My oh my, State Rep. Bob Keeley, the longest serving legislator in Bridgeport’s history, has been taken out by Auden Grogins, the blonde banshee from Black Rock.
Machine totals show Grogins a 655 to 576 winner. At approximately 11 p.m. Tuesday I spoke with Democratic Registrar of Voters Sandy Ayala who said Grogins also had a slight lead on absentee ballots. Machine totals:
Black Rock: Grogins 282, Keeley 231
Longfellow: Grogins 154, Keeley 108
Central: Grogins 219, Keeley 237
What happened? Leveraging a strong direct-mail campaign, Grogins worked hard and did a better job of defining Keeley’s lack of performance than he did defining his legislative seniority. Grogins ran close to Keeley in Keeley’s home precinct of Central by door knocking, phone calling and identifying pockets of Jewish voters underwhelmed by the incumbent’s performance. Grogins’ rabbi Israel Stein delivered. She also had an overall message that played with voters: Connecticut is too expensive and the state needs a property tax cap to keep taxes from going out of control.
Primaries are all about identifying friends and dragging them to the polls. Grogins’ operation of phone callers, pullers and drivers was superior to Keeley, first elected in 1982.
Once again Black Rock, that cozy waterfront hamlet, established itself as the highest percentage turnout area of the city, by far. Roughly one-third of registered Black Rock Dems cast ballots. Most of the rest of the city voted in the low to mid teens, following the statewide trend. A great night for District Leader Danny Roach. I wonder how much juniper was consumed at his bar last night.
It was a good night for Mayor Bill Finch, a Grogins supporter, who realized that he couldn’t help Grogins in areas where he raised taxes. The mayor picked an area where he still has standing: the West End, home to P. T. Barnum apartments. He spent the final hours before the polls closed urging P.T. voters to cast a ballot at Longfellow School which produced a higher turnout than either the Grogins or Keeley camps had anticipated.
It was not a great night for Democratic Town Chairman Mario Testa who cast the deciding vote that delivered the Democratic Town Committee endorsement to Keeley. Why do I get the feeling former chairman John Stafstrom, a Grogins supporter, is feeling pretty good?
In the state senate primary, Anthony Musto held off a charge by Marilyn Moore who took the city from the endorsed candidate. Moore defeated him in the North End, including a 303-177 win at Blackham. She also took Black Rock by a close margin. But Musto ran up large numbers in Trumbull, his home town, to pull ahead by roughly 200 votes. Moore conceded to Musto before midnight. Musto will face Republican State Sen. Rob Russo in November.
Other results: Jim Himes runs up a lopsided win over Lee Whitnum. In State House races incumbent Andres Ayala easily defeated Lydia Martinez, Ezequiel Santiago won big over Chico Rivera and Sly Salcedo, and State Rep. Chris Caruso won handily over City Councilman Carlos Silva.
Hey, everyone, more than 4,000 pageviews today, by far the most active day on OIB. Thank you!
Any numbers on Moore and Musto in BPT?
What I’m hearing is Musto won big in Trumbull and Monroe but we have to wait to see Bridgeport’s numbers.
Lennie,
Don’t think you’re playing to an empty house … check the number of hits.
Congratulations to Mrs. Nachem! Also, good going “BTDT”. You called it, perfect score. T.K.–What can I say? You fought hard for your candidate, but a bet is a bet. Just tip the doorman.
donj–you did well too! Moore called Musto to congratulate him on his victory.
Longfellow came out very strong for Auden. Turnout there was pretty high; and I told you Auden was doing well at Central.
Just don’t count Moore out yet; I heard she won AB big.
A night of very mixed feelings–
My guy won big, about 70% to 30%. No one can touch Chris in his district. Any thoughts that Chris’ political star is waning should now be put to rest once and for all. Winning is nice. Winning big is even better.
I’m also glad Ayala won big. I think he has real potential to grow as a legislator this term. He also had the benefit of an excellent organizer running his campaign. Nice work Rachel.
The word from the Moore campaign is she has lost by somewhere between 100 and 300 votes, depending on the final AB count. This is a tough loss but a huge moral victory for Moore. This was her first time out and she almost pulled it off. She will definitely be back. Well done Marilyn.
I’m sorry Salcedo didn’t pull it out. But as with Moore, this was his first time out and he’ll be back.
My biggest disappointment is Keeley’s loss. He was there for us (the Caruso campaign) last year and that made him a target. I’ll save the Monday morning quarterbacking as to just why I think Keeley lost for another day. Right now I’ll just say, Bob I’m sorry you lost and I wish you well.
I would also like to congratulate Grogins on a job well done. Auden you and your team worked hard and you earned your victory. Danny and Dave B.–good job.
A special tip of the hat to donj. You were on the money at Longfellow.
That’s it for me for Tsunami Tuesday.–Goodnight to all.
Tsunami Tuesday has passed and here is the aftermath…
Auden Wins: This was a shocker. Bob had really hard workers on his team like Hector Diaz (Hector Diaz and hard work are like oil and water).
Ayala Wins: I guess uncle Tito got a major ass whooping by nephew. It wasn’t even close. Those two need to kiss and make up. The town committee election was a total fluke.
Santiago Wins: This wasn’t a surprise. Let’s see what Eze E does in Hartford.
Caruso Wins: After kicking his ass Chris Caruso sent little Carlito to his room so that he can play with his twig and berries. Carlos you need to have REAL soldiers if you want to go to war!
