Gov. Lowell P. Weicker’s official state portrait.
For the second time in less than two months, I will agree with former Gov. Lowell P. Weicker, whose prognostications (or bloviations, depending on your point of view) on Connecticut politics long have prompted me to scratch my head.
During an Oct. 2 interview with Hearst Connecticut Media Group, Mr. Weicker, a former Republican who was an independent during his 1991-95 stint as Connecticut’s chief executive, had some harsh words for Bridgeport Democrats, who recently bestowed their mayoral nomination on former Mayor Joseph P. Ganim. Mr. Ganim, of course, departed City Hall after his 2003 conviction on federal corruption charges. He later served nearly seven years in prison.
“I cannot believe that with so many good people out there, the Democrats in Bridgeport have made Ganim their selection,” Mr. Weicker said with his usual bluntness. He announced his full support for petitioning candidate Mary-Jane Foster. “The idea of electing a real felon, that’s not Bridgeport,” the former governor asserted. Eight-year Mayor Bill Finch, who lost the September Democratic primary to Mr. Ganim, will not be on the November ballot.
Read more about Mr. Weicker’s musings right here, courtesy of the Connecticut Post.
Again, I seldom agree with Mr. Weicker’s take on the Connecticut political scene, but on this matter, I think the state’s 85th governor nailed it. As I wrote in my Sept. 18 and Sept. 24 posts, regardless of what Mr. Ganim accomplished on the policy front during his 1991-2003 mayoralty, he is not worthy of a return to the mayor’s office. In committing his crimes, Mr. Ganim displayed unbelievable brazenness, and he didn’t offer an apology until he was contemplating a return to the political arena. Mr. Ganim looks especially sleazy when one considers his crimes allowed him to live an envious lifestyle during a period when Bridgeport was one of the poorest cities in the United States.
It simply is astounding that Bridgeport Democrats overlooked that history. Bridgeport as a whole may face trouble under a Mayor Ganim 2.0, who assuredly would have credibility problems with the various individuals and entities who are key to a municipality’s success. That all would be on the rank-and-file city Democrats.