BRIDGEPORT--After Joe Ganim's victory speech Tuesday night, he took no questions. So on Friday, when he met with members of the media, he was asked how his prior 12 years in office and seven years in prison will make him an even better mayor this time.
“The best answer to that is, as of today, what I have learned over the past 11 months is that the people of the city of Bridgeport want me to talk about and focus on the future of the city,” said Ganim, who won by a 2-1 margin over his closest challenger, Mary-Jane Foster.
Ganim confirmed he has had a cordial conversation this week with Gov. Dan Malloy, who was staunchly opposed to him running because of his corruption conviction.
“Look, in the course of any public campaign, people take positions and say things. So, we moved quickly through that, in my view,” said Ganim.
With 400 police-related calls a day in Bridgeport and staffing down by approximately 100 officers, that's one of the first issues Ganim will address when he takes office again on December 1. He says that with low numbers, comes low morale.
“It's the lowest it's ever been in my 23 years,” said Sgt. Chuck Paris, president of the Bridgeport Police Union.
Sgt. Paris says the department's leadership, including Chief Joseph Gaudett, whose contract expires next month, is hard to deal with.
“We have to fight through, as a union, at the littlest things,” said Paris. “I've filed more than 500 grievances in the last five years.”
The police union was Ganim’s first major endorsement.
“We went over a lot of different issues,” said Paris of his first conversations with Ganim nearly a year ago. “By the time we were done talking, I believe that Joe was going to be committed to doing a better job for us than what's been happening right now.”
But why did the voters believe in and grant him a second chance in the form of a landslide victory?
Ganim attributes the win to “the accomplishments of the first administration.”
His run from 1991-2003 included stabilization taxes, which he adds have gotten out of control under outgoing Mayor Bill Finch.
Currently there are over 60 political appointees in City Hall, some of whom date back to Ganim's first administration. Ganim issued a warning.
“What I hope to have is a lean administration. There will be cuts.” Cuts because, he says, he just doesn't think the city has the luxury of spending as much in the future as it is currently shelling out.