Environmental activist Jeff Kohut, coordinator of the Lake Forest Association block watch, has filed papers with the Town Clerk’s office to run as a petitioning candidate for mayor in the November election.
Kohut, treasurer of the Eastern Fairfield County Sierra Club, will add welcome debate to the election season. Kohut is a policy wonk who will drench voters in ideas, thoughts, observations about the issues that matter to him. He’s authored several guest commentaries for OIB and has been front and center on high profile issues such as a proposed regional wastewater treatment authority and the recently rejected proposal for a halfway house for male offenders in the West End. He has taken city officials to task covering several administrations with regard to development priorities. Want to get Kohut going? Ask him about the burden placed on the city regarding suburban sprawl.
Kohut is also a former member of the city’s Ethics Commission. It will be interesting to hear Kohut’s perspective about putting teeth into that toothless tiger. Kohut is a long shot among long shots, but he will introduce a policy wonk’s perspective that other candidates may not want to take on. Looking forward to Kohut’s perspective.
Mayor Bill Finch is gearing up for his reelection and will have mountain ranges of campaign cash to make his case. The mayor’s former deputy chief administrative officer John Gomes is taking on his former boss. Mary-Jane Foster, co-founder of the Bridgeport Bluefish and an executive at the University of Bridgeport, has formed an exploratory committee with an eye on forming a candidate committee in April. Former mayoral candidate Charlie Coviello says he’ll also be in the mix. And what about former Mayor Joe Ganim who’s been all over the place? Will he get in?
From Kohut:
I made the decision to run when I realized that I wasn’t hearing anything from any of the other candidate camps beyond the 40-year-old drone of a new, modern-era, reduced-expectations Bridgeport that could be positioned to take advantage of our great fortune to be in the “glittering shadow” of the (Fairfield County) Gold Coast/suburbs, where we could benefit from the “back-office”/service sector, and housing development leftovers and castoffs that didn’t serve the highest interests of our Gold Coast/suburban “service area” … [Not to be anti-suburb/ant-Gold Coast; the whole region will stand to gain from our resurgence/prosperity — in economic and overall quality-of-life terms … The present exploitative relationship has damaged the whole region — in terms of public safety and overall prosperity/quality of life — and can’t be allowed to continue (irrespective of the hokey, smart-growth platitudes and high-sounding terms such as “housing hub,”, “transportation hub,” et al.).]
My platform will consist of specific, Bridgeport-centric solutions for each major area of municipal concern … The ultimate, overall goal of true prosperity for Bridgeport will be represented in each of the interrelated, interdependent planks of the overall platform (e.g., programs for tax relief, jobs, public school performance enhancement, and amelioration of environmental concerns will have many interfaces/synergies …)
That’s about all that I’ll say about my candidacy/campaign platform for now — except that Trumbull will be disconnected from our sewer-system within 5 years of the next sewer contract if I’m elected mayor (and Monroe will never be allowed to tie in to our system …).
Thanks for the attention/coverage! (Of course, I’ll have much more to say as the campaign progresses! …)
Jeff Kohut
I thought it was Mary-Jane Foster, co-founder of the University of Bridgeport and an executive with the Bridgeport Bluefish.
Congratulations to Mr. Kohut.
Thanks for putting action to words and getting into the Mayor’s campaign with a solid background of Bridgeport knowledge.
Lennie
First,
Sorry I missed the OIB event of the year for us writers, wonks, political mouthpieces, and group of (angry) people seeking satisfaction for the City of Bridgeport, my candidate included. Perhaps I’ll earn a 2012 invite … who knows …
Second,
What is your assessment of the incredible political chemistries the incumbent faces from three major candidates whose collective abilities can blow the socks off anything we’ve seen so far in Bridgeport’s City Government system, which seems nothing more these days than a meat grinder spewing out jobs everywhere in the administration without any observation of protocol or principles?
Third,
Can you find out if Dawn Norton is really getting another person added to her staff as a deputy? And yet they will BOTH still report to TOM SHERWOOD.
Three major candidates?
Oh that’s right.
Mary-Jane Foster
Joe Ganim
Jeff Kohut–I almost forgot about Jeff already.
Inch By Inch The City Goes Finch!
Jimfox,
Have you lost your freakin’ mind? Did they put something in your food at the Finch fundraiser last night? Did they employ some mind-controlling chemicals?
Perhaps you misspelled the phrase. I think what you meant to say was “Inch by inch the Feds will get Finch.” I mean let’s get serious here. After all, you can’t make this stuff up!
IT’S A CINCH—DOWN GOES FINCH
I sense jubilation from the John M. Gomes camp. The more who jump in the better for someone who can speak so many languages. Hurry up Joe Jailbird, the water is fine.
*** Welcome Mr. Kohut, give them hell! *** NEWS BREAK, MJF WILL NOT RUN? *** HERE WE GO ***
Jeff has a plethora of ideas and he expresses them well. Gomes has a plan to clean house and implement his CitiStat recommendations on day #1. MJF as a track record and great leadership skills. Put them all together and you have one hell of a candidate. When all is said and done, I hope these three put their egos aside and get together because they will be a strong force against Finch.
*** MJF might paint the political status quo a different color but will not change the structured foundation that’s been the thorn in the side of this city for years. She’s too nice & does not appear to have the guts to make the real tough decisions that will affect some of her present friends. *** Still waiting for some substance & real platform ideas. ***