Ganim, with help, balances campaign books

Mayor Joe Ganim spent nearly $850,000 in his unsuccessful bid for governor, and not only is he out a $60,000 personal loan, but he chipped in another $3,500 to help get his campaign’s budget in the black.

According to Ganim’s post gubernatorial primary finance report, filed Thursday with the state, Bridgeport’s mayor raised $840,708 and spent all but $167.57 trying to wrest the Democratic nomination from Ned Lamont at the polls on Aug. 14.

So the good news is Team Ganim, 30 days later, has no outstanding expenses to worry about.

The mayor does, however, have an unreimbursed $60,000 loan to his campaign. And Ganim contributed an additional $3,500 in late August to his failed cause — $2,000 of it on a credit/debit card, $1,500 in a personal check.

The Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee, run by close Ganim friend Mario Testa, also pitched in $2,000 to help balance the post-primary books.

Ganim’s campaign for governor also raised nearly $4,000 in late August, selling off equipment.

As previously reported, seven days before the Aug. 14 contest with Lamont, Team Ganim was running on fumes. His prior criminal conviction prevented the mayor from participating in the state’s so-called clean elections grant program, so the underdog candidate had $173,010 raised the old-fashioned way left.

Meanwhile Lamont was a selffunded Greenwich millionaire and cable entrepreneur.

During that final week, Ganim managed to bring in an additional $51,534 but, as his supporters complained following the Aug. 14 results, it was nowhere near enough.

One group that may feel some relief over Ganim’s loss to Lamont is City Hall employees. Whether they supported the mayor or just wanted job security, municipal workers continually gave generously to their boss.

Ganim’s final campaign finance report was, like all the others, peppered with contributions from municipal workers, some of whom had previously cut checks — Police Chief Armando Perez, Economic Development Director Thomas Gill, David Dunn,the head of Civil Service, Associate City Attorney Mark Anastasi, Gina Malheiro, a mayoral aide and head of the Port Authority, Emergency Operations Director Scott Appleby and Steven Auerbach, who is in charge of the new downtown parking meters.

Controversial collections lawyer Juda Epstein and his family also, through personal contributions and a Political Action Committee— Southern Connecticut Citizens for Government Excellence — gave Ganim $10,000.

Epstein for years has been one of the go-to attorneys for Bridgeport when it comes to collecting unpaid sewer use fees, because he is successful at it. As such, he recently has come under criticism from activists and City Council members who want to reform what they consider a too-punitive collections process that benefits Epstein at the expense of poorer residents.

Ganim’s finance report also gives insight into his cashstrapped, end-of-days strategy against Lamont. The campaign spent $118,251 on television advertising, a few thousand dollars on internet advertising, and hired get-out-the-vote staff for, on average, $120 to $140 worth of work, mainly in New Haven, Hartford, East Hartford, Waterbury, Stamford, Middletown and New Britain.

Given his big city credentials — Ganim ran Bridgeport from 1991 until his 2003 corruption conviction, then was re-elected in 2015 — the mayor’s gubernatorial campaign was focused on beating Lamont in urban areas. But that effort failed. Even on Ganim’s home turf of Bridgeport the primary results were closer than his supporters would have liked.

The mayor does seem intent on seeking another four year term next year.

Ganim had already begun fundraising for re-election in early 2017, but since losing the primary, has declined requests for interviews from Hearst Connecticut Media about his political future locally.

But according to his gubernatorial finance report, Ganim for Governor sold $2,547 worth of furniture and equipment to Ganim for Bridgeport 2019.