Musto Wins: Who Cares? I voted for Moore.
I guess Super Mario took some huge lumps tonight. Somewhere on Brooklawn ave John Stafstrom is smiling having a martini.
I would like to first congratulate Auden on her win. And honestly I will not be voting for Musto in November. I’m voting for Rob Russo who is from Bridgeport. Musto went to his rich friends in Trumbull and Monroe to get this win. He lost Bridgeport, he did not campaign in Bridgeport so yeah hello Rob you got my vote. And back to Auden like I said they ran a great campaign in Black Rock. Danny Roach was all over Bpt. I was shocked to learn all my family members voted for Auden at Central. Why was Central so close? And I must say Longfellow was the other shock the turnout there was very good. Who was working at Longfellow to get out the vote for Grogins??? Well I really feel Musto will not do well in Bridgeport come November.
Thanks to all the OIB bloggers for keeping me up-to-date on Tsunami Tuesday. It was very enlightening reading all the comments.
I voted for Moore too. I was just shocked that Musto seemed to have nobody out in Bridgeport. I guess he’s just banking on Trumbull and Monroe to pull him through this election. Too bad I liked Moore. I hope she comes back
I saw Musto on News12. Is it me or were some of the women having a botox party right before they hit the cameras?
YEA!!! AUDEN!!! People agreed with the change that needed to be made. Keeley was not entitled to this seat just because of his tenure. As the old motto says “Inspect what you expect”. Obviously, upon inspection, voters didn’t like what they saw from Keeley. Congratulations Auden. You worked exceptionally hard and you deserve it.
Thanks guys for saying I was right. I told everybody Roach was doing hard work for Auden over here. Longfellow turnout was great. I am just mad Moore lost and she won the city she won almost every precinct in Bridgeport. I really think I might vote for Russo as well. Russo should be happy Musto won because Bridgeport will vote for Rob. There is no way in hell Musto gets my vote in November he is for the people of Trumbull and I sure know he doesn’t give two flying f**ks about Bpt. Vote Rob RUSSO.
OIB fans:
It was a great run…I learned a lot from all of you, more from some than others.
Congratulations to Ezequiel and his campaign team! Thanks to Chico and his crew for a spirited race.
See all you all around the town…
Just returned from a jaunt to Bridgeport; an interesting night! Keeley lost his footing and it’s really not surprising, he outlived his usefulness and I wish the new lady Auden well. I understand she worked very hard and deserved to win. As far as the Musto/Moore situation, I don’t know either of them, but it’s surprising to hear the sour grapes from some postings on here who would prefer to see a democrat lose to a republican, who from what I’m told, wouldn’t support a minimum wage increase or a decrease in state gas taxes. That’s no way for a good democrat to think, and it was very dignified of Ms. Moore to concede to the winner. I’m assuming some of the people posting on here are young fledgling politicians and they need to learn how to put wounded feelings aside and support the winner. What if Hillary supporters decided to support McCain instead of Obama? You have to get on board with the democratic candidate. Like it or not, we are all in this together, no room for sore losers in politics. So please rethink your stance on supporting a republican, no matter who they are, they are no help to the poor or middle class, you don’t want to find out the hard way. Remember how little your republican governor does for urban cities, especially Bridgeport. Having a republican senator from Bridgeport is not in your best interest, so put away the bruised egos and do the right thing.
Lydia Martinez, the people have spoken on the East Side. You never cared about the people you were supposed to represent. You cared only about getting your family a job with the city. The East side has many challenges and the residents need a honest politician, who will fight in Hartford for their constituents.Congratulations Andres for a job well done.
Well, there you have it, late for her funeral Grogins, beats Keeley. And now she definitely, depending who she B/S’s in Hartford, has a chance to maybe get that judgeship in the future, with this on her resume! Ayala did what was expected since Lydia’s time has come and gone basically. And I could care less about Musto or Moore, because neither can beat Russo in Nov. State Rep. Caruso did what was expected in beating Silva. Also as expected, per autopilot Dem. political party voters, Santiago wins big in the #3 stooges, #130th State Rep. primary! No info. on Clemens/Stewart race or “I was a Union Rep.” Gomes contest either? Regardless, it’s just the first act of a two-year comedy play coming from Bpt. to Hartford. It will be interesting to read the critic’s review from time to time!
I’m happy for Chris Caruso, especially since I am of the opinion that his political shine has begun to wane. Had it not been for the fact that Finch is such a complete dud, he might not have done so well in his district. A citywide test may yield different results.
Salcedo…I’m disappointed. I want people like him in office. The trend is clear. The people are fed up with machine politics. I thought he would have a chance. Next time.
I am absolutely delighted that Keeley has been sent packing. The worst thing that happened to this town was when he was first elected. He should pack up his bag of crap and move to Waterbury where he belongs. 25 years of self-serving nothing with frequent allegations of misconduct. Bye Bye Bob. Hope you hear from the FBI real soon. Jersey is a nice place to spend some time contemplating your next move.
Grogins. You don’t deserve to be in office. Plan on hearing from me often especially if I see you becoming Stafstrom’s popinjay.
Hi Mojo:
Stewart dropped his challenge of Clemens several weeks ago. Gomes had no primary.
Kelly and Keeley have to be kidding me. They are magnanimous in congratulating Grogins. Kelly here and Keeley in the Conn Post.
