Paychecks like to keep comin’
One long ago November night, the crowd of Democratic faithful gathered in the cavernous Captain’s Cove bar and restaurant in those sensitive moments running up to the close of the Bridgeport polls.
Outside, it was cold and windy. Even from outside, you could faintly hear the buzz of the sweaty throng within.
The victorious Democratic mayoral candidate and his family had just pulled up, their victory just moments earlier confirmed.
They emerged from a stretch limo provided by a local developer, yanked their collars up against the wind, and slipped inside a wedge of eight oversized men provided courtesy of the Bridgeport International Brotherhood of Teamsters local.
In the protective V of the wedge, they lockstepped inside.
“Yeah, baby,” one supporter bellowed as the candidate appeared, “Keep those paychecks comin’!!!”
There’s no question that a steady paycheck is one of the motivations that will get Bridgeport Democratic workers out of bed early Tuesday, Election Day, and into harness well before the bell goes off at 6 a. m. to start voting in the formality of Mayor Joseph P. Ganim’s reelection.
Only two mayoral candidates are on Tuesday’s ballot in Bridgeport — Ganim and Republican John Rodriguez.
With Democrats holding a 46,000 to 4,300 edge in registered voters, Rodriguez is a very long shot.
Republicans can win in Bridgeport, to be sure. But the stars have to be in perfect formation. This year they are not.
Since 1970, a Republican candidate has won only three times: Nicholas Panuzio in 1971 — by nine votes — following the financial problems of the prior Democratic administration; Leonard S. Paoletta in 1981 — by 64 votes — following the scandals of the prior Democratic administration; and Mary C. Moran — by a substantial margin — following the financial problems of her predecessor.
While Joe Ganim’s return to the mayor’s office after serving a federal prison term was a shocker, his continued tenure is not.
As always, the Democratic primary contest for mayor is in most cases what determines who will be the city’s next mayor.
The challenger this year, state Sen. Marilyn Moore, tapped into a decided undercurrent of dissatisfaction with Ganim. His sudden pivot after reclaiming the mayor’s office in 2015 and promptly announcing he would run for governor did not sit well with many.
Helped by that dissatisfaction, in primary day voting at city precincts, Moore won by some 4,100 to 3,800 in ballots cast.
Alas, those ballots are but part of the story. Ganim picked up a 600vote margin after the absentee ballots were counted and got the win.
A court challenge by Moore and her supporters to the suspicious surge in absentee ballots fell short, with Superior Court Judge Barry Stevens ruling Friday that while the absentee ballot system in Bridgeport is fraught with peculiarities, the plaintiffs did not convince him there was enough suspicious activity to overturn the results of the primary.
Moore had anticipated being on the ballot as the candidate of a third party, but, inexplicably — in many jurisdictions, but not in Bridgeport so much — failed to get the required number of valid signatures.
Her writein campaign on Tuesday will be interesting to watch, but will not be enough to dent Ganim.
It would seem likely, though, that some aggrieved party will be back in court after Tuesday to contest the outcome, most likely revolving around the writein mechanics and counting.
But it seems most likely that Joe Ganim II and Bridgeport Democrats will keep their grip on the state’s most populous city and, baby, those paychecks will keep comin’!!!