Ganim, Gomes set for primary rematch
Bridgeport do-over prompted by suit over absentee ballots
BRIDGEPORT — On Thursday, Mayor Joe Ganim hopped over the city line to Sacred Heart University in Fairfield.
Although it is mid-January, he was at a schoolsponsored voter registration drive for students, on the hunt for support ahead of Tuesday’s Democratic mayoral primary versus rival John Gomes. Many Sacred Heart students rent apartments and multifamily homes in Bridgeport’s North End.
The border is just a few hundred feet down Park Avenue from the campus.
“I think it’s important for them to come out and vote,” Ganim said in an interview Friday, noting the university’s growth within the city.
The mayor’s visit is also indicative of the furious battle for support being waged ahead of what is expected to be a low turnout contest Tuesday between him and Gomes — their second primary in four months.
A Superior Court judge in November ordered the
redo after Gomes filed a lawsuit over video footage “that appears to show a person who is not an election
official and who should not possess absentee ballots except her own depositing what appears to be multiple absentee ballots in the drop box at 999 Broad Street on Sept. 5, at about 6:30 a.m., after exiting the building,” the complaint stated.
Ganim in the past has sided with North End homeowners’ complaints about the student population there. Now he could use that young vote, as could Gomes. A university spokesperson confirmed that the mayor’s opponent had previously appeared on campus.
Voter turnout is key
Had last year’s Bridgeport mayoral race been a normal one, neither candidate would be spending these wintery days hustling at a local college or any of their other respective recent stops along the campaign trail. Ganim, who is seeking a third consecutive four year term, defeated Gomes Sept. 12 then won November’s general election, again facing and besting Gomes, who had continued his campaign into last fall as the Independent third party’s mayoral contender.
Ganim’s victories over Gomes last year were slim. His respective margins were 251 and 179 votes in September and November and Gomes won the machine vote both times, with absentee ballots giving Ganim his margin of victory. And in the general
election more people total chose rival candidates — either Gomes, Republican David Herz or petitioning candidate Lamond Daniels — over Ganim.
As a result, he embarked in early December on a self-described “listening tour,” admitting his close wins were a wakeup call.
“I’d be a fool not to recognize people came out and voted in a different direction,” he had said.
And there is no question, using the power of incumbency, Ganim has been out and about over these last weeks, posing for photos and videos with supporters that are posted on social media, visiting businesses, holding ribbon cuttings and news conferences and showing up at Sacred Heart.
He said on Friday that he is concerned about turnout Tuesday.
“I think there’s a mix of people enthusiastic to come out and vote and who want to support (me) and are saying, ‘No problem, we got you 100 percent, we’re not happy about coming out a third time in the middle of the winter, but it’s important,’ ” Ganim said.
But, he added of the odd time of year, “People have lives in January. This is not normal.”
Gomes backed Ganim’s successful campaign in 2015, was subsequently hired in City Hall as an aide soon after, but fired in the summer of 2022. He has mainly sought to distinguish himself from his former boss as a leader who will be more engaged, hands-on and accessible.
“I’m feeling very optimistic,” Gomes said Friday. “We are continuing to reach out to the voters and the feedback has been nothing but positive . ... We were concerned there would be voter fatigue. We’re finding the opposite.”
State scrutiny
Both sides want registered Democrats to vote in person but are also again counting on support from absentee ballots, which can be cast under certain circumstances when voters are unable to make it to their polling place. As of Thursday, the Bridgeport town clerk’s office had issued 2,703 blank ballots and received 1,100 of those back.
Cumulatively, both sides have filed several pending complaints with the state Elections Enforcement Commission.
“Collectively, it is the biggest investigation this agency has ever undertaken,” Michael Brandi, executive director and general counsel of the SEEC, said in December of all of the Bridgeportrelated cases. “All of our enforcement resources are being dedicated to the investigation.”
But that also leaves the backand-forth allegations just hanging over the campaigns as voters consider which candidate to trust with running Bridgeport for the next four years.
Christine Bartlett-Josie, Gomes’ campaign manager, on Friday lamented how slow the SEEC’s investigatory process can be and that no enforcement actions have yet been taken even as the new primary looms.
“This is my frustration. Frustration on all of our parts,” she said.
Ganim last fall similarly lamented the amount of time it can take — months, sometimes years — for the SEEC to wrap up its work. He has said he knew nothing about the absentee ballot fraud his supporters were accused of, calling it “a big black eye that sits on the city.”
Following what happened with the September mayoral primary, Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas’ office has sought to instill greater confidence in Tuesday’s results. Two elections monitors have been assigned to the city. And in response to a recent urgent call for help she issued last week, Thomas announced Friday “at least” 14 volunteers with legal backgrounds will be on the ground Tuesday in Bridgeport “to serve as nonpartisan designees of the office.”
“They will help with recording first-hand accounts of any issues that arise and assisting with any resulting action that needs to be taken, including filing a SEEC complaint,” Thomas said. “While the office has previously invited volunteer attorneys to serve in an on-call capacity, this is the first time the office has put out the call for onsite Election Day volunteers.”
Seeking endorsements
In the meantime, Ganim and Gomes will keep up the fight for Democratic primary voters’ support through Tuesday.
Both candidates sought Daniels’ endorsement so they could pick up some of his supporters. A registered Democrat, he received 1,836 votes as a petitioning candidate on November’s general election ballot to Ganim’s 5,729, Gomes’ 5,550 and Herz’s 765. Some Gomes backers considered him to be a spoiler. But as of Friday Daniels had so far not made any public announcements that he was backing either candidate and did not return a request for comment.
On the other hand, Bridgeport Generation Now Votes, a selfstyled good-government watchdog organization that has typically opposed Ganim but refrained from endorsing Gomes, this week posted an online statement the group arguing that Gomes may not be a perfect candidate but has shown “courage” in standing up to the mayor and current status quo.
“And if Gomes doesn’t deliver, we’ll have an opportunity to replace him in four years,” the endorsement concluded.
Ganim and Gomes are scheduled to debate live on the radio at 9 a.m. Monday morning on “Melissa in the Morning”’ on WICC 600 AM. That event was announced Friday and a staffer for the show confirmed they will be in studio together, which is a rare joint appearance.
Round 4 coming?
Either of the candidates, should they lose Tuesday’s primary redo could continue on to the new court-ordered late February general election. Gomes could still carry the banner of the Independent Party and Ganim has the backing of the New Movement third party. Daniels and Herz will also still be on the ballot unless they decide to exit the race.
As long is there is more than one candidate, the February election will go forward, meaning there could be a fourth campaign between the two.
On Friday the mayor said he hopes for a decisive primary win, including on the voting machines. He said absentee ballots are a perfectly legitimate way for some voters to exercise their rights, but acknowledged there is now a “narrative” in Bridgeport that that is not a real victory.
“Which I think is not fair,” he said. “(But) it’s good to win overwhelmingly on the machines and mail-in ballots. (That) is what I want to do.”
And should he lose to Ganim for a third time, Gomes said he would at least consider ending his bid for mayor.
“I have always been ready to stand aside if the people vote me out in a fair and equitable election where there is no fraud or at least evidence of fraud,” he said. “That remains my position.”
But, he added, “They say the third time’s the charm. That’s what we’re praying for.”
Both sides want registered Democrats to vote in person but are also again counting on support from absentee ballots, which can be cast under certain circumstances when voters are unable to make it to their polling place. As of Thursday, the Bridgeport town clerk’s office had issued 2,703 blank ballots and received 1,100 of those back.