A recent New York Times headline read “One of Trump’s Oldest Tactics in Business and Politics: I’m Rubber. You’re Glue.” Before even reading the full article, over here at Bridgeport Generation Now Votes we knew exactly what the content was about. Not just because as a nation we’ve been subjected to Trump’s abhorrent, childish behavior for the better part of eight years, but also because Mayor Joe Ganim employs the same tactic locally every chance he gets.

The Times points out that “Whenever Donald Trump is accused of something, he responds by accusing his opponent of that exact same thing. The idea is less to argue that Mr. Trump is clean than to suggest that everyone else is dirty.” That same sentiment – to dirty or muddy up his opponent – is something we noted about Joe Ganim weeks ago in a previous post, Ganim Digs Himself Deeper In Absentee Ballot Hole With Lies, Half Truths and Political Stunts.

We are now a little less than two weeks away from one of the most consequential elections in Bridgeport’s history. The choice couldn’t be more clear. Do we want four more years of corrupt, dishonest leadership with Ganim or are we ready to chart a new course?

For his part, Ganim is spending a significant amount of time working the “I’m Rubber, You’re Glue” angle. Both he and his operatives want the public to believe that John Gomes’ campaign stuffed harvested absentee ballots into drop boxes at the same clip as the Ganim campaign.

It bears mentioning here that John Gomes sued Joe Ganim and city officials because video surveillance showed Ganim campaign operatives Wanda Geter-Pataky, Enieda Martinez and others illegally mishandling absentee ballots. Superior court Judge William Clark looked at that evidence and heard sworn testimony from Geter-Pataky, Martinez, Joe Ganim and others. He then ruled in favor of John Gomes, subsequently ordering a new Primary election for Tuesday, January 23rd. Neither Joe Ganim, his lawyer or lawyers representing the city presented any evidence in court to support claims against John Gomes’ campaign.

Ganim’s Covert Voter Suppression Tactic

After John Gomes won that court case, Ganim doubled down on the “he did it too” messaging. Not because he cares about the integrity of our elections and our democracy but because, like Trump, he aims to suppress the vote. The more people “throw up their hands and declare they’re [politicians] all the same” the less likely they will be to come out and vote. That serves Ganim. He’s lost the walk-in vote at the polls three times, once in 2019 against Senator Marilyn Moore and twice now against John Gomes. 

Subscribing to Ganim’s “I’m rubber. You’re glue” tactic is bad for Bridgeport’s democracy. In Connecticut we tend to think of voter suppression –  i.e. purging voter rolls, closing polling places and cutting voting times – as tactics used in heavily Republican states and not our state’s issue. Those tactics are overt and straight-forward. However, by picking up the worst of Trump’s impulses to lie, deflect and erode confidence in the electoral process, Ganim is deploying a more covert, psychological voter suppression project. Ganim and the political machine that supports him have normalized “I’m rubber. You’re glue” and use it to justify absentee ballot fraud and other bad behaviors. All this in the name of holding onto power for himself and a select few. 

Because the Ganim administration and therefore his campaign have no real accomplishments to point to and no plans to seriously address the concerns of Bridgeport residents, their goals will forever be to erode trust in the democratic process by  bringing down any and everyone who criticizes and/or opposes them. They know Ganim’s name will be forever linked to corruption. He did spend seven years in federal prison for stealing from our city. They tried and failed in 2019 with Marilyn Moore. They try every chance they get with us. And, they are working hard to tie Gomes to everything and everybody bad in the city, including themselves. Go figure.

Ready To Turn The Page On Corruption

John Gomes is not perfect. But he does represent a chance for Bridgeporters to turn the page from the 30 year grip Ganim has had on our city. Thirty years of corruption, scandals, failing schools, fake projects and virtually no real economic growth. After getting caught stealing the 2019 mayoral election and the attempts to steal this one, should he really be rewarded with another four years? Gomes on the other hand is asking voters for one single opportunity to prove himself. Are we willing to give him a chance? 

Bridgeport’s democracy is a microcosm of the national conversation the country has been having about the future of the nation. At Bridgeport Generation Now Votes we believe democracy is on the ballot in the January 23 special democratic primary election just as it was in 2020 and will be again in the 2024 presidential election. As a collective we must stand together to send a strong message to the state and country:  we will not allow our elections to be stolen!