Shays’ Chalet, Let’s Chip In! Plus: New Himes Hire

Chris Shays’ waterfront colonial in Black Rock is on sale for a cool $1,950,000.

The house on Beacon Street will be officially listed in a few days. It’s been a rough few months for the former congressman, the last New England Republican standing in the House of Representative until his defeat in November by Jim Himes. Within a few weeks of losing he learned that $200,000 was missing from his campaign account, accusing his once closest political adviser Mike Sohn of the misappropriation. Sohn disputes the charge.

Shays is trying to raise the $200K to pay vendors and satisfy other campaign expenses.

Why sell? When you’re out of work facing an annual property tax bill of close to $30,000, there are not a lot of choices. Shays is not a man of wealth. His home on Beacon Street, nestled inside Grovers Avenue, is a beauty, with spectacular vistas of Long Island Sound. If Yahooy wants to loan me the money, I’ll buy it. Yahooy, how about it? Yahooy?

Click.

Shays would like to direct the agency of his roots, the Peace Corps, but his finances dictate that he cannot wait much longer for Barack to make a decision. Shays is more than disappointed with his Bridgeport performance in the general election–just 20 percent of the vote–by far his poorest showing since his move to Bridgeport in 1998, when he purchased the home from David Carson, retired CEO of People’s Bank, who had bought the colonial from Betty Pfriem, former publisher of The Bridgeport Post, predecessor of the Connecticut Post.

Shays left Stamford for Bridgeport and regrets he was unable to spark a lasting connection with the city electorate. The prior worst performance by Shays in Bridgeport was 30 percent, a number that would have been enough to keep him in office.

Where will he end up? Probably not staying in Bridgeport. But in this market who knows how long it will take to move his house for that amount, even that gem along Black Rock Harbor.

Mark Your Calendar

Monday’s snow-canceled City Council meeting has been rescheduled to March 9. The March 16 meeting will take place March 23 to keep the meetings in their traditional staggered schedule.

And don’t forget March 12, the OIB first anniversary party at Matty’s Corner at Fairfield Avenue and Brewster Street at 6 p.m. For entertainment, I’m still working on that mud wrestling match between the blonde banshee from Black Rock, State Rep. Auden Grogins, and the man she defeated last year rapid Robert Keeley. Big Bob is a schoolteacher now so he’s on his best behavior. So let me hear some potential replacements for Keeley? What do you say, the Troll Bob Walsh? I don’t know if Judith will go for that.

Maybe the Fabulous Moolah will come out of retirement.

News release from Congressman Himes

Rep. Himes Appoints Shante Hanks Recovery Director

Director will ensure transparency and accountability for Recovery allocations

BRIDGEPORT, CT – Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4) today appointed Shante Hanks Recovery Director to provide a central point of contact for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for Connecticut’s 4th District. Ms. Hanks will work with local governments, the governor’s office, and federal agencies to ensure transparency in the application and disbursement of Recovery funds and coordinate the application process for Recovery funds available through competitive grants. The Recovery Director will be responsible for handling inquiries about the Recovery Act, following up on projects, and overseeing the implementation for those projects.

“Connecticut families deserve accountability and transparency in how their tax dollars are spent, so I am appointing a Recovery Director to ensure Connecticut’s 4th district’s projects are funded efficiently and appropriately,” said Congressman Himes. “Shante’s wealth of community development experience makes her the ideal person to lead our effort to connect Recovery dollars with Connecticut projects.”

Ms. Hanks is a community development professional with extensive grant writing and community organizing experience. Most recently, she served as the director of student life and coordinator of special projects for Housatonic Community College in Bridgeport. In this role, she connected students with community resources and was a member of the Beacon Hall Project Steering Committee, which was responsible for securing funding for the college’s downtown expansion. Ms. Hanks is a member of the Bridgeport Housing Authority Commission and serves on the city’s Green Initiative Advisory Board. As the Recovery Director, she will split her time between the Congressman’s Bridgeport and Stamford offices.

“Congressman Himes is serious about accountability and ensuring taxpayer dollars are spent wisely,” said Ms. Hanks. “I will be working aggressively with local governments and community organizations to put Recovery funding at work to create jobs and repair the crumbling infrastructure in Connecticut’s 4th District.”