While the State Supreme Court sorts out the reconfiguration of Connecticut’s five congressional districts, required every 10 years to reflect population shifts, the redistricting panel that managed to agree on map changes to the 2012 state legislative districts has angered some African American activist and political leaders including former State Senator Ernie Newton even though Newton could benefit from the city’s redistricting changes.
State Senator Anthony Musto represents Trumbull and portions of Monroe and Bridgeport. His 22nd State Senate District has picked up the backyard voting base of State Senator Ed Gomes (23rd Senate District) in the Wilbur Cross voting precinct including the Trumbull Gardens housing project. Some African American leaders are concerned this could dilute the voting power of voters, but in fact the reshuffling of the 1700 or so Bridgeport residents into Musto’s district makes the 22nd District more Democratic. Gomes’ district is already so overwhelming Democratic a Republican will never ever again occupy the seat barring mass blood transfusions from Darien. Musto also lost a portion of Republican-leaning Monroe. Musto represents the district Bill Finch occupied for seven years before becoming mayor.
Even former State Senator Ernie Newton, who’s seeking to regain his old senate seat, is grousing about the changes–although the shift could help Newton in a primary challenge against Gomes–claiming that cribbing the base of Gomes’ district is unfair to the incumbent state senator, especially at a time he was without input recovering from heart surgery.
Looking at the changes geographically, however, makes sense, according to redistricting panel leaders. The Bridgeport portion of the district had been split and now it is contiguous. The unchanged Bridgeport portion of Musto’s district includes North End precincts such as Winthrop and Blackham schools, the Brooklawn area of the West Side at the Central voting precinct and Black Rock. A portion of the Upper East Side above Boston Avenue that included Beardsley Park, a stretch of Noble Avenue, Huntington Turnpike and numerous side streets represented the split portion of the district. Remember all the hullabaloo about that detention center for girls that Governor Jodi Rell wanted to place on Virginia Avenue? That was part of Musto’s district. In the reconfiguration it will be in the district Gomes now occupies. In fact the entire Upper East Side will now be in the 23rd Senate District including Crown Street where Finch resides. By pure land mass the 23rd District covers about 70 percent of the city and takes in a small portion of Stratford.
Now let’s look at the politics to the changes in the geographically North End area, a portion of it the Whiskey Hill neighborhood. Trumbull Avenue, Platt Street, Woodrow Avenue, Saunders Avenue, and Pitt Street, to name a few, have been shifted to the 22nd District. Even Gomes’ home address on Soundview Avenue is a stone’s throw from the State Senate division lines. Ed Gomes has had relationships with these resident voters for years. They would most likely vote for him in a presumed Democratic primary next August. With the redistricting changes Gomes loses those voters.
By pure numbers of reliable voters the shift may represent just a few hundred, but that could be significant in a primary. When Gomes and Newton squared off in a special election to fill the State Senate seat occupied by the late Alvin Penn, Newton won by a few hundred votes. Gomes performed the strongest in the areas now shifted to Musto’s district. Gomes replaced Newton in the State Senate, as a result of a special election, when Newton was forced to resign following federal charges.
But now the Moses of his peeps is gearing up for his old seat against incumbent Gomes who’s a tough customer. Gomes appears to be regaining his strength following heart surgery so an August 2012 primary is a battle to watch.
From my point of view it makes no difference who represents the Upper East Side–Treeland area. We are the stepchild of all these politicians. We are split between two state reps and now one senator rather than two. Nothing gets brought back to Bridgeport that benefits our area. The same can be said for our council people. They don’t do a damn thing for us. We have no NRZ, we have not one person on a board or commission. We don’t have permanent coverage by the PD, our car Green 38 is always out of the district or it’s the first car out of service when there is a shortage of policemen. So who cares?
town committee // Dec 26, 2011 at 3:58 pm
to your posting
tc,
city hall smoker gave us the answer a few days ago …
At least as a start it would be smart to look at the Council elections and also to look at the March 2012 Town Committee elections …
Short of “Occupy City Hall” by the legitimate 99%, there is only the ballot that can bring these changes that are so needed in Bridgeport.
