Governor Ned Lamont endorsed Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim Tuesday while touring a city high school being constructed, a week before the city’s mayoral election.
“I think the people of Bridgeport will be well served to send him back for another four years. I support him.”
The endorsement comes as Ganim previously lined up an endorsement from former mayoral challenger Lamond Daniels. Ganim prepares to face off against his rival John Gomes, now running as an independent in this month’s general election.
Lamont’s endorsement of Ganim comes as Bridgeport Generation Now Votes, a local voting rights advocacy group in the city, filed a formal complaint with the state Democratic Party against the Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee (DTC) and its chairman Mario Testa.
The complaint alleges that the DTC, which backs Ganim, is in violation of local and state party rules due to a lack of transparency, public noticing and record keeping among other issues.
Gemeem Davis, co-director and president of Bridgeport Generation Now Votes,criticized Lamont for the endorsement and said he is well aware of the accusations against Ganim.
Davis said the group is asking for clarification from the state party.
“We hope that the complaint is being taken seriously, and that the violations that we have laid out in the complaint are very straightforward,” Davis said.
Rowena White, Ganim’s campaign spokesperson praised the endorsement and dismissed the complaint.
“It's a frivolous complaint at this point, being one week out to the general election happening on February 27,” White said.
But Davis said the complaint is straightforward and that the transparency issues have led to a previous mayoral primary being tossed due to allegations of absentee ballot fraud by Ganim’s volunteer staff and corruption.
The complaint also claimed the Bridgeport DTC is undemocratic. The Bridgeport DTC did not respond to Connecticut Public’s request for comment Tuesday.
Davis said the state party chair Nancy DiNardo has not responded to the complaint, which while addressed to her, isn’t expected to respond.
A scheduled hearing for February 19th was postponed until after the election and was agreed to by all parties, according to state party spokesperson Patty McQueen.
McQueen said the group’s complaint is one of several to be filed across the state.
“This complaint is one of six that arose after the elections for Democratic town committee membership last month,” McQueen said.
