From the Foster campaign:
Breaking ranks with the Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee, City Council members Andre Baker and Carlos Silva announced their endorsement of Mary-Jane Foster for mayor of Bridgeport today. Baker has represented the 139th district for six years, and Silva has represented the 136th district for eight years.
“Mary-Jane has a track record of creating jobs, bringing economic development to the city, and a credibility that city government has been missing for the last four years,” stated Silva. “She was responsible for the resurgence of South Main Street with the development of the ballpark and arena and I know she will bring that same passion and determination to the mayor’s office.”
“My constituents want to see results and Mayor Finch has nothing to show after four years in office,” explained Baker. “He made promises four years ago that he would appoint a liaison in his office to work on issues important in my district and that never happened. There’s been no transparency, no collaboration, no dialogue. It’s been incredibly frustrating and four years is long enough. He hasn’t earned the right to be reelected.
“When you’re mayor, you have to be mayor of the whole city, not just the parts you choose. I’ve known Mary-Jane a long time and I know she has the energy to be innovative in implementing her vision for making good things happen in every district,” Baker concluded.
“I give credit to Councilmen Silva and Baker for speaking their minds and for being true to themselves,” Foster said. “Going against Mayor Finch and his Democratic machine takes guts and says a lot about their commitment to doing right by the people they represent. Together, we’re going to continue reaching out to every corner of this city and talking about the issues folks are most concerned about: creating jobs, reforming our schools, and cleaning up City Hall. It’s do-able–it just takes hard work and someone willing to make the tough choices and I’m looking forward to doing just that.”
This is most interesting 12 days from the primary. BOB noticed Councilman Baker was at many of the B & A meetings with probing questions. For someone who is not on that Committee at this time, that’s above and beyond the call of duty, but also a sign his sense of the Council being the only “financial check and balance in the City” is serious. Councilman Silva was prevented from attending many meetings this year around budget time. Know less about him but others of you do.
Maybe the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter in some Districts with special reasons indicating people are looking for change enough to have an opinion; and this is strong enough to get out to vote. Switching may be a sign of grassroots momentum in parts of the City that do not post on this blog.
Amen.
City Council member Andre Baker’s words are so profound, “My constituents want to see results and Mayor Finch has nothing to show after four years in office,” explained Baker. “He made promises four years ago that he would appoint a liaison in his office to work on issues important in my district and that never happened. There’s been no transparency, no collaboration, no dialogue. It’s been incredibly frustrating and four years is long enough. He hasn’t earned the right to be reelected.
“When you’re mayor, you have to be mayor of the whole city, not just the parts you choose.”
The resident of the East End were forgotten again for the past four years.
The dismantling of the Congress Street Bridge was a soft cookie. He removed the scrap but did nothing to replace the old bridge. Congress Street used to be a major traffic artery connecting the East Side to downtown.
*** More independent councilpersons should step up to the plate & commit to endorse “FOSTER!” ***
Like the old Bob Dylan song The Times They Are A-changin.
www .lyricsfreak.com/b/bob+dylan/the+times+they+are+a+changin_20021240.html