Nothing will happen until the Finch/Wood administration is replaced.
Finch/Wood/Testa/Timpanelli/Nancy DiNardo administration is replaced.
carolanne: I was on the Town Committee for a number of years and I can tell you it’s an exercise in frustration. You need to get 8 other people who want to work hard and campaign and then you need to go against the machine that has all the money. The problem is the voters just don’t give a shit.
Newton v. Gomes?
Seriously?
I think both Gomes and Newton have a Bridgeport soul, I like them both.
“Every saint has a past; Every sinner has a future.”
Redistricting puts another Gomes into that equation, don’t be surprised if it’s Ernie vs John.
The people of Bpt shouldn’t forget John put the city first when he jumped on Foster’s side, now she should write him some checks.
Bpt Island // Dec 26, 2011 at 7:17 pm
to your posting
BI,
Your equation is a bit too simplistic …
For instance, how many votes did Gomes bring to the Foster Primary on Primary Day?
Reciprocity happens when results have been provided. The people of Bridgeport may remember this … or not.
carolanne curry:
Use These Pages to ridicule, badmouth and otherwise disparage your former political client, John Gomes. In the process, let readers hear the bitterness in your tones and folly of your proposed solutions … But most of all, remember reciprocity rarely happens when results were not produced. If you think change can only be initiated on Primary/Election day, you do not understand the dynamics of life in these United States, never mind Bridgeport.
Local Eyes // Dec 27, 2011 at 6:48 am
To your posting
LE,
Getting hyperbolic with your adjectives to respond to a political fact; change could have happened in Bridgeport as a result of an election day primary on September 27th, 2011.
Most of us involved in politics know this, and you apparently want to make a case for the election system in the United States. I am only concerned with the discussion of Bridgeport in the OIB blog. If I want to write or blog about the U.S. Elections, then I will chose the pages of “Nation.”
Your bitterness is not my bitterness Local, I am hopeful each day may present opportunities for change in the dynamics of exercising political power in a fair and just way for all of Bridgeport.
And your agenda?
Hey Curry,
How many votes did you bring to either Gomes or Foster???
How many votes did Jason Bartlett bring?
How many votes did Ernie Newton and Tito Ayala bring?
Let’s be clear, Foster knew Gomes would detract votes if he stayed in … AND, she was so desperate she made deals with Newton, Ayala and Coviello … As a result, SHE, Mary-Jane Foster cost her own election losing her credibility and respect among voters and early supporters. How can someone ethical make deals in exchange for folks who are known for their “let’s make a deal” and “pay to play” tactics …
If you’re going to throw others under the bus, be clear of all the facts and cut the crap.
Celia,
Were you on the Foster campaign staff? Just wondering how you can claim to know the facts of the campaign strategies deployed by the Foster team. Or are you a Bridgeport voter rolling out an opinion filtered by your own perception of what must have been, by filling in fact gaps with what you assume must be the “missing pieces?” Finch won because he got more votes, and THAT is the fact. Lamenting and blaming is just plain old BAD FORM in this or any reality. Foster’s team did the job just as well as any team could have done, or even better with no constituents at the gate. Finch won. She has accepted it without bad mouthing, why can’t you?
Zena,
I am not claiming campaign facts. I was one of the many people waiting to see if she truly had a chance with hopes to support her. Many folks were glad to hear she made it on the ballot, but when news hit that Tito Ayala and Charlie Coviello were on her slate, it just made many people like myself think again.
You’re right, I don’t know what the strategy or plan was … But at the end of the day, perception is reality and when I as a voter hear names who don’t represent ethics in government, how can I believe the speech she made at the Holiday Inn to start her campaign???
Celia,
MJF did a mighty fine job of running for Mayor, given the political circumstances in Bridgeport. So she made some choices that possibly she would not make today, back in the summer. 20/20 hindsight is the key to success. I challenge you to look at it this way: MJF took 44% of the primary vote with probably less than half of Finch’s money, no incumbency power, no DTC endorsement, no machine backing, a comparative meager absentee ballot operation, and no constituency at the start of her campaign. John Gomes did the right thing endorsing her if you look at the state of the City and the candidates, squarely, objectively and logically. Imagine what MJF could have done without starting her campaign behind the eight ball on so many levels? We are less than four years from another election, and I encourage you to get and stay involved! For now, Finch had the means, power, and spun his campaign so as to win the election. That is our reality, and it is up to us to use our own powers for good, within the boundaries of the current situation. Peace.
