The incumbent mayor of Bridgeport, Conn., has won three races this election cycle after strong allegations of voter fraud against his campaign forced him to rerun the primary even though he had already won the general election. He declared his second victory.
On Tuesday, residents of Bridgeport, the state's largest city, headed to the polls for the third time in four months to elect their mayor. 99% of jurisdictions have reported, and the current Mayor Joe Ganim Although the vote count is not yet official, he defeated challenger John Gomez by about 1,000 votes, 4,948 to 3,901.
The vote, held in late January, more than two months after the Nov. 7 general election, was actually a primary to determine the Democratic candidate for Bridgeport mayor. And in fact, this was the second primary held this election cycle.
If it sounds confusing, that's because it is.
In the first Democratic primary on September 12, Mr. Gomez appeared on the verge of unseating Mr. Ganim's seat. For the first few hours after the return, Gomez held a steady lead. However, once the absentee ballots were counted, Mr. Ganim edged out Mr. Gomez for the Democratic nomination by just 251 votes.
Within days, Gomez's campaign issued an outcry over what appeared to be footage of Wanda Getter-Pataky, a city employee and longtime supporter of Mayor Ganim, stuffing bundles of absentee ballots into ballot boxes. Abominable surveillance video footage from City Hall has been released. The evidence of voter fraud was so convincing that on October 25, about two weeks before the general election, Judge William Clark overturned the primary election results between Ganim and Gomez.
“The volume of misprocessed ballots in this manner casts serious doubt on the outcome of the primary election and precludes the court from determining the legitimate outcome of the primary election,” Clark wrote in his ruling. I'm leaving it as is.”
Clark ordered lawyers for both sides to coordinate with local officials to hold another primary election. Meanwhile, the general election was held as scheduled, with Ganim listed as the Democratic candidate and Gomez listed as an independent candidate.
Ganim won that election, but his status as the Democratic candidate remained in doubt, so local officials held another Democratic primary this week. Ganim won again.
“This is not the first time, of course, but I am humbled to know that thousands of Bridgeport voters trudged through today's weather, overcame voter fatigue and achieved strong support.” “We made a statement saying we vote and vote to continue the progress of the City of Bridgeport,” he said. crowd of supporters. “I want to celebrate this victory for our city. I want to celebrate this victory for our party and for all those who remain committed to improving the quality of life for the people we serve in this great city.” I want to celebrate.”
A second general election is tentatively scheduled for next month, but Ganim's recent victory may make one unnecessary. As of early Wednesday morning, Gomez had not conceded his candidacy or made any decisions regarding additional general elections. AP report.
“We challenged the status quo and nothing is the same.” Gomez said. “What we've done is build a military stronger than ever before. And we're coming.”
Mayor Ganim is like the Teflon London of Bridgeport politics. He was first elected mayor more than 30 years ago in 1991, when he was in his early 30s. However, 12 years later, he was convicted of several crimes related to political corruption and resigned.
He spent seven years in prison, but after his release he ran again for mayor in 2015 and won. He was then re-elected in 2019 and looks set to win again in 2023.
Getter Pataky and another member of Ganim's team, Eneida Martinez, could face criminal charges at some point in connection with allegations of fraud in last September's primary election. It's not the first time for Getter Pataky. She is already likely to face criminal charges for alleged voter fraud related to the 2019 Bridgeport mayoral primary. Ganim narrowly won the election, with a large number of absentee ballots cast late at night, pushing him to the top.
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