If you’re an incumbent in a tough reelection battle a Halloween storm is your worst nightmare. A whole bunch of municipal chief executives in Connecticut are telling their public works directors: “Don’t screw this up!”
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Worse Than Witches, Goblins And Ghosts? A Snow Storm
It’s only a few inches–talking about the snow–Lennie. The best part is the storm hit on a Saturday, not on election day. How can a public-works director screw this one up? Maybe someone forgot to order sand; install the plows on the trucks; forgot how the GPS tracking system works.
There are some benefits in getting snowed on: We can test the quality of the asphalt street paving; The traffic and road lines durability; One can see how quickly the unrepaired roads deteriorate; We can’t see the street litter under snow; And the best part is, we Hispanics will put up our Christmas Lights before Halloween.
589 Bridgeport residents without power as of now.
Thousands in Waterbury.
Joel,
Take a ride on Black Rock Turnpike north of the parkway up to Redding where a wrong braking action or oversteering might put you off the road, through a barrier and into water company property. Road clearing in cold and sloppy weather could be problematic.
In this case Mayor Finch is fortunate, Long Island Sound is a moderating influence on weather patterns. In the summer the Sound keeps things about 5 degrees cooler on average and in winter that difference is about 5 degrees warmer. When Trumbull gets snow, we may get rain or sleet, but it will melt more readily.
Obviously there is room for Public Works to mess up if the plows are not on the trucks or if the crews working are as “green” as those working last year.
Who is Bpt’s PW director? ’nuff said.
WELCOME BACK, KOTTER
At a stoplight in this bad storm and what caught my eye is a sign that said Elect the first Latino mayor. I was like wtf what if Obama said elect the first black president in election signs he would not win the election in 2008. It comes down to message and who the people want not vote for me because I’m Latino, smh, had Torres campaign for that move. I would love to see a Latino mayor but please talk about issues not vote for you ’cause you’re Latino. I would have a problem with a black person doing this as well elect the first black mayor … It just does not sound correct and sounds very desperate. Republicans and Democrats with their foolishness these days … Jeff Kohut seems like the only logical person to vote for Nov 8th.
Hey donj, wasn’t Obama making sure we all knew he was Black and White?
Hey Joel, are you still kissing up to Finch???
donj,
Glad you were driving carefully enough to read the signage posted. Please help me understand your request for “message about issues?” What message will resonate in the multicultural communities speaking some variant of the Spanish language? It certainly would not be about any connection between better schools and voting because the parent accompanying children to school on primary day stayed away from voting by about 90-10% and there were many Latino adults present. Would it be about taxes, the Mayor’s relentless message of “no tax increase” (that holds his Library Tax posting on tax notices up to ridicule)!
So it just might be the name Torres scans the memory in a way Finch, Foster or Kohut does not in a manner similar to Ranger or Cardinal ballplayer names from Colombia, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Mexico, etc. might create favorable identity?
With 80% of our voter public not voting on a regular basis, this should be an interesting experiment. Time will tell.
Again with the Latino sh=#! I want to see the “Latino” flag!!! I have no problem with a candidate’s choice of campaigning, since it’s not what they call themselves, it’s what they call you!!!
*** Sign’s meant for the Latino community, you’re probably voting for Finch anyway so don’t sweat it donj. Besides the election is a wrap with low turnouts expected! *** Hope for the best but prepare for the worst, no? ***
Mojo // Oct 29, 2011 at 7:22 pm
To your posting
Mojo,
And we might as well let donj know there has NEVER been any ethnic diversity, (simply Caucasian after Caucasian of western European heritage) holding the position of Mayor of Bridgeport … Since the city was chartered sometime in 1836.
So I would encourage, support and agree with any effort to get some authentic reflection of Bridgeport’s diversity.
Avoid a wreck … vote for Rick
Nice-sounding slogan … wouldn’t you say?
CAROLANNE, TO YOUR POST:
NO. A MAYOR SHOULD BE FOR ALL THE PEOPLE. RICK MAT BE QUALIFIED BUT DOES NOT REFLECT THE ETHNIC DIVERSITY OF BRIDGEPORT ANY MORE THAN HERMAN CAIN REFLECTS BLACK AMERICA. GET REAL! Mary-Jane Foster had a chance. Torres really doesn’t and never did. He is a really nice guy, though!
Steven Auerbach // Oct 30, 2011 at 11:42am
To your posting
Steve,
Yes, she will have a chance in four years or even before, if they walk Bill out of City Hall in handcuffs sometime soon.