Grogins is quoted in the Post with a vagina-like comment that “I’ll do more in 2 years than he did in 25 years.” I hope she is pretty good as scrubbing legislative toilets up there because that’s the first committee assignment she is going to receive. The second committee we will be dishing out is the dishwashing segment followed by shining Chris Donovan’s shoes and kissing his ass for the next 2 years. Pretty sad when you have to sound like a sore winner.
It’s okay The Bridgeport Kid you can tell me Up Yours Bridgeport! I can take it. But that’s what they are going to be saying to your Little Miss Sunshine up in Hartford
It was time for a change, it still is.
The bad thing about primaries is that it splits us apart. What was said, what is done, about who and to who, should be forgotten.
It’s time to move forward.
We have democrats to elect in November and we have a city to move forward.
Congratulations to Auden and all her supporters. This was a hard-fought campaign on both sides and no hard feelings. That’s why we call these things a contest. Thanks to all of Bob’s supporters and thanks to Bob Keeley for his many years of service and friendship.
Sly Salcedo did pretty well considering he was a one-man band out there.
The Santiago campaign did a terrible thing in attacking José “Chico” Rivera, portraying him as being too sick to be able to serve. “Chico” is a Semper-Fi guy who has survived a tough year overcoming cancer. This behavior by the Santiago campaign is as low as you can go.
“Let The Good Himes Roll!!”
“Shays It Ain’t So Chris!!!”
Congrats to a real gentleman in Andres Ayala…well deserved destruction…great night for Bill Finch with Ayala and Grogins winning big…huge night for the mayor and a huge night for Hartford as Ayala is the state captitol’s rising star with Chris Donovan firmly in Andres’ corner!!!
Up On Bridgeport seems to be a little full of himself. Grogins won. That’s terrific for her. I believe she said she ran because she was sick of Keeley and his do-nothing career at the State House. I’ll bet she will do more in 2 years than Keeley did in 25. Keeley did nothing noteworthy in 25 years. But I wonder who the hell Up on Bridgeport thinks he is…”The second committee we will be dishing out is the dishwashing segment followed by shining Chris Donovan’s shoes and kissing his ass for the next 2 years.” That is exactly the type of power grubbing politician that HAS GOT TO BE REMOVED FROM BRIDGEPORT POLITICS.
So does Keeley run as an independent…or a Republican now?
Yahooy…Salcedo got 10 votes in his own council district. I’m not trying to throw salt in the wound here…but you know jack shit about nada.
OK people, before this gets out of hand, can we all please take Pat Crossin’s advice and put the primaries behind us and start looking toward November? There is much work to be done and Dem. on Dem. sniping is not what we need right now.
This was in the ct post today and I would like to commend the officers and union officials who are willing to put themselves out there to speak on what they believe in. Too bad the other union leaders of the city are too far up the admin’s ass to speak up for their members!
I wonder if the people of the City of Bridgeport were asked to vote today if they would conclude a vote of no confidence in the police officers.
I wouldn’t count Keeley out. Grogins won by a very few votes, thanks to the street money Stafstrom and Finch put out there. That’s their style. Keeley will probably run on some other line and she won’t win in the general. Keeley would win the U’s. Maybe he’ll show up on Bridgeport First.
Also, how much of the taxpayer’s time will she use defending child killers?
First, thank GOD this primary is over. Can we finally get to the business of building b’port?
Second, aboost, I agree, let’s see the vote of no confidence in our illustrious police.
Third, johnb, Auden hubby and friend…mmmmmm sounds interesting to watch but not my thing.
FedUpWithCityHall: I’m fed up with the recent news coming out of the Police Department and their record of overtime and the grand rape of Bridgeport.
I couldn’t care less about their “no confidence” vote. To start with, most of them aren’t Bridgeport residents and don’t contribute one iota to Bridgeport’s coffers. They do nothing but rape the treasury which is running on “empty”.
Up On Bridgeport is definitely full of himself. That’s all he has to go on these days: his boutique job in New London was eliminated due to budget cuts. So what was New London’s loss and Bridgeport’s gain is now Bridgeport’s albatross. After a (too) brief vacation from the arrogant, self-important ranting and raving about how much International Performing Arts has done for Black Rock, just as we were becoming comfortable with the thought that the Black Rock (non) Art Center was history, Joe “Up Yours, Bridgeport” Celli is back in town.
And most hearty congratulations to Auden Grogins and everyone that assisted in her electoral efforts.
Kid:
“After a (too) brief vacation from the arrogant, self-important ranting and raving about how much International Performing Arts has done for Black Rock, just as we were becoming comfortable with the thought that the Black Rock (non) Art Center was history, Joe “Up Yours, Bridgeport” Celli is back in town.” – PLEASE SAY IT ISN’T SO.
“Kelly and Keeley have to be kidding me. They are magnanimous in congratulating Grogins. Kelly here and Keeley in the Conn Post.” Can you believe the arrogance of this prick?! Congratulating the victor is good sportsmanship, Joe, you stupid asshole. You weren’t even in the race and you’re a sore loser.
It is, Con. He ain’t got nowhere else to go. Now we’re stuck with the arrogant prick. His non-art center is edging toward extinction and ol’ Joe “I’ll get the Volunteers to do it for free” Celli will be carrying on like Chicken Little, pointing to the sky and screeching “It’s falling! It’s falling!”
“John from Black Rock” I find it strange when you wrote “before this gets out of hand, can we all please take Pat Crossin’s advice and put the primaries behind us and start looking toward November. “John from Black Rock”, I ran in a primary against Pat Crossin and Auden Grogins in 1997 and after I lost like a man I held my hand out to Pat Crossin to congratulate him on his victory; he refuse to shake my hand and just walked away.
