2015 Bridgeport, Connecticut, Democratic mayoral primary

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Bridgeport, Connecticut Democratic Party primary, 2015
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The 2015 Democratic Party primary for Bridgeport, Connecticut was held on September 16, and was held with the intention of choosing the party's candidate for mayor. The primary enjoyed unusually extensive coverage due to the participation of Joseph P. Ganim, a former mayor of the city and convicted felon. The other candidates were incumbent mayor Bill Finch and Mary-Jane Foster.

Candidates[edit]

See also: Bill Finch (politician), Joseph Ganim, and Mary-Jane Foster

Bill Finch[edit]

Mary-Jane Foster[edit]

Joe Ganim[edit]

A vandalized lawn sign for Joe Ganim.

Joe Ganim had been mayor of Bridgeport from 1991 until 2003, when he was convicted of a number of corruption-related charges and sentenced to nine years in prison.[1] Both Finch[2] and Foster [3] heavily criticized him for his past behavior and alleged lack of repentance. Even so, Ganim made repentance a major theme of his candidacy, and he used his law enforcement endorsements to reassure voters that he had reformed.[4] Ganim also conducted a voter registration drive, targeting former felons whose paroles had ended.[5] Ganim was compared to Washington, D.C. mayor Marion Barry and Providence mayor Buddy Cianci throughout the campaign because they had also regained political office after criminal convictions.[6][7][8]

Members of Connecticut's Democratic party outside of Bridgeport were also critical of Ganim. Lowell Weicker called the prospect of a new Ganim administration "repugnant",[9] and governor Dan Malloy, who endorsed Finch,[10] refused to switch his endorsement to Ganim even after winning the party's nomination, saying "I have not endorsed the Democratic candidate, and I'm a Democrat. I guess there's a message there."[11][12] The Connecticut Post, in its endorsement of Finch, commented that one Ganim administration was "more than enough."[13]

Endorsements[edit]

Mayor Finch secured the endorsement of all of the major city unions except for the policeman's union, which endorsed Ganim,[8] as did a member of the FBI team which originally arrested him for corruption.[7] Finch was also endorsed by Dan Malloy,[10] the current governor of Connecticut, former mayors of Bridgeport John Fabrizi, Tom Bucci and Leonard Paoletta,[14] senators Dick Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, and congressman Jim Himes.[15] Foster was endorsed by Lowell P. Weicker, a former US senator and governor of Connecticut.[9]

Results[edit]

A campaign flyer distributed near a voting station during the general election encouraging voters to vote for Mary-Jane Foster
Bridgeport Democratic primary mayoral election, 2015[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Joseph P. Ganim 6,264 47.1
Democratic Bill Finch 5,859 44.05
Democratic Mary-Jane Foster 1,177 8.85

Subsequent events[edit]

See also: 2015 Bridgeport, Connecticut, mayoral election

After his loss in the primary, Bill Finch attempted to run as the nominee of the Jobs Creation Party, a vehicle that was "widely seen" to have been created for him in case of a loss in the Democratic primary, but was unable to do so due to a nomination deadline set by state law.[17][18]

Democratic reactions[edit]

Following Ganim's victory in the general election, governor Malloy made a congratulatory phone call to Ganim and pledged not to punish Bridgeport by refusing to cooperate with his administration.[19][20]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Federal Judge Sentences Former Mayor of Bridgeport to 9 Years in Corruption Case, New York Times (2 July 2003)
  2. ^ "Ganim Nabs Nod", Connecticut Post, September 17, 2015 (A1, A5).
  3. ^ Foster, Ganim lock horns during debate, Connecticut Post (26 October 2015).
  4. ^ Lockhart, Bryan. 'Johnny Law's' got Ganim's back, Connecticut Post, (6 May 2015).
  5. ^ Joe Ganim’s first campaign for a second chance, The Connecticut Mirror (24 September 2015).
  6. ^ Berman, Russell. From a Prison Cell to the Mayor's Office. The Atlantic (4 November 2015).
  7. ^ a b Hussey, Kristen. Joseph Ganim, Disgraced Ex-Mayor of Bridgeport, Conn., Wins Back Job. New York Times (3 November 2015).
  8. ^ a b Miller, Sean J. How An Ex-Con Won His Job Back. campaignsandelections.com, (3 February 2016).
  9. ^ a b Weicker endorses Foster for Bridgeport mayor, calls Ganim “a real felon.”, Connecticut Post (3 October 2015).
  10. ^ a b Gov. Malloy endorses Mayor Finch for another term, News 12 Networks (29 July 2015)
  11. ^ Keating, Christopher. Gov. Malloy Still Not Endorsing Joe Ganim For Bridgeport Mayor, Hartford Courant (23 October 2015)
  12. ^ Vigdor, Neil. Malloy: Ganim doesn’t deserve endorsement, Connecticut Post (23 October 2015).
  13. ^ Endorsement: Finch has kept momentum in Bridgeport, Connecticut Post (13 September 2015).
  14. ^ Polansky, Jay. Bridgeport Mayoral Race: Finch Beats Out Ganim For Democratic Endorsement, The Daily Voice, (25 July 2015).
  15. ^ Polansky, Jay. Blumenthal, Murphy, Himes, Jepsen Endorse Finch's Re-Election Bid, The Daily Voice. (17 July 2015)
  16. ^ Bridgeport primary election returns, Connecticut Post (September 17, 2015).
  17. ^ Pazniokas, Mark. SNAFU knocks Finch off ballot in Bridgeport mayoral race, ctmirror.com. 21 September 2015.
  18. ^ Mayko, Michael P. and Brian Lockheart. Job Creation Party nominates Finch, ctpost.com. (24 September 2015).
  19. ^ Davis, Mark. Malloy pledges not to isolate Bridgeport if Ganim wins, wtnh.com. (2 November 2015).
  20. ^ Mayor convicted of corruption elected again in Connecticut, CBS News. (4 November 2015).
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