Bradley loses endorsement to Gaston at convention

BRIDGEPORT — State Sen. Dennis Bradley saw his support in the local Democratic Party erode on Tuesday night amid his ongoing battle over allegations of campaign finance fraud, as delegates at a district convention voted to back his rival, the Rev. Herron Gaston.

Gaston earned the support of 42 party delegates at the convention as well as the party's endorsement. Bradley, who so far has denied wrongdoing and refused calls to step down from his Senate seat, nonetheless was able to maintain support from nine delegates, enough to force an August primary election against Gaston.

A third candidate, Juliemar Ortiz, received two delegate votes and failed to automatically qualify for the primary. She said afterward that she would immediately begin gathering signatures in an attempt to petition her way onto the ballot.

Following the vote, Gaston told a reporter that Bradley is a “lame duck” senator who has lost credibility, and repeated his call for Bradley to bow out of the race.

“What differentiates me from him is I'm actually going to go up to Hartford and actually go to work,” Gaston said. “I'm not interested in the position for the title, I'm interested in the position to help speak about policy issues that will bring about systemic and radical change for the city of Bridgeport.”

If elected, Gaston said that he would focus on the issues of education — in his speech to the convention, he railed against the amount of school funding Bridgeport received in the latest budget bill, which Bradley was the only Senator to vote against — as well as energy and the environment.

Bradley did not respond to a message seeking comment following the vote.

During the convention, Bradley handed out invitations to a campaign event afterward at Brasa's Pub and Restaurant and invited all of the delegates to join as part of a “coming together as a city.” The cost of attendance was a $20 donation to his campaign, according to the invitations.

The convention included delegates from the 23rd Senate district, which covers parts of Bridgeport and Stratford. It was held at Testo's, an Italian restaurant owned by Mario Testa, the head of the Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee.

Earlier in the evening, delegates from Bridgeport, Monroe and Trumbull voted unanimously to endorse state Sen. Marilyn Moore, D-Bridgeport, for a fifth term. Moore, who is chair of the Human Services and Bonding committees, does not have any opposition for the party's nomination.

Gaston, 33, serves as the assistant chief administrative office in Mayor Joe Ganim's administration, and also received the support of City Council President Aidee Nieves after announcing his plans to challenge Bradley in March.

As a pastor and graduate of the Yale School of Divinity, Gaston has also drawn comparisons to Bradley, 37, who was once seen as a rising star in the Democratic Party and a potential candidate for mayor in 2023.

Bradley has seen his stock plummet since his arrest last May on charges of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

While Bradley was able to remain in the Senate pending the outcome of his case, he was stripped of his committee assignments and title of deputy majority leader by Senate leadership.

East End District Leader Ralph Ford, who seconded Bradley's nomination at the convention, addressed the Senator's legal troubles, arguing that they were partially the result of his work as an outspoken leader for the city.

“One of the reasons why he has his current trouble is because he's not a guy that follows the party bosses, not a guy to just vote because they told him to vote a certain way, not a guy that needs the sanction of bosses not only here in Bridgeport, but also in Hartford,” Ford said. “That's not him, he's a man and I wouldn't want him to be that.

Bradley himself has also suggested that his charges could be a form of retribution from his political opponents.

“I tell the people, ‘Read the charges lodged against me by the government and you will conclude one of two things: Either it is a misunderstanding of facts or it is a political smear,'” Bradley told Hearst Connecticut Media earlier this year. “This is not a crime of moral turpitude, an allegation of rape or murder or theft.”

Federal authorities alleged that Bradley and Bridgeport Board of Education Chairwoman Jessica Martinez , who served as his campaign treasurer, purposefully misrepresented campaign expenditures in order to obtain state grants from the Citizen's Election Program. Both Bradley and Martinez have pleaded not guilty.

Bradley

Gaston