One of the reasons that I ran (but not the only reason) was the fact that I was an elected officer of the firefighters union and we were doing what the police union did Tuesday, to protest the fact that firefighters had gone 3 years without a contract. The men and women of the Bridgeport Fire Department put their lives on the line every day and all we wanted was an honest day’s pay for an honest day of work. We were looking for those elected council members to asked the mayor why the firefighters had gone 3 years without a contract.
As an elected officer of the firefighters union at that time, I had a duty to look out for the best interest of my members. The City Council members never showed any concern for the issues confronting firefighters.
Forget Celli. The only reason he’s able to buy Wonder Bread is because Keeley kept him in the gravy loop. No more Keeley…no more Celli. It’s a good thing. The 2nd real step in getting the bogus bunch of baloney bundlers out of Dodge. Putting Russo into office was the first.
I hear the budget at the outfit where Keeley allegedly has his “day job” just went down by $65,000.
Caruso kept Celli in the gravy loop too. Too bad that that “Arts Tzar” patronage job Caruso promised Celli didn’t work out.
And hey…Caruso still has Celli’s nonprofit email list for future campaigns. Caruso sure is one savvy machinist faux-progressive piece o’ turd.
Yahooy- is Chris still getting his 10K paycheck/shakedown from the Columbus Day Parade?
Could I hire him to do a parade for you? Even idiots need their celebrations too…
Anna
You’re full of shit.
Hi Ron – My point was just that now is the time to elect a solid Dem. majority at every level of government and we can only do that by being unified. Pat Crossin just happened to be the first to make that point today and I agreed with it. If he did not follow his own advice in the past then shame on him. But right now the stakes are too high for us to be fighting amongst ourselves.
If’n I’m full of shit it is because of the copious amounts of BS I and others ingest from your deviant misleading entries on this blog…
I wish JFBR had said “…now is the time to elect a solid group of highly skilled elected officials at every level of government who are capable and competent enough to meet the forthcoming challenges and bring Bridgeport the prosperity that awaits…” Instead JFBR wants to elect a Solid Democrat Majority. Well, JFBR. we have had a Solid Democrat Majority for the past 30 years and look where we are. Maybe we should consider electing the right people based upon their individual ability to get the job done honestly and skillfully rather than electing someone based only upon party affiliation. Just a thought…but a damn good one.
“anna // Aug 13, 2008 at 12:00 pm
If’n I’m full of shit…”
Who are you…Granny Clampett???
aboost – If there were municipal elections this year I’d agree with you. But at the state and federal level Republicans have been killing working- and middle-class people. I’m a liberal Democrat and I believe we need a solid veto-proof Dem. majority if we are to have any hope of turning this state and country around.
Again, I’ll concede you have a point as far as Bpt is concerned. But, at the state and federal level we have to have that solid Dem. majority.
I just want to thank Sly Salcedo and Marilyn Moore for their spirited campaigns in this primary. I liked them both and hope they decide to stay involved. I’d like to see them run for some other position next year. Looking forward to supporting Bridgeport’s slate of candidates this November.
John from Black Rock:
I can respect your liberal leanings but to suggest that solid democratic majorities equals turning things around is pure bull. Bill Clinton was successful because he had a republican congress. Rell is successful with a democratic assembly. Divided gov’t can work with people who care to make it work and don’t just care about jobs for themselves and families (duh, b’port!). May I suggest you begin to look at issues and solutions before looking at party labels. I think we’d all benefit.
I want to congratulate Anthony Musto on his win. He will be the best thing that happened to Bridgeport in long time. He will know how to work with everyone and build unity, yet he will not let Stafstrom or Finch push him around. It is time for us to heal and get to work on the opposition in November. Anthony will not vote like Russo to take away money from the towns, $1 millon for Bpt. 350K from Trumbull and 200k from Monroe. He cares about providing health care for everyone. He has an honest and forthright treasurer unlike Russo who has a man who was suspended from the bar for breach of fiduciary duty and stealing from his client. You can tell a lot abut a person by the company they keep.
independent soul – Here are few issues just off the top of my head. Universal health care, protection and preservation of Social Security, living wage legislation, labor rights in general, gay, lesbian and transgender rights, women’s reproductive rights, gun control, strong support for the environment, ending the Iraq war ASAP, repealing Bush’s tax cuts for the obscenely rich, and on and on. These are issues all liberal Democrats and most moderate Democrats support. These are also issues most Republicans oppose.
Unless the Dems. have a solid majority there will be no real movement on any of these. As it is, there are no guarantees that some Dems. won’t go the way of Joe Lieberman but without a dem. majority as a starting point there is no hope at all.
Con. If you look at the OT list then you will see that it isn’t the brave officers that patrol our dangerous streets getting all of this OT money. I am commending them and their union for speaking out. In this admin it is the bosses and supervisors who get the top pay and the most OT. The little workers (officers and municipal workers who do most of the work) get little pay compared to the top dogs. OT has to be approved. Who is approving all of this OT? The admin is looking for scapegoats instead of ‘fessing up that they mismanaged our money. Cheers to any union who fights for their members.
