The state’s largest city has had 52 mayors in its history, all white males except for one. Her name is Mary Chapar Moran who served one term from 1989 to 1991, but oh what a two years it was, including placing the city into federal bankruptcy court that made national news. Engaging, powerful public speaker, Moran is still active in public service as tax collector for the town of Trumbull. Bridgeport-area Republicans will honor her this Saturday night at the annual Lincoln Day Dinner at the Bridgeport Holiday Inn Downtown.
Economist Larry Kudlow, who hosted CNBC’s The Kudlow Report, will serve as the guest speaker.
Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst, Republican-endorsed candidate for Connecticut State Treasurer, will present a Lifetime Achievement Award to Moran.
Moran, a real estate broker, came out of nowhere in 1989 to squeak a Republican primary win over Lenny Paoletta who served two terms as mayor prior to his defeat by Democrat Tom Bucci in 1985.
In early 1988, Bucci announced the city was broke requiring a state bailout to set the city straight. In return, the state injected some tough medicine: a financial review board to ensure city budgets were in balance. A large tax increase and revelations about the state takeover forced the electorate to its breaking point.
Moran was a product of voter anger, community opposition and a business community-aided group called People for Bridgeport’s Future. Moran defeated Bucci handily.
In 1990, Lowell Weicker was elected governor. To fix a major state budget deficit he enacted a personal income tax. The budget issues for Moran did not go away.
Facing another tax increase and unable to frame meaningful arguments deserving of a second term, Moran created an issue she took straight to the voters: bankruptcy. In June of 1991, she petitioned the federal court to grant the city’s right to file bankruptcy. Emphasizing the city had to break burdensome union contracts and start anew. Moran maintained she was fighting to give voters control of their community from the state Financial Review Board and Weicker. A minority opinion felt it was a good idea: the city was broke and should be considered bankrupt.
Whatever legal implications, opponents to the bankruptcy argued the financial headaches were enormous. Wall Street, the financial capital of the world just 60 miles away, threw a fit. The two major municipal credit rating agencies pulled the city’s bond rating. The bankruptcy decision reverberated throughout the government halls in Hartford and the New England banking community, already suffering from the catastrophic real estate collapse of the 1990 recession. Weicker and then-Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal opposed the bankruptcy saying the city was a child of the state and needed permission.
The city was a financial mess with very few Democrats lining up for the job at $52,000 a year. Enter 32-year-old Joe Ganim, who finished a strong third in a large primary field against Bucci in 1989. Ganim pulled together the Democratic political organization and voters unsure of Moran’s bankruptcy petition. Ganim defeated her in 1991.
In the end a federal judge ruled against Moran’s bankruptcy filing, but to this day Mary is unwavering that it was the right thing to do given the state of city finances.
I am very proud of my good friend Mary Moran. The bankruptcy bid was the right thing to do 25 years ago just as it was letting the state take care of the zoo. It is so ironic taxes have gone up time after time and until Steelepointe comes to fruition, taxes will continue to escalate. Mary made history on so many different levels for two years. The NRV, The New Republican Voice, a group of youthful Republicans put her in office. The Republican Town committee was as ineffective then as it is today in Bridgeport. I watch Larry Kudrow on CNBC. Very anti-Obama and watched strictly for comedy relief.
Mary Moran is now and has always been one of the hardest-working Republicans. She has been a dear friend for 25 years. Working on her campaign and serving her administration was an honor. You would think the largest city in the state would have a portrait of the first woman Mayor as well as the last Republican to serve as Mayor, hung in City Hall.
I am glad she is finally being honored by her party.
Mary Moran is all you say, Steve. Good lady and worthy of this honor. I hope Kudlow will let her get a word in edgewise–the guy never shuts up.
It would be interesting to know what Bridgeport’s financial condition today is against the finances of the city in 1991. Finch and his gang of spendthrift thugs have created such chaos and produced so little, I would wager as a relative matter we’re in greater peril now than then.
Steve, I have no comment about Kudlow or Moran for that matter and will not be present at the Holiday Inn for the fest on Saturday. However, I want to question a statement you made regarding “until Steelpointe comes to fruition.” What positive change relative to City finances in operating budget or balance sheet do you contemplate when you mention “fruition?” More importantly, do you have any detailed financial data regarding City past and future investment, and “returns from that investment” into the future?
You are a perennial cheerleader for the Finch vision thing, right? Has he shared any special details about what is likely to happen when the Fishing Store opens along with some other big-name, financially solid tenants? What info regarding money the developer is putting at risk can you share?