Steven Auerbach // Oct 30, 2011 at 11:42am
I didn’t like it either … not a good slogan. No real rhyme. Or rhythm …
I still like “Anyone But Finch” best out of this whole campaign season.
Well the sign bothered Testa more than Finch. I assume he took that billboard with a grain of salt and I am certain it was hurtful to his ego. I would hate to think he would be walked out of city hall in handcuffs as he has a family and I am not certain what he did was so offensive that “a good smack in the face can’t handle.” I think with all of the development I am hopeful about I do not believe any candidate will be able to go against Finch in four years. We need to be realistic. Would anyone really want to change captains when Bridgeport is finally living up to its Fairfield County status? However, if we are still in the same place in four years, oimg then I think it is over for the city, I mean really over!!! We could do with a lot of development on all four corners of the city and a few cheerleaders touting it. Mary-Jane Foster could have made history and it would have been bold as a write-in candidate. We will never know. What we do know is people are forgiving and in Bridgeport we have short memories. The only things that will save this city are an improved school system and a mega development to put the area to work and give hope to 100,000 cars passing through Bridgeport daily. How much more development can this city really afford to lose to Milford? Shelton? Norwalk and Stamford? Let’s move it!!!
Not one but two Lebanese mayors. Why don’t you stick to Westport history or something else you know about?
Downtowner // Oct 30, 2011 at 11:43 am
To your posting
Down …
Well yes, perhaps you are right. Two Lebanese to stand count for the Latino population of Bridgeport. How silly of me to not know this. Thanks for your thoughtful and kind reminder.
Actually, Lebanese does not stand to count for Latino. The Lebanese fall into the category of Arab Heritage. Which is in fact, technically considered Caucasian, as is Latino. Latino is an ethnicity, not a race. Just sayin’.
Read her post, dumba#% …”caucasian of western european heritage” … but thanks for waking up and checking in. Go back to sleep.
Latino is not an ethnicity, it is a description.
Yes.
All racial (and I don’t understand why anyone would have a problem with a sign such as “Elect the first Latino Mayor,” unless one is looking for reasons to have a problem with it) issues aside, what it really boils down to, for me anyway, is: If you want change, vote for change. We already know how the current script plays out, and if you don’t like the director, try a new one. At the end of the day, it really is that simple–for me.
Once again donj, you are extremely amusing. What issues do you want to know about? Did you ever go talk to Rick personally? Just go vote for the machine and keep things status quo.
Once again, race should never be a reason to vote or vote against someone and if you do not agree with that then there is something wrong with you. My vote is my vote, I vote for whom I feel is the best candidate. I voted for Foster not because I dislike Finch but because I liked what mjf was saying. Obviously we know what the end results were, she lost by a huge margin. If I want to vote for Finch or Kohut, I have a right to and bashing on OIB will not change my vote. Coming on a blog and complaining like babies will not help any candidate win, it’s all about your on the ground work. BEACON2 not because parents sending their kids to school means they vote at that school or they could be coming back. Finch is a very popular man whether you like it or not, and the majority of Foster voters will not be voting for Torres. If anybody were smart they would be looking at Jeff Kohut.
I love it when people are so “unaware” they post the exact thing THEY are doing! Thanks for the laugh, donj! BTW … Complaining like a baby about folks complaining like babies is FUN-NY!!!
donj,
I worked as a “demonstrator,” or in my terms, greeter at the Longfellow School polls on primary day 2011. I have recounted that event in previous posts but you are to be excused if you do not remember what I will guess is but a small detail. And I will admit it was only one school parent population on one day. But I did talk with more than 150 adults who were there for their kids!!!
The point is I was there all day welcoming adults. Not once in that day was there any comment about “I’m voting later” or “I already voted.” And no one was wearing an “I Voted” sticker.
donj, I will state again these adults, parents of primary school children, for some undetermined cause seem to see no connection between voting and getting better education for their children. Perhaps you can assist in finding the answer to that concern of mine? Or possibly you can tell me it is not important they get out and use their vote and explain why?
Popularity for a man can wane when one sees him in operation. For instance, if you believed Mayor Finch supported education in Bridgeport as he said in December 2007, why did he flatline that budget for several years? Why did he make the BOE task of layoffs more difficult by providing a “No Cut” contract for one of the BOE member unions? Why was there knowledge in a few quarters on the plan to “retire the Board” but not across the community as there might be if you operate an open, accountable and transparent government? And why was the long overdue audit not a hotbutton pursued by the Mayor? He has had the bully pulpit for four years … and was party to good relations with State and BRBC principals who paid for that audit.
