New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
State Sen. Ed Gomes laid to rest
BRIDGEPORT — A seemingly endless line of people flowed into Blessed Sacrament Church Wednesday morning.
They ranged from the politically powerful to community activists to just good friends of a man recalled as one of Bridgeport’s icons.
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., State Sens. Martin Looney and Bob Duff, community activists Wanda Simmons and John Moss and longtime friends Bob Walsh and Aaron Turner were there to say goodbye to Ed Gomes — a man who spent his life helping others.
Outside the church, a portrait bearing the smiling face of Gomes — U.S. Army veteran, steelworkers union representative and retired state senator — was prominently displayed on the backs of clothing worn by Jennifer and Braylee Bush, Gomes’ nieces.
Inside, the Rev. Joseph “Skip” Karcinski celebrated a Mass of Christian Burial after which Gomes was buried in St. Michael’s Cemetary.
Gomes, 84, died Dec. 22 from injuries received in a collision near the intersection of Boston and Noble Avenues on Dec. 13.
“It’s been difficult,” said Walsh, who served with Gomes on the City Council and campaigned tirelessly for him. “Sometime I need to mentally prepare myself, stop and gather my thoughts. There are so many stories to tell.”
One of those involved Gomes’ service in the U.S. Army and his exposure to racism while off the base in Virginia.
The experience fueled his desire to fight for civil rights and social reform, Walsh said. So on Aug. 28, 1963, Gomes was among the 200,000 who participated in the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. That march culminated with the late Dr. Martin Luther King giving his famous “I Have A Dream” speech.
Walsh said he last talked to Gomes a few days before the accident.
“He was spending a lot of time inside because of the pandemic,” Walsh recalled. “He said he was doing a lot of reading — Obama’s books and anti-Trump books. He hated being locked inside unable to visit and talk to people.”
Now efforts are underway to keep Gomes’ memory alive.
Already, $10,366 of a $25,000 goal has been collected to create an Ed
Gomes Memorial Scholarship Fund.
And City Council Members M. Evette Brantley, Maria Pereira and Samia Suliman, along with former State Rep. Chris Caruso, drafted a resolution to rename Bridgeport’s City Council Chambers in
Gomes’ honor.
The resolution proposes that plaques bearing Gomes’ name be placed at the Council Chamber entrance and on the dais, where a framed portrait would be located and that the dedication happen on Nov. 15 — the date in 1983 Gomes was first sworn in as a Council member.
The resolution also proposes that Nov. 15 be recognized as Edwin A. Gomes Day in Bridgeport in perpetuity.
Blumenthal said he intends to highlight Gomes’ life by reading a resolution on the floor of the Senate Dec. 31.
“Ed was an inspiration to people,” Blumenthal said. “He was always on the front lines battling injustice.”
“Any effort honoring Ed for the work he did with the steelworkers, City Council (and) State Senate is appropriate, in my opinion,” Duff said.
Blumenthal said he and Gomes attended the annual L’Ambiance memorial ceremony celebrating the lives of the 28 construction workers killed in April 1987 when the plaza collapsed atop them.
“He never ceased being angry about the way those lives were lost as a result of reckless and careless construction,” Blumenthal said. “He’d shake his head and say ‘Those deaths should never have happened. We need to do better.’”
Blumenthal also recalled how, following most gettogethers, Gomes would send him back to Washington with a laundry list of requests.
“He’d say, ‘You go tell your friend Clinton, your friend Obama that this and that needs to be accomplished,’” Blumenthal said. “But I don’t recall him ever saying to tell Trump.”
Looney, the State Senate’s President Pro Tempore, and Duff, the State Senate majority leader, walked into the church together Wednesday morning.
Looney said he will never forget watching Gomes slam his fist on senate tables to emphasize a point.
“Ed was such a physically strong man with huge hands,” Looney recalled. “I expected one day to see his hand crash through the table.”
Looney said Gomes’ death was a shock to him.
“Nine years ago, he had complications from a surgery (triple bypass) and was in a coma and pulled through,” Looney said.
He also remembers how Gomes would reach across party lines.
“He especially liked (Fairfield Republican and former State Sen.) John McKinney,” Looney said. “That stemmed back to Ed’s good relationship with John’s father” the late U.S. Rep Stewart McKinney.
Aaron Turner, who served as the former state senator’s legislative aide, recalls how much Gomes accomplished.
“He achieved so much during his life,” said Turner, listing the Urban Revitalization Program which promoted home ownership in urban centers, pardon reform which gave lives back to reformed convicts and education reform.
Gomes joined forces with the Brennan Center for Justice, the Connecticut Citizen Action Group and Common Cause in May 2002 to successfully challenge Connecticut’s delegate primary system, which they called discriminatory.
His testimony before the late U.S. District Judge Peter C. Dorsey led to the judge’s decision to overturn the delegate primary system, officials of the groups said at the time.