BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Two Bridgeport city councilwomen were arrested Tuesday after police were called to a polling place.
Bridgeport police received a call around 4:20 p.m. on a report of a person causing a disturbance at the John F. Kennedy campus. When they arrived, officers arrested Samia Suliman on breach of peace charges.
Less than an hour later, police received a second 911 call from the same polling location about a reported assault. Police arrested Maria Pereira for allegedly assaulting a 70-year-old woman.
Police said the incidents are not connected. They did not provide additional details as to what led to the incidents.
Pereira is known to be a supporter of John Gomes, the candidate challenging Mayor Joe Ganim whom Gomes accused of election fraud using absentee ballots. She is also accused of rummaging through an elderly voter’s apartment in search of her absentee ballot before the primary election. She has denied the accusation.
According to the Bridgeport city website, Pereira and Suliman both represent the 138th District. Pereira currently serves on the Committee on Contracts and the Committee on Education and Social Services. Suliman serves on the Committee on Public Safety and Transportation, the Committee on Miscellaneous Matters, and the Committee on Education and Social Services.
Voters in Bridgeport cast their ballots for mayor Tuesday knowing there’s a chance the results won’t actually settle the city’s election that was thrown into uncertainty by allegations of voting irregularities.
A judge last week tossed the results of the Democratic mayoral primary and ordered a new one, citing “mishandled” absentee ballots that left the court unable to determine who won. The general election was not canceled.
This set up the most bizarre mayoral contest held in Connecticut on Tuesday. Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas said her office is in talks with the Attorney General’s Office to determine if Tuesday’s votes will actually count and what happens when they are tabulated.
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