Okay, this is baloney about Russo taking away a million dollars from Bridgeport. I called Russo’s office (860-240-8800) to ask him what clicheBPT keeps talking about and his aide explained to me an extra conveyance tax was created during CT’s budget crisis in 2001 which made people pay both a state tax and a larger local tax when they sold their homes. It was created to be a temporary tax just to get us through the budget crisis, then it was supposed to be removed. So Russo said he supported the government fulfilling its promise to eventually get rid of the tax. First, he wanted to repeal just the state end of the tax and save the local tax so as not to put any added hardship on the cities and towns, but the Democrats wouldn’t even allow that proposal to be voted on. He also supported waiving the tax for people who were near bankruptcy or “upside down” on the loan on their homes. That’s just added punishment for government to tax people who are trying to sell their homes to avoid possible foreclosure. So in my mind, this would actually help a lot of people in BPT. The Democrats shot that idea down too and refused to allow it to be voted on in the floor. In the end, Russo voted against renewing the local extension of the tax because he believed government should keep its promise to phase out the tax, but he couldn’t get them to and they brought the tax back again. Plus, you’re crazy if you think the city will make a million dollars off that tax. Who the hell is selling their home in this market? Just thought I’d shed a little light on this topic and see what it’s about ’cause it’s been mentioned a good amount. And as far as Musto and the company he keeps, what about Ray Baldwin? The two of them supported an 11.3% property tax increase in Trumbull, how the hell does that help anybody, cliche?
Yo, clichebpt, what company do you keep? Russo’s gonna turn Musto into mush.
Vote Russo. The rich people in Trumbull voted for Musto. He could not even get 40% in the city. Many Dems are voting for Russo.
Clichebpt is right on the money.Without ALL DEMS we are going nowhere. Unite-support all the DEMS it is the only way out of our mess. Anyone told to vote for Russo or who votes for Russo should be ashamed and removed from the party if they comply. This is the year-don’t spoil it because of the interests of others. Support your party candidates.
“Grogins is quoted in the Post with a vagina-like comment that “I’ll do more in 2 years than he did in 25 years.” I hope she is pretty good as scrubbing legislative toilets up there because that’s the first committee assignment she is going to receive.”
Who does this misogynistic piece of crapola think he is? It is obvious from the above statement, and many others he has made on this blog, that Joe “Up On Bridgeport” Celli is an oinking, certified male chauvinist hypocritical bigot. He seems to be obsessed with other peoples’ sexual proclivities. (Ever notice how he blogged of turning my ass out on Fairfield Avenue?) He’s all done. Celli’s brief fling with Caruso (a consumated relationship without benefit of clergy) was a “marriage” of convenience. Say what you will about Chris Caruso–and there’s plenty to say–he’s not a dumbass. He knew Celli was a con man from the get-go. Now that Keeley is out, ol’ Joe has no one left to pimp off of.
And for all I’ve said about Mr. Caruso in the past, I congratulate him on his primary victory. He serves his constituents well.
If I haven’t done so already, please let me tell Keeley how absolutely delighted I am that the people have spoken and he is out on his ass.
With all due respect…
…for which there is none!
Thanks for clearing that up Lennie, I was not sure on the political happenings in the East End since most of the news and blogging has been about Keeley and Grogins. Grogins is that much closer to updating her resume portfolio for a judgeship someday with daddy’s help! Also, expect no real changes from this “possible” new legislation that may end up in Hartford. Now as far as the vote of no confidence towards the Bpt. P/D Chief & Mayor, I would only say that basically (BOTH) have not been in their perspective positions long enough to deserve that decision. It seems that the lack of any real dialog between management & the union on contract talks and P/D over-time has really soured relations in general. And last but again never least, I will be voting for Shays & if he was in my district, “Russo” as well in Nov. As far as the presidency is concerned, I’m still waiting to see who the candidates pick for V/P; then I will decide who I feel will be the best man for the job, not the best party!
BigCity, this just goes to show you how uniformed Russo is. Either Russo intentionally misled you, or was totally misinformed; I don’t know which is scarier. A quick internet trip to the Legislative History of the Real Estate Conveyance Tax, available to anyone at www .cga.ct.gov/2002/olrdata/pd/rpt/2002-R-0213.htm, proves beyond question that his statement is false. The history shows that the legislature adopted the conveyance tax to supplant the federal Documentary Stamp Tax, which expired on December 31, 1967. It modeled the conveyance tax after the stamp tax. In 1967 Representative Weicker stated that the tax would “enable municipalities to have additional funds for whatever they see fit,” but hoped they would use the revenue to acquire open spaces. The tax would also help tax assessors do their jobs. Until then, assessors relied on the federal stamp tax to determine how much people paid for the properties. Other than state aid and property taxes, the real-estate conveyance tax is the only major sources of revenue the city has.
Further the vote was not whether to do away with the tax but to lower it to pre-2001 levels. EVERYTHING has gone up since to 2001. One million dollars isn’t easy replace and with the City looking at close to $20 million I suppose you don’t care if goes up another million or so. If they can’t make it up guess where they will find it. IN YOUR POCKETS with property tax and cuts in services. So that is the real story, go check it out on the CT general assembly web site.
PS Russo voted on the City portion. There was no legislation before the Legislature to deal with just the state portion. Just because he wanted it, doesn’t change the fact THAT HE VOTED TO TAKE THE MONEY AWAY!
One last spew of venom after the election. I will be starting my own blog in the coming weeks.
So much for the Mario being able to Deliver candidates. He got his ass kicked all day yesterday. He better not give that crock of shit line “I didn’t work for _______” because it’s bullshit. If he didn’t want this to happen he shouldn’t have broken the tie for Keeley among other things.
