There’s no need to sugarcoat or hide from the truth. Corruption in Bridgeport hinders our ability to grow our economy, improve our public schools, police department and other city services. And according to an August 2022 poll conducted by Lake Research Partners, voters are tired of it and overwhelmingly want new leaders to end it once and for all. In fact 87% of all adults say reducing corruption is very important for Bridgeport elected leaders to address.
Over the years our city government stopped working for the betterment of all people and started working for a few individuals and their personal gain. Ensuring that those in power, namely Mayor Joe Ganim and Democratic Town Committee Chair Mario Testa, keep it. The good news is that our city doesn’t have to stay this way. We can vote out corruption and put the right leaders in the right places. We can chart a new course if we’re all clear about how we got here and commit to doing what we need to do to move on.
One, special interests groups from outside our city pour money into our local elections via campaign donations in exchange for political influence. This was true in 2019 and is shaping up to be true this year. Tomorrow, we’ll release an analysis of the Ganim for Bridgeport 2023 financial filings, which will show that a whopping 93% of his donations so far come from special interests, the majority of whom are located outside of Bridgeport.
Two, during our elections political operatives abuse the absentee ballot process targeting, intimidating and manipulating some of our most vulnerable residents; our elderly, youth, disabled, low-income and Spanish-speaking voters.
Gearing up for the 2023 election, on February 1st we visited the Bridgeport Town Clerk’s office to review the Absentee Ballot Application Log. Shockingly, City Councilman Alfredo Castillo and political operatives Democratic Town Committee member Steve Eaton and Robert Anderson have signed out 600 applications since January for the Democratic primary election on September 12. If not to try and manipulate the absentee ballots process, why do political operatives need absentee ballot applications 9 months in advance of an election?
And three, corruption thrives in Bridgeport because elected officials use city jobs as payment for political support. This is classic political patronage which results in Bridgeport hiring wholly unqualified individuals in lieu of qualified professionals. Since 2016, the system of patronage at the highest levels of Mayor Ganim’s administration has cost Bridgeport residents upwards of $1.5 million. Paid out in legal settlements, no-show jobs, and consultant and attorney fees, the cost of corruption takes its toll on our local government.
But this year, we won’t let them steal our voices and our votes. This year, “We The People” have the power to elect candidates for Mayor, City Council, and Board of Education who are ready to end corruption at City Hall. We know that Bridgeport is better than this.
