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Ganim declares victory in Bridgeport mayor’s race

BRIDGEPORT– Joe Ganim is declaring victory in his bid to retake the Bridgeport mayor’s office five years after he was released from federal prison. ...
Ganim

BRIDGEPORT– Joe Ganim is declaring victory in his bid to retake the Bridgeport mayor’s office five years after he was released from federal prison.

“Some will certainly call this a comeback story, but for me this is a city I feel I’ve never left.  I’ve never stopped caring about the challenges people face in every neighborhood,” Ganim said during his victory speech.

Ganim served the Park City from 1991 to 2003 before he was convicted of 16 charges of corruption, including trading city contracts for lavish personal items, and went to prison for seven years.

“Of course there is an element of redemption in all of this. In the true sense of the word; it’s not a distant or philosophical or religious redemption. It’s real and it’s human, and it applies to everyone of us.”

Throughout his campaign he insisted he’d changed and earlier this year he made a public apology. He also highlighted the good he said he did for his city,  taxes were lower and neighborhoods were safer.

Ganim edged out incumbent Democratic Mayor Bill Finch on primary night, and after a contentious battle in which Finch said he’d run on a third party ticket, the mayor bowed out, throwing his support at petitioning candidate Mary Jane Foster.

Foster says she's disappointed but asked residents not to give up on Bridgeport.

"The state of Connecticut honors second chances, and the city has given Joe Ganim a second chance and we'll see how that plays out. I certainly want nothing but the best  for this city and I'm sure the voters feel the same way," Foster said.

Meanwhile, Finch, who fought with Secretary of the State Denise Merrill over is eligibility to enter the election as a third party candidate after the deadline, had some choice words about her on election night.

"I'd like to call upon the secretary of the state, Secretary Merrill, to do her job," Finch said. "She didn't do her job. She didn't protect our process in the primaries, she didn't protect the process in the general election. She's done a horrible job and I think she should be held accountable for it."

There were five other candidates on the ballot, including Foster and Republican candidate Rick Torres.  Democrats make up the city’s largest voting block and typically the endorsed Democrat wins the mayor’s office.

Gov. Dan Malloy never formally endorsed a candidate in Bridgeport, but has said he will work with whoever wins. "It’s an unusual election and it will probably receive some national attention" Malloy said. "But when the votes are counted whoever is mayor is who were going to work with."

Here is a statement from Malloy's office congratulating Ganim:

The voters have spoken, and I want to congratulate Joe Ganim on his victory. I am committed to moving Bridgeport forward and, as I have said, I will continue to put the best interests of the community first.

I am hopeful that Mayor-elect Ganim will live up to the huge responsibility that comes with leading our state’s biggest city by building trust not just with those within the city he will soon lead, but with leaders statewide. We must continue to make progress in Bridgeport.

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