For my part, I have been digging to get facts by asking questions and researching available data and reports for over four years. We have some breakthroughs but when it comes to this 30-year project, I find nothing at the moment that allows me to be predicting, as you seem to, property taxes will stop increasing when the project is completed. What can you tell us, point us to, or suggest in order for us to see the tax demand diminishing? Time will tell.
John Marshall Lee, I am a perennial cheerleader of Steelepointe and it is not the vision of Bill Finch. It is my vision which was the original vision of Mayor Leonard Paoletta and the original Harborpointe plan. I want to see hotels and housing (upscale and market rate). I want to see a convention center as well as upscale restaurants and seafood restaurants on the water. I see 150,000 cars daily traveling 95 and excited about all of the activity. I do not want the focus to be retail. I totally support Bass Pro Shops but that was not part of my vision. I am glad Mayor Paoletta is alive and well to see his original dream come to fruition. Bridgeport continues to move at a snail’s pace while Stamford and Norwalk continue to pull on the brass rings. The development I imagine is the type that will create jobs and excitement, a destination and a lifestyle. I remain hopeful this type of development will generate tax dollars and that is the only hope for the city. Any potential candidate who does not share that vision is wasting their time. It benefits every resident in every neighborhood and the overflow will benefit the city for decades to come.
Lennie, any word from the Feds on the Bridgeport probe yet?
www .ctpost.com/local/article/Feds-end-Shelton-corruption-probe-5511053.php
You have to believe the Feds are aware of what is happening in Bpt right now, only a matter of time before Finch goes under the microscope. I just hope it’s sooner rather than later, God knows what Finch is going to do next.
Amen to that, Harvey.
JML, Bass Pro will come to Bridgeport when Steve Auerbach and Mayor Finch start pulling Atlantic Salmon out of the Yellow Mill River.
www .youtube.com/watch?v=RJL3m2SGzMI
Mary Moran was absolutely the WORST mayor Bridgeport had in modern memory and with all the embarrassing political news such as officials going to prison including one mayor in two very short years she managed to obtain almost as much bad press nationwide for the city as almost all of them combined. Who can forget the 60 Minutes tour of Bridgeport where she showed off every rundown industrial area of Bridgeport and none of the good points. To this day that is the nationwide image of Bridgeport or have we all forgotten the Family Guy episode?
Actually the probably worst mayor was Jasper McLevy. His “benign neglect” eroded whatever substructure Bridgeport had. After that was one mayor after another with their hands out. Moran or all her foibles was dead on in regards to having the city go bankrupt. It would have forced unions to renegotiate bloated contracts and required the city’s administration to reorganize and diminish in size. It would have also forced the hand of the one-party system to yield to the state’s governance, financially removing “pay to play,” nepotism and cronyism.
A bit hyperbolic, Dave? As for Sixty Minutes, that was a hatchet job by our downcounty neighbor Harry Reasoner. Bob makes an excellent point about McLevy. With the large industrial and commercial tax base at the time, much more could have been done rather than simply keep the residential tax rate so low. As for worst mayor, I nominate our Black Rock buddy Joe Ganim. I’ve said it before and will say it again, during one of the most expansive economic periods in our country’s history (bubble or not), what did Bridgeport get, a brand new Bob’s furniture store. More criminal than his outright thievery was the stagnant economic growth during this period.
David Moore, 60 minutes pretty much got the image that has been our reality since my family moved here in 1967. She did not direct the interview and Bridgeport’s history of corruption, litter, graffiti was part of our political landscape way before Mary came to office. Granted, the unions were thrilled she lost as the bankruptcy would have leveled the playing field. The bankruptcy did not affect the real estate at all. Mary felt another tax increase would have been the final nail in the coffin. Of course she was wrong. The city elected a little man with a Napoleonic complex who was a thief. Surrounded by thieves with more patronage jobs to the tune of 10 to 1 over Moran. During a robust economy Ganim’s pay to play had crippled development in the City. Moran was Mayor during one of the worst economic times. Mary Moran was one of the most honest administrations the City ever had. We will never know how things would have gone for the City if the union contracts were renegotiated. We do know what happened with 10 years of the Ganim administration. Enough said on that. Back to Moran, a very short administration at $52,000 a year. First thing Ganim did was get four years and doubled his salary as well as hired an ass army to keep him in office for 10 years. If only the Moran Administration took the plan to the people instead of dropping a bomb. I remember my brother calling from Japan asking what the hell was going on in Bridgeport.