Celia Cruz // Dec 27, 2011 at 6:25 pm
To your posting
Hey Cruz,
We’re talking about promises made.
I’ve got my facts right.
In order to jumpstart Connecticut’s economy we need a General Assembly that looks like this:
generalassemb.ly
Here’s the good news: Connecticut’s own www .DECD.org is already looking into it. It’s a great idea that if tuned to The Land of Steady Habits could become a universal job-creation machine.
Here’s what you need to know about the new Metro Fairfield RR Station: as of last week it had no restrooms, alienating females and forcing males to use alternative methods. It might be a public-health problem by now. Longtime commuters avoid it, pending improvements. Cabdrivers go where their fares go and right now they’re only making coffee money jockeying wayward riders between the two stations. That station is lost on its own tracks.
If you want change then you must start way before a primary election, you need to start right now with the Democratic Town Committee. 46 members will put them in charge of who the DTC Chairman will be, that is where the change MUST come from in Bridgeport.
“You must start at the very beginning,
A very good place to start …”
And an easy place with alphabets or music scales … but as LE and Ron Mackey discuss … it is sometimes confusing where political life and governance intersect or reinforce each other.
LE, you have posted historically about the sewage treatment decisions facing Trumbull and now you have posted twice recently about the Fairfield Metro Station failure to have any current restroom facilities. Is this a pattern of concern for you? Do you plan in advance your proximity to functioning rest facilities, for instance? If so, taking New Haven line trains into NYC must cause you real problems on occasion.
I understand the “rest facilities” for Metro were planned for the structures to be developed by the private developers. When that portion of the total plan was pushed out into the future, so were the toilets, in the short term. That is an unintended consequence of financial markets, weak lending to developers, and a leasing market that has also seen weakness. Your concern is commendable.
It is interesting to see how you have constructed an economic geography lesson out of this single unintended consequence. I am sure Mayor Finch will treasure your early analysis relative to the opening of Bridgeport’s second rail station or Steel Point facilities. And I think your ‘early alert’ will be appreciated. Perhaps Royal Flush, a proud Bridgeport business, that sends out its “special sanitary shelters” to events and occasions all over Fairfield County, might see a business opportunity in the short run? Perhaps you can alert them to a new “profit center” in Fairfield at the Metro Station? And perhaps you can receive a special thanks for ‘relieved’ rail customers by having your all-seeing eye emblazoned on the door of each unit? Time will tell.
BEACON2:
USE THESE PAGES to make untrue claims in your attempt to discredit Local Eyes.
USE THESE PAGES to show your depth of knowledge is shallower than a sidewalk puddle.
In sharp contrast to Fairfield, Bridgeport looks like a shining example of municipal efficiency. The Metro “platform to nowhere” has plenty of parking amidst erratic train service.
Ms. Curry,
Please don’t comment on J Gomes when your sole purpose was to sabotage his campaign and team him with Ms. Foster.
Bpt Island is a blogger of note whose keen insights illuminate our understanding of local politics. I thank you but Machiavelli just sent you a signed copy of his latest book.
(wink)
Talked to a few connected to the Gomes campaign (not him) and they all said Curry was a mole. Sad and pathetic.
Bpt Island // Dec 27, 2011
To your posting
BI,
Your intelligence gathering is about as accurate as your political acumen. We can all rest easy with your knowledge Bridgeport is an island and your definition of mole.
Carolanne,
I am so sure John does not sanction this type of diatribe. Best to let this one scurry along … 🙂
*** Does it really matter in “ZOMBIELAND?” *** Flip A Coin! ***
Oh it matters. It matters a lot. Newton, lest we forget, stole from every one of us. He was convicted of political corruption and incarcerated. He is a thief. Ed Gomes is not.