At the beginning of this month, Mayor Ganim released his budget for the coming year – a budget that “holds the line” on taxes, gives a very small increase to education, and uses $17 million in COVID relief funds to plug holes. We know from public polling that Bridgeport voters citywide want to see education funding made a top priority – and that giving $2 million to our schools when Bridgeport students need 6 times that amount isn’t going to cut it. But what we also know is that Black and Latino voters in Bridgeport want our next mayor to focus on economic development that will bring jobs to Bridgeport. And not just any jobs but good paying, high-quality jobs. 

Since 1980, income inequality has increased dramatically in Fairfield County. In the 6 wealthiest towns, the median income, adjusted for inflation, grew from $127,000 to $203,000. In Bridgeport during the same period, our median income went from $44,000 to only $47,000. Levels of debt in Fairfield County also vary widely by race and ethnicity. While only 12 percent of adults in majority-white ZIP codes have some form of debt in collections, roughly 33% of adults in majority Black and Latino ZIP codes do, where student loan debt is also more prevalent.

The takeaway: the wealthiest among us have only gotten wealthier over the past 40 years while Black and Latino wealth in Bridgeport has stayed stagnant. Sadly, Joe Ganim has been mayor for nearly 20 of those years. It’s no wonder that Bridgeporters are ready for a new mayor who will make real, tangible economic growth a top priority. Residents don’t want more “deals” that benefit special interests and open up the door to kickbacks. Voters want a vision and plan for how we equitably grow our local economy.  

It’s time to move beyond our past. The manufacturing industries that drove our growth during the 20th Century are gone and not coming back. But that doesn’t mean we can’t grow. Other small sized cities – like Asheville, NC, Trenton, NJ, and Savannah, GA – have all significantly grown their local economies while during the same period, Bridgeport’s has been all over the map. These cities have all benefited from long-term strategic planning, coordination among many institutions and financial partners, and a clear vision to attract private investment. While there’s no one way for a city to take charge of its economic destiny, Bridgeport’s unique problem with public corruption is the elephant in the room. 

Bridgeport’s unique problem with public corruption is the elephant in the room.

As we’ve said many times, corruption doesn’t define us, it’s just in the way. According to the International Monetary Fund, public corruption – or the use of public, government resources for personal gain – drastically lowers private investment and dramatically slows economic growth. One of the biggest problems is that we can’t keep and attract talent, as talented and educated people either become part of the problem, or leave entirely. Case in point: This week we lost our 4th health director since 2016 and Ganim’s administration has been a revolving door of department heads. Tax revenues are lost, blight settles in, and government services decline which then puts huge pressures on the budget. The final result is residents experience a lower quality of public infrastructure and services.

Last year, we wrote about how the city’s budget is constrained by Bridgeport’s economic growth. If revenues raised from our taxable property remain flat – but our costs continue to rise due to inflation, labor agreements, cost of healthcare, and more – certain items will have to be cut in order to pass a balanced budget. During Ganim’s second chance as Mayor, he has consistently put education on the chopping block. This is a sad state of affairs since we know education is one of greatest tools for achieving equality in our region. And we all know that investing in public education is a proven catalyst for economic growth. 

Bridgeport’s problem with public corruption, which is both a real and ongoing issue, stands directly in the way of our ability to grow our local economy. But it doesn’t have to stay that way. This year, we can elect an independent mayor, a mayor who operates outside the system of corruption that has held us back for too long.

Bridgeport is ready for a mayor who will declare our city open for business by creating a transparent, accessible, and equal playing field for private investment: Private investment that will lead to good-paying green-economy jobs, foster our arts and tourism industry, strengthen our institutions, celebrate our unique culture, and grow our Black and Latino-owned small businesses. 

In short, we don’t want a mayor who will “hold the line” on taxes if that means divesting from education, budget trickeries, and shady deals with developers. We want a mayor who will grow Bridgeport’s economy in a way that puts the economic well-being of the people who live here front and center.