Congrats to the winners!!
Here is a little piece of advice for Carlos “Got my ass reamed with Astroglide” Silva. If you want to run against Caruso in 2010 it’s wise not to shit on the 135th Town Committee you dipshit moron buffoon. It’s not like the endorsement helped you any. Keep up the Bad Work on the council. You are probably blaming everyone but yourself for this loss. Grow Up.
After the dismal showing by Anthony Musto in Bridgeport, he needs to take his campaign manager and smack him in the face. If the guy ran a soup kitchen during the great depression nobody would eat.
With that being said I think Musto can pull it off. He just needs the right people and not numskulls like Dennis “Fuck Finch” Scinto” and Amy Paniccia*.
*I know it’s AmyMarie I just want to piss you off. You must be hanging out with Dennis because you motherfuck Michelle Lyons all day.
I am a fan of Keeley so I am disappointed that he lost. Auden winning proves that you can skirt the IQ level between a Down’s Syndrome patient and meth addict to become a state rep.
In what was the non-shocker of the day, Andres Ayala defeated Lydia “Gil Hernandez’s Bitch” Martinez in the east side.
Ezequiel trounced Chico and the Sly in the south end. I hope Chico is doing better with his “Poor Health” and that Sly can open up a drug cafe in the Brooklawn section of Bridgeport.
I think I covered it all.
Foxwoods is having a special one week engagement of
WHEEL OF WHORE!!!
G____ EV____
Valery Sorrentino is going to star in Goonies 2: The Curse of Dr. Evans’ turd.
I want to send a special hello to all of my fans in Labor Relations, The Health Department, City Attorney and Public Works. I know you enjoy my posts. I will be starting my own blog where I will spew venom on the regular and not taint Lennie’s blog.
You can email me at Billhicks64@gmail.com. See you all very soon. I am also available to guest blog for any website.
clichebpt and junkyarddog – I agree with you both about party unity after primaries. The ultimate goal should be to unseat the republican senator. It’s disappointing to read some of the postings regarding voting for a republican because their democratic primary candidate lost the election. I posted some advice to them last night. I have to laugh when they criticize Musto for being “rich”, well let me tell you, I remember Senator Russo’s father and grandfather from years ago when I lived in Bridgeport and they are drowning in money. The whole family is rich beyond belief, so it’s unlikely the kid is sympathetic to the plight of the poor/middle class in Bridgeport. He wouldn’t have a clue, and his actions thus far in Hartford have proven my point. I hope these young politicos come to their senses and reconsider voting for Russo just because they have sour grapes over their candidate’s loss.
Bill Hicks – you certainly are a colorful and witty writer – I don’t know the people you are referring to, but you seem to have the inside dope on them. I’m guessing you aren’t a big fan of any of them (just joshing)!
Bill Hicks,
I have a message for you from the Health Department, Labor Relations, City Attorney’s Office and Public Facilities…as Yahooy stated to Political Addict “GO FUCK YOURSELF!”
Bill Hicks:
Find your blogs extrememly colorful, however, I can’t seem to understand your obsession with DePrimo and his friends. If you are a women, might you have been rejected by DePrimo, if not and you are in fact a man, sounds like you have some real issues with all women. Must have started from the days you were in the womb, not saying much on how you feel for your own mother. So sorry that you had a pathetic childhood. You sound real scary – wouldn’t want to meet you in a dark alley or in the light of day for that matter. FREAK!
Trailblazer- Thanks for the greeting. If I am not mistaken I heard it was your birthday today. Everybody wish Trailblazer a good one. As for me, I’ll be reminiscing about all that sex I had with your mom nine months before you were born. Happy Birthday, old chum!
What to do- I had a great childhood unlike trailblazer’s. He must have been one of those kids that Sally Struthers used to beg people for money for. It’s a damn shame.
what to do – can’t help doing a little psychoanalysis here on Bill Hicks. Based on his style of writing, Hicks is a male. Not likely he has issues relating to the female sex or his mother, as he doesn’t limit his criticism (admittedly a bit harsh) to women only. He’s obviously disgruntled with his co-workers as well as with whom I deem to be local politicians. He’s very witty and relatively intelligent, but he is strongly oppinionated. He may have difficulty dealing with authority figures, but I don’t believe he poses any physical threat to anyone, in his case, the pen is mightier than the sword. I’m assuming you are one of the people he refers to in his posting and my educated guess is you are a female. The best way to defuse someone who is taking swipes at you is to ignore them, as I said in posting a few days ago – silence speaks volumes. All you are doing with a rebuttal is contributing to another retort, and he won’t disappoint you. No offense intended here to anyone, just a little professional overview based only on the content of the postings I’ve read.
Hicks – your last posting certainly makes you a master of snappy comebacks. I wouldn’t want to be on your bad side as you certainly don’t mince your words.
Velvet underground
Your professional advice is appreciated. However, I really don’t agree when you say his pen is mightier than his sword. I think he hides behind his pen, and his pen can be rather harsh. I think his issues are deep rooted, and in my experience I feel he can be harmful. He does bash many, but his lack of respect for women really irks me. He likes to refer to them in demeaning ways, therefore, I feel he may be sexually inadequate. He needs to disrespect women to get off. Maybe we can find him on state street at night picking up prostitutes. Feel sorry for those women if they run into him.
what to do – we must agree to disagree. There is no way to determine sexual dysfunction based merely on the postings. He bashes everyone equally, but you’re just taking it to heart, perhaps because you know he is referring to you. In which case, you of course would feel “threatened.” Disrespectful? No question about it, but suffice to say, he strongly dislikes you among several others, both male and female. That in itself, does not indicate a propensity for physical violence. Many people “hide behind a pen” – including you and myself. Some very famous authors also use what are known as “pen names.” You and trailblazer, whom I assume is a friend of yours, are the only ones who respond to the insults; don’t allow yourself to be consumed about another person’s opinion of you, its only that – an opinion.
