He’s a relentless campaigner trying to forge an August Democratic primary for governor. On Tuesday Mayor Joe Ganim’s gubernatorial campaign operation will spread out across Connecticut cities toiling for more than 15,000 certified Democratic signatures required to qualify for the ballot.
The Ganim campaign team believes he’ll have the necessary 15 percent support at the May 20th Democratic convention in Hartford for a ballot spot, but just in case state party leadership prevails upon delegates to block Ganim’s candidacy at the convention they are pressing forward with a signature operation centered on cities including campaign offices in Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven and Waterbury.
Monday afternoon Ganim pulled the necessary paperwork from the Office of the Connecticut Secretary of the State for a petition drive. It will take an army of bodies to pull this off, an effort requiring more like 20,000 signatures to account for those that are invalidated by elections officials. The signatures are submitted to respective municipal town clerk offices before making their way to state election officials for certification. The state election calendar allows six weeks to collect signatures from Democratic electors in Connecticut.
Heading into the state convention the delegate momentum appears to be with Greenwich entrepreneur Ned Lamont who lost a 2010 gubernatorial primary to Dan Malloy. Former Connecticut Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz is vying for delegate support as well.
On the Republican side that conducts its convention a week prior to Democrats it appears Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton and former Trumbull First Selectman Tim Herbst have the most delegate support. Other Republicans such as Bridgeport resident David Walker, Shelton Mayor Mark Lauretti, Fairfield immigration lawyer Peter Lumaj and New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart will need to forge a signature campaign as well if the convention delegate support does not materialize.
From Ganim campaign:
“With headquarters being set up in Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, and Waterbury, we are announcing today the beginning of a statewide grassroots petition drive that will tap into Democratic voters who want a choice for governor, not a process manipulated by party insiders,” said Ganim.
“We are confident of obtaining 15% of the delegates at the state convention. But as widely reported, certain Democratic party insiders are trying to select the party’s gubernatorial candidate, rather than leaving it up to Democratic voters. By obtaining the petition signatures we are building a statewide grassroots organization for the primary that will be inclusive and diverse. By collecting petition signatures, we will insure our place on the primary ballot if certain party insiders manipulate the convention rules,” said Ganim.
To get on the Democratic primary ballot, a total of 15,458 registered Democratic signatures are required. Signatures can be obtained beginning May 1 and are due by June 12th.
Will Ganim’s minions be circulating the petitions in cemetaries and nursing homes?
Not a bad idea!
Lennie it’s a stupid idea. Only a kid would do that. Why go to the cemetaries when we have facebook?
they have done it before
Does Joe realize how ironic these two statements are,considering that Mario himself manipulated elections just a couple months ago??.What,does he think no one knows?..You can’t make this stuff up
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“grassroots petition drive that will tap into Democratic voters who want a choice for governor, not a process manipulated by party insiders”
“By collecting petition signatures, we will insure our place on the primary ballot if certain party insiders manipulate the convention rules,” said Ganim”
#ANYONEBUTJOE
I cant wait for them to come here so I can throw them off of my property. Ganim and his posse suck
“… just in case state party leadership prevails upon delegates to block Ganim’s candidacy at the convention they are pressing forward with a signature operation…”
Little Joe is a cagy specimen, avoiding press interviews because he knows the reporters will be lobbing hardballs about his criminal last, about the inequities of the WPCA collections process, about all those commissioners and directors serving expired terms, about Mario Testa having a personal driver paid for by the people of the city of Bridgeport, about his inability to improve the quality of life for a majority of the people of the city of Bridgeport. He just wants the job and doesn’t give a damn if no one wants him to have it.
Our Father who art in heaven, deliver us from this evil man.
In the end, for Bridgeport to stay relevant, Ganim will have to support Mario’s last choice for Governor. Better Ned then Dead!
……And Mario will still be the King Maker!
Ned Lamont, a Greenwich businessman who was the surprising, if convincing, winner of a recent straw poll by the AFL-CIO. Ganim finished sixth in a straw poll with five candidates and the additional choice of “no one at this time.”
Tell me Mayor Ganim, how many felons work for the City of Bridgeport? Will you continue to recruit felons if you become Governor? How many felons have you hired while in office? That’s just what Connecticut does not need, a government made up of felons! God help us if you ever get elected Governor. But we all know that will never happen. Malloy is a ???? clown. This state will be looking for solid, quality leadership! Stick with running Bridgeport into the ground and hire more felons! LOL
There’s a game being played here, must be a pay off at the end of the day. Little Joe wouldn’t be working so hard otherwise.
Kid, I’ve been predicting that from day one.
I think Little Joe is looking for a more secure position. All the retail cmpaigning has to be wearying at this point.
“… By collecting petition signatures, we will insure our place on the primary ballot if certain party insiders manipulate the convention rules,” said Ganim. Isn’t that exactly what he’s doing, gaming the nominating process?
Anyone at all familiar with Connecticut politics knows that the Connecticut Gold Coast-Hartford Oligarchy always rigs the top nominations for state office, through the State Democratic Central Committee, to be weighted heavily in favor of Gold Coast-Hartford candidates… (Candidate Ganim is absolutely correct about the preordained nature of the candidate selection process, per the hegemony of the Connecticut Oligarchy and their Party Leadership lackeys…) Only rare infighting allows an occasional top-spot to go elsewhere — usually a Yale-backed New Haven-area candidate, or a northern Fairfield County candidate… The last time that happened was when Mayor John De Stefano beat Dan Malloy in the Democratic primary (but recall the results on Election Day of that year — 2006). The Oligarchy will get a “friendly” in the Governor’s Office by hook or by crook (with the latter case having John Rowland, of Waterbury — of all places! — as an example …
This year it isn’t hard to see how the State Central Committee maneuvered things into the hands of the Gold Coast, with Hartford’s cooperation… But this year, with such a lackluster field of candidates on both sides of the aisle, the surprises will keep on coming through Election Day in November… But, in any event, at this point in time, things aren’t looking good for Connecticut economic progress from any of the platform hints (and lack thereof) that have come out of the candidate campaigns, thus far…
Beware: the “Ganim Gambit” will serve as a distraction to the real story at home.
Investigative reporters have completed their investigations. Even if he remains in the city, national media will make him look uncaring as valid, honest photos of Bridgeport mix with images of clipboards extended to suspicious voters in other cities.
And if he’s out of town, it’ll look even worse.
Ganim is finished. Tick..Tock..Tick..Tock
I guess very few of you guys won’t be signing Joe Ganim’s petition. I’ll leave a few of them at Harborview Market if anyone is interested. All Ganim needs is 1000 of his friends to get 18 solid signatures of registered Democrats.
So you support a known criminal. That figures, Joel.