Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim is again running for reelection, years after winning a controversial mayoral primary, marred by allegations of electoral fraud.
Ganim says he feels confident Bridgeport voters see what he’s accomplished since he won reelection in 2024.
“We've cut the mill rate by over 10 mills. We've seen our grand list grow”; Ganim said.
Ganim doesn’t believe the 2023 Democratic mayoral primary, where several people associated with his reelection campaign were accused of absentee ballot fraud, will hurt his chances of reelection.
But some of his opponents, including members of Bridgeport Generation Now Votes, a voting advocacy organization, and several people who ran to become members of the city’s Democratic Town Committee, say they’re keeping a close eye, worried over the chance of a similar electoral scandal next year.
Ganim listed his accomplishments over the last few years, from getting more housing built in the city, to helping make the city a contender for live entertainment. Ganim said he can build on those successes.
“You see first the 1,200 units going up at Steelepoint,” Ganim said. “You see the amphitheater being targeted as the number one outdoor facility for what's dubbed in Bridgeport as a music and entertainment capital of Connecticut.”
Ganim says under his leadership, the city is moving in the right direction. If he wins, he will be the longest nonconsecutive serving mayor in the city's history. Ganim first won office in 1991, but ended up being convicted on federal corruption charges in 2003. He won back his seat in 2015 and has been in office ever since.
But members of both Bridgeport Generation Now Votes and several people who ran to become members of the city’s Democratic Town Committee (DTC), say Ganim’s accomplishments mask serious issues.
They listed the lack of education funding, gentrification, and ongoing fears of similar electoral fraud and abuse going into next year’s elections.
Ilana Ofgang, an attorney for the Center for Children’s Advocacy, won a seat on the city’s DTC for the 130th district. Ofgang said Ganim’s proposal to give the city’s schools around $10 million in funding rings hollow.
“That's not nearly enough to close the gap of what Dr. Avery (Superintendent of Bridgeport Public Schools) has proposed that they need to just continue baseline functioning,” Ofgang said.
The aftermath of the 2023 primary continues to loom large over the city. Several people associated with Ganim’s reelection campaign have either been charged or convicted over allegations they improperly handled absentee ballots in 2019 and 2023.
Other people associated with Ganim’s challenger, John Gomes, have also faced similar allegations.
Gemeem Davis, co-director of Bridgeport Generation Now Votes, said she worries something similar can happen again, citing what she heard was someone associated with the 2023 allegations once again asking people if they would like to work for Ganim’s election campaign.
Ganim was not directly implicated in the allegations, but Davis said Ganim is emboldened.
“Seven of his people have been arrested for the 2019, 2023, and 2024 elections, but he doesn't care about that,” Davis said. “He only cares about winning, and he will do it by any means necessary, and that means cheating.”
