BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (WTNH) — Once considered a formidable candidate for Governor, Democrat Joe Ganim is now calling the shots in his improbable comeback bid for his old job as mayor. He spent nearly a decade in federal prison for corruption but now he says the incumbent mayor is breaking the law.
The incumbent Mayor is Democrat Bill Finch who says he’s spent the last two terms cleaning up Ganim’s mess.
“Individuals identified from the Finch campaign have gone out, actually handled absentee ballots from seniors or people that are disabled, taken them, filled them out and actually mailed them in,” claims Ganim.
And candidate Mary Jane Foster, who is no great lover of Joe Ganim, agrees that Bridgeport, known for ballot problems in the past, appears to be headed for them again, “The legal issue is voter fraud and mail fraud and we know that people are engaging in fraud in this city and it seems the abuses we’re hearing about are coming out of the Finch campaign.”
“We don’t always have the best reputation when it comes to elections,” said Mayor Finch today. He jokingly refers to the time Bridgeport ran out of ballots in an important election. But the Secretary of the State’s office confirms that they have already intervened in Bridgeport over the supervision of the large number of absentee ballots that have been requested, estimated at several thousand.
“I’m not at every kitchen table when people fill out their ballots. I certainly urge everybody that works for me to abide by the law, do things honestly. For eight years we’ve been doing things honestly, unlike the past,” added Finch.
The large number of absentee ballots has been prompting many jokes about why such a large percentage of Bridgeport residents are sick or planning to be out of town on Wednesday.
(Reminder; The Primary Election in Bridgeport and 22 other Connecticut cities and towns is on Wednesday because Tuesday is part of Rosh Hashanah.)