Enough of my psychological outpourings tonight – I usually get paid big bucks for this. On a parting note for now, relax everyone, life is too short to take so seriously. Learn how to laugh it off. Once you allow someone to get under your skin, you are their captive.
I’m confused.
you aren’t confused summer wind; you’re just providing a little comic relief – good for you!
velvet underground:
I agree with you that I let him get under my skin. I don’t think he strongly dislikes me, because I don’t think he ever made comments regarding me. I just don’t find humor in having him call others whores and talk about their bowel movements. That I do find sick, and I am sure others agree with me. The fact that you are making excuses for him makes me wonder what kind of a nut you are! If you get big bucks for your bullshit you have just made me realize what a fucked up world it really is out there.
what to do- I have nothing against you and I am sure you are a nice person. I just have dealt with some of those people and they are not so nice.
The reason why I talked about Dr. Evans’ huge dumps are because it’s a fact. I only deal with the facts folks!
Ask anyone in that office and to a man/woman they will tell you that she drops huge rancid venomous bowel movements that the Bridgeport Haz-Mat team was close to being deployed to the Health Department.
I received a call from a 138th district town committee member. He told me that Mario Testa fired a dishwasher the other day because he did a poor job keeping the plates clean. Mario has a policy where all dishwashers must keep plates as shiny if not shinier than Dennis Scinto’s head.
Just for the record I have never threatened or will do any physical harm to anyone. I think what I say is funny(albeit at the expense of others) and I hope you do to. I may be guilty of bruising some egos and hurting some feelings.
Bill Hicks:
You seem to have an obsession with Dr. Evans, I wonder if you heard that she will be leaving the Health Dept. by the end of this month. I heard this rumor last week, but I am not sure if it’s true. I do agree with you on one note – I am a nice person, and like you I have a real issue with some of the bullshit that has been going on at the health dept, and with v.s.
Sorry you are upset what to do – I don’t make excuses for anyone, and I certainly did not defend what he posted. I simply stated you should ignore him if he offends you, and that’s hardly defending him. I offered a rebuttal to your analysis about him being sexually dysfunctional, picking up prostitutes and harming them, etc. By posting that, you fed right into him and now you and he are on equal ground, I will hold my ground that he personally attacked you in his posting or you wouldn’t be taking personal affront to it. And I do get big bucks for psychoanalysis, and that’s because I’m good at what I do. Meanwhile, I’m going to have a nice relaxing glass of wine, you should relax as well.
velvet underground:
Maybe you have been hitting the sauce a bit too much tonight. If you read his earlier blogs, he doesn’t even mention me. I jumped in with my comments because I felt he was extremely cruel to the others he mentioned. If you are that successful in what you do – making the big bucks as you say – take this bit of advice – stay off the blog, it’s not going to add to your bank account. For the record – I don’t drink wine, so you can have my glass.
What to do- I am the czar of the city. I know a lot. Don’t get me started with “The Mask”. She has run Liuna into the ground. All she does is take care of her goons.
She also reminds me of the other Rocky. The one from that VH1 Show.
blog.vh1.com/2008-04-17/she-is-rocky-hear-her-roar
Bill Hicks – I believe this is her last go-around with LIUNA, and I think she will destroy it when she is done with her 3-year term. She is such a control freak – that if she can’t run the union, she would rather see it die.
v.s. and her cigar-smoking guido husband need to stop what they are doing to others. I would like to assist in exposing them for the slime that they really are.
Make up your mind what to do, what to do! Read your previous postings to Hicks, eg. #69 – what a big difference between that and your last posting where you are attempting to befriend him by finding common ground. Indeed, this is why I make the big bucks, because some things such as this are so transparent. Now I’m your “new enemy” for offering advice to you as to how to overcome your animosity. Well, if in fact, the two of you have struck a truce, then it worked. Good night and pleasant dreams.
velvet underground:
You should never get personally involved in your cases. Who knows – maybe you are the alter-ego of Bill Hicks! Sweet Dreams!
Now you know that’s pure nonsense, and I am professional enough not to get personally involved in my cases. You, however, are not one of my cases, if you were I would have considered prescribing something for you, since your emotions seem to consistently get the better of you. Bill Hicks – you certainly brought the best out in what to do, and your postings certainly livened things up tonight.
It’s a sad day in Bridgeport, indeed. I would love to be there when Grogins tries to talk about a property tax cap to the house democrats and they laugh her all the way back to her career of defending child rapists. That being said, voter ignorance and stupidity won this week in Bridgeport. It goes to show that all you need to do in America is talk about something that you can’t deliver on (property tax cap) and all the ignorant sheeple say “That sounds about right. Let’s lower taxes for the sake of lowering taxes.” How retarded.
What to do, Trailblazer:
It seems to me that Mr. Hicks is trying to feed off people by making his comments perhaps thinking he is entertainment for this blog. I personally find him to be offensive, which is why I for one wouldn’t give the satisfaction of even responding to his remarks.
