Marcus Brown, City Council candidate for the West Side 132nd District and Maria Zambrano-Viggiano, candidate for the East Side 136th District have received the endorsement of the Greater Bridgeport Young Democrats. The organization had previously tapped Brown’s running partner Kyle Langan, as well as Pete Spain, council candidate in the 130th District covering Black Rock and portion of the West End. Brown and Langan will face party endorsed Evette Brantley and Rolanda Smith. Zambrano-Viggiano is running with incumbent Alfredo Castillo. Incumbent Joe Casco is waging a challenge. Spain and Christina Smith have qualified to challenge Scott Burns and Rowan Kane, the organization’s vice president. The Democratic primary is September 12.
Kane opted against seeking the endorsement after the Young Dems had previously endorsed Spain prior to Kane’s entry into the race.
The new political organization will conduct a series of days for members to make phone calls and door knock for the endorsed candidates. It will also host a happy hour meet and greet Tuesday August 22nd from 5-7 pm at Milano Wine Bar & Pizzeria on Fairfield Avenue Downtown. All are welcome to attend and learn more about the candidates.
To earn the endorsement, candidates needed to secure the support of two thirds of the voting members, according to the group’s President Constance Vickers. Other candidates fell short of the endorsement threshold. Candidates filled out a questionnaire prepared by the Young Dems endorsement committee. In all, 13 council candidates applied for the endorsement.
“Maria and Marcus have been integral members of GBYD since we revived the group last year,” said Vickers. “They have been influential in building the structure of the organization, developing relationships with community leaders and elected officials. As the founding vice-president, Maria proudly recruited and mentored other young leaders. They were both born and raised in Bridgeport and have a strong commitment to bringing more transparent and accountable governance to the council. I look forward to spending many hours walking with them over the next 28 days.”
“As the founding vice president of the GBYD, I am proud of the chapter’s efforts to engage more youth in the democratic process,” said Zambrano-Viggiano. “We must all work together to improve our community and tackle the very difficult challenges that lie before us.”
“As a founding member, this endorsement means a lot to me personally,” said Brown. “I see firsthand younger people seeking out leadership positions across the city. I look forward to bringing change to Bridgeport and to my district with the help of GBYD.”
Congrats! As a new member, and a newly returned resident, it was insightful to read through all the candidate’s questionnaires. I am proud to see fellow members get endorsed and look forward to their hard work paying off at the ballot box this September!
Congratulations to the candidates endorsed by GBYD! Very proud of you all and I admire the dedication you have to bring true change to Bridgeport. Look forward to continue working with all of you.
As mentioned in the piece, thanks Lennie, we invite everyone to meet the candidates next week on Tuesday August 22nd from 5-7 pm at Milano Wine Bar & Pizzeria. Here’s the FB event for more details and to RSVP: https://www.facebook.com/events/1957093624570300
Nice. Same night as the Black Rock debate.
Trying to keep the turn-out low???
Didn’t realize the conflicts (wink, wink)?
I’m going to the Black Rock debate.
correction…130th CC district.
I am looking forward to the debate in the 130th district. There was a huge turn out at the Scott Burns – Rowan Kane fundraiser tonight. It was nice seeing so many members of the GBYD supporting Rowan Kane. It was impressive that he did not seek the GBYD endorsement and sorry that Pete Spain is giving up the endorsement since his running mate was not endorsed. I think it is great that so many people are willing to serve this city.
Heyyy…Steve…I look forward to meeting you at the 130th CC “debate.” But I heard about the Burns-Kane fundraiser. You sat there was a huge turnout(????) but are calculating Mario testa being there and he owns a couple of thousand votes…so it was a yuuuuuge turnout. 🙂
YOU said****
Bubba nice catch. that’s called investigative scheduling in an alternative political arena.
We actually had the Meet & Greet scheduled before the 130th forum was rescheduled to the same date. Don’t believe me?- go ask Freddy at Milano. Our leadership voted to move back our event from 6-8 to 5-7 to allow attendees plenty of time to attend our event and then go to the forum.
There was no malicious or secretive intent behind this. There are only so many days until the primary and there will be multiple events some days.
We will be giving brief remarks at 6pm, allowing a solid 75 minutes for interested parties to get to the Black Rock branch library, a daunting commute of 2.6 miles up Fairfield ave.
All are welcome. As a resident of the 130th, I will also be attending both events that evening.
Who were the candidates not endorsed?
Is there some kind of a trend here?
The times are definitely not conflicting. The meet and greet is 5-7 and the forum is 7:30pm.
Do we form a caravan to attend both?
I am still asking… Who is Rowan Kane? Maybe there will be a public event soon where that question will be asked.
This is your constant thing, huh, Frank. You didn’t know me, you don’t know Rowan. Looks like you’re part of another generation, you should come to a GenNow, Young Dems, or a bar in Black Rock to meet the 36 and under crowds that live in Black Rock.
Josh.I was a Yong Democrat before you were born. I like GenNow. I hope the present group of Bridgeport Young Democrats expand their membership and add different views. I have no interest in Black Rock bars. I will stick to an occasional and a very occasional Beverly Pizza. You’re right. I am somewhat concerned about the quality of my arteries.
And I still maintain that my question is a VALID question.
Josh,,that is the issue. The 130th CC district does not know who or where Rowan Kane came from. Scott Burns has a two year record as a CC member after he recently moved here. One question;How long has Rowan Kane lived in the 130th CC districts(months??/) and he will need to answer that question.
This is your constant thing, huh, Frank. You didn’t know me, you don’t know Rowan. Looks like you’re part of another generation, you should come to a GenNow, Young Dems, or a bar in Black Rock to meet the 36 and under crowds that live in Black Rock.
Frank do you realize how you sound? Who is Rowan Kane? Go to the website- give him a cll. You missed an amazing fundraiser at the new L.A bar and grill on Fairfield Ave. He has worked for Jim Himes. He is an educated, eloquent,young politically astute young man and the Vice President of the Greater Bridgeport young Democrats. He was endorsed by the democratic town committee and is also supported by the most respected elected official of Black Rock, Steve Stastom. Black rockers are educated voters, they pay high taxes and they know the only way to reduce taxes is via economic development. They know that burns has a long term vision and Ganim has a 450 million dollar proposal for the theaters and the Arena and of course the continuing Steelepointe development. Burns has been there and supports the Mayor. Back Rock knows the sky didn’t fall with Ganim and are hopeful for all of these developments to come into fruition. If not we can continue to expect tax increases every year for the next 50 years. The city is positioned for major development. I suppose that may be part of the message that Burns will be stressing.
Steve, I consider you, me and others pretty seasoned pols; when a new group comes to town, it’s their responsibility to seek out the seasoned, effective people involved in local politics for decades. The world does not revolve around this new group, we all paid our dues, did the heavy lifting, learned by trial and error, and are generous with our experiences. Now as you know my friend, I’m assisting two new men who would like a shot at public office in my district. I’m not their Campaign Manager, I’m not involved in how they raise money or from whom, I’m giving them what they can’t afford to pay for. Experience, success and A built-in base of reliable voters and absentee users. I’m reaching out to this base personally because I’ve served them for so long, they trust me. I’m a keen observer, almost compulsive when it comes to detail and respective potential voters by keeping them informed and enlightened before I ask for consideration of any candidate I assist. The Young Dems have to come together with a willingness to pass along a relevant message in Bridgeport, and more importantly, they must reach out to minorities who might be interested in joining their endeavor. I will keep my commitment to the candidates in the 132nd district, but this is a warning from an old political soul, nobody is pampered or privileged in Bridgeport politics, do more work and less talking.