Year of Democratic mayoral rebellions
A strange thing is happening in Connecticut cites this municipal election year. Normally, mayoral incumbents seeking re-election get the strong backing of their party. But in Hartford, Bridgeport, and locally here in New London, the Democratic incumbents are confronting insurrections from within the party. All face primaries Sept. 16.
Local issues certainly play a part. In New London, excitement over electing Daryl Justin Finizio in 2011 as the first powerful mayor, following a charter change from the city manager form of government, deteriorated into dread among many that the city had made the wrong choice.
Mayor Finizio exposed what he said were reckless budget actions by prior councils under the city manager system that left the city he was elected to run almost broke. The resulting tax increases and service cuts put the mayor on the defensive, as he repeatedly tried to make the case that he had no choice.
Controversies in his management of the police department, personnel problems at Public Works and concern with a lack of progress in reviving the downtown fueled the rebellion within the party, culminating with the Democratic Town Committee endorsing City Councilor Michael Passero, forcing the incumbent into a primary to try to win his job back.
But the fact that three Connecticut cities led by Democratic mayors are seeing similar challenges suggests some universal factors may be at play.
In Hartford, Mayor Pedro Segarra, who has been in office for five years, also lost his Democratic Town Committee nomination fight, with the committee supporting instead Luke Bronin. Mr. Bronin, a Yale-educated Rhodes Scholar, moved his family to Hartford six years ago. Only 36, he has served as a deputy assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Treasury and as a top aide to Gov. Dannel P. Malloy. As a Navy Reserve officer, Mr. Bronin served in the war in Afghanistan, working in an anti-corruption task force there.
Seeking to counter those achievements, Mayor Segarra has sought to paint Mr. Bronin as an outsider, raised largely in Greenwich and “disconnected from the grand majority of the people” in Hartford.
Meanwhile, Bridgeport Mayor Bill Finch barely survived a Democratic Town Committee challenge in his city, winning by only a few votes. Then again, Mr. Finch was facing a challenger who served seven years in federal prison for corruption — against the people of Bridgeport!
That’s correct, former five-term Mayor Joe Ganim is back after having served his time. It appears plenty of Bridgeport residents view his time in office fondly, enough to seriously consider Mr. Ganim for election in the upcoming primary, despite the fact that the last time Mr. Ganim was their mayor he was caught abusing the office to enhance his own personal gain. The race is expected to be close.
Corruption won’t happen again, Mr. Ganim promises, saying among his first acts will be establishing an Office of Public Integrity.
What these insurgencies may have in common is frustration with the lack of economic development in the cities, the high property taxation, and the disproportionate burden they face in maintaining the state’s social safety net through their public and subsidized housing. All three cities are dominated by one party — the Democrats — and so when challengers emerge in reaction to these frustrations, they come from within the ranks.
The candidates who win these intraparty Democratic fights in New London, Hartford and Bridgeport will be considered the heavy favorites in the general election, unless any of the vanquished Democrats figure out a way to stay on the ballot for Nov. 3.
The challenges facing New London are not as immense as those confronting Hartford and Bridgeport, and the opportunity for a dramatic turnaround is greater. While crime is an issue in New London, it is not the crisis seen in the state’s larger cities.
But there is disquiet in New London, as in Hartford and Bridgeport, making it a tough year for incumbents fighting to keep their mayoral jobs.
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