Let’s all do the right thing and ignore him, and hopefully he will go away. Maybe he can go on with his own blog, and perhaps talk and play with himself! I really don’t think he would have a big fan club!
Remember, do not get into one on one with these people. Stay focused and blog the facts rather than personal. By doing this you show your true professionalism, and expose their true maturity level.
I for one love the exposure political addict blogged a few days back, which was a testament of your blogs and the B.S. going on with the “Mask” and the L union. GOOD WORK! Your blogs along with others were right on base about just how this B.M. in the Health Dept is. Maybe it is time to start bringing up that Husband of hers and the things he has done which rumor has it have backfired and in a big way! Rumor has it someone who has been put out of work for an extended vacation will be coming back REAL SOON! I for one would hate to be “Guido” when this gentleman returns to work. Don’t ya just love that Guido has to now face him??? God is Good, Revenge is Sweet!
I would like to take credit for calling V.S. “The Mask.”
I think that the Mayor should get rid of the health department as a whole.
He has Warren Blunt as director of Environmental Health. There hasn’t been anything healthy about Warren since 1972.
He should hire folks based on qualifications and not based on who is District Leader and who is giving the best humdinger.
Velvet Underground- I think you have described me to a T. Great work. Hopefully you can join me on my new blog. I am looking for suggestions for the name.
Email me @ billhicks64@gmail.com
It’s no secret that POLITICAL ADDICT really pissed me off the other day when a threat was made to include someone on the layoff list simply because POLITICAL ADDICT disagreed with that person’s political positions.
So. I called the federal authorities to inquire as to whether or not POLITICAL ADDICT’S threats constituted a violation of federal law. This is what I was told:
The law is only broken when the threat is actually carried out. If the person to whom POLITICAL referred was actually placed on the layoff list as a direct result of POLITICAL ADDICT’S insistence, then the law would, indeed, be violated and many, many people within and without the current mayor’s administration would be liable for criminal prosecution.
I subsequently learned that another aspect of federal law is violated by POLITICAL ADDICT’s threats. The person to whom the threat was directed had his or her CIVIL RIGHTS violated on a broad range of law. The fact that a threat was published, albeit anonymously, does nonetheless impinge on the object of the threat’s rights with significant punitive consequence.
I urge whomever POLITICAL ADDICT threatened to initiate appropriate action. We are a nation of free people. Our very freedom and rights have been paid for and continue to be paid for by the blood of too many of the finest men and women to have called themselves Americans. It is outrageous that an ignorant political sycophant can violate a person so egregiously simply because of differing political opinions.
We need to rid the political process of those who use their authority for their own personal gain. I think we have begun to do so. I would hope that more people like Russo and Salcedo will step up and push the embedded machinists aside.
There is no room in an honestly managed municipal government for someone like POLITICAL ADDICT who perceives an imaginary self-importance and actually interferes with good order by threatening employees with the loss of employment unless they follow machinist edicts.
This one is going to stay on my screen for a long time. I want justice and I want our municipal government rid of people like POLITICAL ADDICT even if it means half the employees are removed. At least the honest other half will be able to work in an environment where productivity and initiative are rewarded with something other then threats of unemployment.
As long as I am on my political high horse this morning, I would like to comment about another matter that really gets under my skin.
Who the hell does the police union think they are that they would disrupt the Mayor’s charitable golf outing Friday at Fairchild Wheeler with an “Informative Strike”?
Whomever made the decision to do so is a jerk. That event is to be attended by people who wish to alleviate the pain and suffering of others less fortunate than they. The money that can be generated from this event is earmarked to do great good within our community.
Since the announced “Informative Strike” some of the registered attendee have backed out for myriad reasons principally because some of their business are union labor intensive.
So, Mr. Police Union Representative: Do you realize that your actions are taking money away from people who need it very badly?
You could have chosen another venue to make you point which, BTW, I think is valid.
One more thing about this police union baloney.
If you unionists think you are going to influence Finch by your demonstration you are wrong.
Finch does not have the intellectual capacity to understand your issue, contemplate a reasonable solution, nor does he have the ability to put together a plan that would satisfy all concerned.
I’m surprised you don’t see that.
Hello. Anthony Musto here.
I would just like to congratulate Marilyn Moore for doing a great job in this race. She was gracious throughout the whole campaign. There were no negative attacks from either side. We stuck to the issues that matter to the people of the whole district. She told me she would work with me to take the seat back in November. We need good people like her in the Democratic Party and the government at all levels, and I hope she does decide to stay involved.
But the results of the primary didn‘t change anything for the people of the district or the state. We still have high tax and energy bills, healthcare and education concerns, and the challenge to foster economic development and job growth. We can’t afford to keep losing companies like Syntex Rubber that have been doing business in Bridgeport for many years. We must work together to solve our problems.
I’m looking forward to talking about these issues in the next 12 weeks. I hope I’ll have the chance to speak to many of you and hear what you have to say. Thanks.
Bill Hicks violates the #1 Law of the Blogosphere when he solicits people to his yet-to-be-named blog on another person’s blog. Bill Hicks is a classless fool.
I HOPE there’s a HEAVEN but there’s GOT TO BE some kind of HELL for him.
Mr. Musto,
You will hear from me and I hope you will work hard to win back this seat – do not underestimate Russo and Company. I hope Marilyn will work with you. I like her and I hope she stays involved in politics – her ship will come – she is born for it.