunity, a city that is vibrant, open, ready to embrace change and grow,” stated Carlos Moreno, Connecticut State Director of the Working Families Party. “Instead, this great city is frequently bedeviled by a corrupt local government, fraught with indictments, criminal investigations and resignations. We believe that a change is needed, and not just on personnel, but on how City Hall works, top to bottom. Tyler, Dasha, Joseph, Terra, Wanda, Victoria, Joseph, Aikeem, Jose and Khalid embody this change, and the willingness of a whole city to move forward.”

“The Bridgeport Working Families Town Committee is proud and honored to support our candidates for both the City Council and BOE seats,” added Sauda Baraka, Bridgeport’s WFP Town Committee Chair. “This primary election, voters have the opportunity to elect competent, intelligent, honest, and forthright candidates to represent them. For far too long the culture of our Bridgeport city government has been wrecked by entitlement and toxicity, with no action taken by either the mayor or our city council to condemn or obviate this behavior. This is the time for change! Let us, Bridgeport voters, make that change at the polls!”

The Working Families Party endorsement comes with candidate training and strategic campaign support. Some of their key issues focus on racial, environmental, and economic justice, tax fairness, healthcare reform, strong public education system and immigration reform.

WFP-endorsed candidates appear on the WFP line on the ballot in the general election.

Under state-mandated minority-party representation three of the nine school board members cannot be affiliated with a major party.

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6 comments

    1. I’d say it’ll be a boost. It’s much Cleaner to tell voters to Vote Row B straight across. I think it’ll be mutually beneficial. I think I get a boost as the Row B sheriffs reach a certain segment of the party I can never reach and the reverse may be true of the sheriff’s slate I guess we’ll find out on the 14th!

      Vote Row B wherever your eyes can see.

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  1. Great post Lennie, but one slight correction. The state minority party rule actually in essence states that no more than 2/3 of certain boards be from the same party. In the case of Bridgeport, that essentially means that the Board of Ed could have no more than six Dems. Also, contrary to popular belief, the Republicans are a Major party, although it’s quite understandable to consider us minor leaguers, because leadership behaves as such, with closed meetings, and hiding in church basements. The party is at a major decision point, do we want to evolve and grow, or become extinct, in the city of Bridgeport. I retire in 150 days and I will lend assistance to helping the party grow and help take out the trash and drag any remanding dinosaurs kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

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  2. Once again I find myself proud to accept an endorsement! This time from the WFP. I would like to thank the party for their continuous support. Many often wonder how a Republican gets an endorsement from the WFP. The answer is simple, there is no longer one party I could pigeon hole myself into. I uphold many values of both parties.

    As a Republican, I am a fiscally conservative, 2nd amendment supporter, believe in small government, and believe that everyone should be able to pull themselves up by their bootstraps.

    On the WFP side I realize that not everybody has not historically had the luxury to have bootstraps handed down to them through generations, and first we must invest in giving people the tools they need to compete equitably. This means advocating for a fully funded education system, with community schools with wrap around services, for all our citizens in Bridgeport. This approach is will naturally give our the majority of our “minority” population an equal chance at competing with our wealthier surrounding suburbs. This does not conflict with my Republican values as an equitable investment in education will lead to higher wages and better jobs for the citizens of Bridgeport and lead to more investment by the business community.

    Lastly, I appreciate the WFP because they, like Gen Now Votes #unrigbridgeport are the only entities fighting the systemic corruption of the local DNC while the Republican Party stays silently cowering in church basements and not coming out with a single statement against the Dem corruption in our state. A savvy party would seek to capitalize on their “oppositions”weakness. This lack of action could lead one to think that the Party is complicit.

    So while I remain a Republican I am also proud to receive the support of the WFP.

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