Yes, groundwork is important in any campaign, doubtless. But so is being able to truthfully comment on the various aspects of your mayoral successes and failures! Passing off the maintenance of inferior City credit ratings, hiding the fact your Pension Plan A payments were below professionally recommended levels, ignoring timely appointments to Boards and Commissions so you can play “gotcha” with members who have a sense of an issue different from the incumbent (and more than 70% of Board and Commission positions are currently vacant or served by those with ‘expired terms’), failure to maintain fiscal watchdogs within the City, funding more than 60 unfilled positions with salary and benefits totaling over $4.5 Million, allowing only three “budget reports” to get to the Council B & A committee in the 2011 fiscal year … these are some of the things that cause me to look beyond celebration and popularity and seek competency, integrity, and a broader view of public interest in Bridgeport on the part of those who are employed, elected, or volunteer to serve more than their self-interest. Time will tell.
Donj,
What issues do you want to know about? From what I’ve seen and heard, Rick thinks the heavy tax burden shouldn’t be placed on the taxpayers the way it is. The city does NO economic development at all. If you were a taxpayer, some of this might ring true to you.
Bottom line is Rick is playing the race card. If Finch or Kohut had signs saying Vote For The White Guy people would be up in arms. I know and like Rick, but whoever he has as advisers are clueless. I think he has 5 or 6 political signs out there, way too confusing.
Hispanic, Latino, or whatever you want to call it, is Caucasian. It’s not a race card Rick Torres is playing, it’s an ethnic card. Depending on how you look at it, speaking to target audiences in the language of their personal ‘hot button” is what I suspect Rick is attempting. Although most campaigns are more cohesive than that, once he hooks the voter’s attention, he probably is issuing a more succinct and homogenous message. What I have deduced is his slogan is “Fed up? Stand up!” Whatever it takes. That’s the way of the politico. ALL of them, including Finch. Kohut may not be that way, but I bet we will never see him win an election either.
Steven Auerbach that’s exactly the point I was trying to make you hit the nail on the head. Mayors should be for all people not just a particular ethnicity or race. Imagine Obama having signs all over the place saying elect the first black president in a state like Virginia that usually votes Republican but he won it in 2008? It would not go well with voters. I don’t wanna see no sign saying vote for me because I’m black, Latino, white or whatever.
I have spoken to number of my Latino friends who will not be voting for Torres. I just have to wonder how effective this will be for Rick.
WHO ARE THESE LATINOS? Is there a membership? Where does one go to become one?
Or do I wait … and someone anoints me one … it’s a substitute for a word they probably would have used in the past. Um … is it praise … or an insult?
Glad to see people agreeing with my point.
And no, I will not vote a straight Democrat ticket, I will go down and vote for John Slater, a Republican!!! For mayor it will be either Kohut or Finch … That right there is not called voting machine, it’s called voting for whom I think is the best out of the bunch so if I vote Finch I will also vote for a Republican, John Slater.
You still haven’t met Rick. I suggest you go to the Harborview and meet him. You might be surprised. As the old axiom says, “Know your enemy, keep him closer than your friends.”
Been there many times already. Too bad you do not live in Bridgeport or vote here.
Why?
I have more sweat and money invested in Bridgeport over the past 37 years then you’ll ever have. I have watched this once-vibrant city fall into such a morass of corruption, inept leadership, economic failure, and infighting that little can be done to rectify it.
Starting with the do-nothing Jasper McLevy who allowed the infrastructure to crumble, Mayor Tedesco whose family made millions on the construction of I-95 and 25/8, John Mandanici whose administration was surrounded by corruption, Lenny Paoletta who allowed downtown to rot, Tom Bucci who did nothing and allowed Testa to take over the city, Mary Moran who wanted to file bankruptcy (and was probably correct, but didn’t realize the power of Testa), Joe Ganim (and family), not much to add to what happened, Fabrizi snorting cocaine and testifying on behalf of a child molester, and now Finch who is singularly and totally inept having taken away monies from Bridgeport (i.e. $1.5 million for a barge terminal that would have provided about 200+ jobs and money for the coffers that are empty), and allowed the likes of Adam Wood to run the day-to-day operations. This is what is in Bridgeport and will remain until some outside entity steps in and starts cleaning house.
Carolanne, it’s the outsiders who know what’s wrong, but it’s the insiders who are to blame.
While I no longer live or work in Bridgeport it doesn’t mean I don’t care or want better for this city. donj … I don’t get your streams of consciousness. It seems you just post to irritate people. And you’re not very good at that.
The only chance Torres would have is if Ms. Curry were working for Finch. Alas she has taken up for Torres making her 0 for 3 this year.
Downtowner:
Your response won’t make Lebanese people Latino.