BRIDGEPORT – On Thursday, March 7, the Connecticut Democratic State Central Committee (DSCC) issued a Dispute Resolution Decision (Decision) in response to a complaint filed by Gemeem Davis and Callie Heilmann , registered Democrats and Co-Directors of Bridgeport Generation Now Votes against the Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee (DTC) alleging they are in violation of State Party rules. 

In a unanimous decision the DSCC found the Bridgeport DTC in clear violation of State Party rules and their own local rules.

The Decision came 6 days after a panel of 3 state Democratic Central Committee leaders held a two-and-a-half hour hearing on March 1 to hear from both sides. The respondents, Mario Testa and the Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee had previously asked and were granted a postponement of the original hearing date which was scheduled on February 19, but in a stunning act of disrespect to the state Democratic Party, neither Testa or anyone representing the Bridgeport DTC showed up on March 1. 

In the seven page Decision the DSCC noted that Attorney Prerna Rao, who presented on behalf of the complainants and 4 witnesses, Gemeem Davis, Razul Branch, Josue Jorge and Donna Curran deserve credit for their roles in the hearing for being effective and thorough in their presentation.

The Decision makes the following crystal clear:

1) The Bridgeport DTC can only consider itself called into a meeting if proper notice has been given. Proper notice means that the Bridgeport DTC must post notice of all regular and special meetings at least 48 hours in advance on their website. They must also provide the meeting agenda to all DTC members at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting. Therefore, the Bridgeport DTC must create and maintain a public website or Facebook page where meeting notices and agendas are regularly posted. The Bridgeport DTC currently does not have a website and hasn’t updated its Facebook page since 2022. Save the agenda to DTC members, meetings have not been noticed to the public 48 hours in advance in recent years.

2) The Bridgeport DTC must hold meetings in places that are accessible to all Democratic Party members that are open to the public for observation. If the meeting is held at a private location (like a restaurant)…The Bridgeport DTC must provide public notice of the meeting (see #1) AND have signage for the public to easily identify the meeting venue. The Bridgeport DTC has been in violation of this rule at least since 2018.

3) The Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee can only consider itself as holding a meeting if a quorum of 2/5 of the membership is present. 2/5 of Bridgeport’s DTC is 36 members. Subcommittees of the Bridgeport DTC (aka District-level meetings or District-leader meetings) are not authorized to take any action. They can only meet to discuss making recommendations to the full 90-member town committee. Therefore, only the full 90-member committee can vote to take action on any item. All discussion and votes about endorsements, fundraising, budgets, policy positions, etc must take place at a regular, 90-member meeting of the town committee. Since at least 2018 The Bridgeport DTC has been in violation of this rule by having District-level meetings and votes for determining District Leaders, filling Town Committee member vacancies, endorsing candidates, etc. All Town Committee business must be taken up by the full 90-member body.  

4) The Bridgeport DTC must meet at least 4 times per calendar year. The Bridgeport DTC currently does not have 4 meetings per year. In recent years they have only held one meeting per year to elect its leadership. The next organizational meeting to elect its leadership is scheduled for Monday, March 11, 2024, 5:30pm at the Original Vazzy’s, 513 Broadbridge Road, Bridgeport, CT.

5) The Bridgeport DTC must keep a record, that is available with the Secretary, of who is voting as an alternate or proxy.

6) The Bridgeport DTC must follow and adhere to Robert’s Rules of Order for all meetings.

While the decision states that the Bridgeport DTC’s Treasurer’s Report is available on the State Elections Enforcement Commission’s website, our witnesses’ testimony showed that discussions around how the DTC is fundraising and spending money are not happening at the full 90-member meetings, as they definitely should be based on the findings in #3.

Finally, while it also says that meeting minutes are not required, we recommend that the Bridgeport DTC record and approve meeting minutes as it is a best practice of self-governance.

On behalf of the witnesses and all Bridgeport Democrats, Davis and Heilmann offer a sincere thank you to the Democratic State Central Committee for taking the complaint into consideration and recognizing that our local Democratic party is in need of major reform. As they put it in their Decision, 41 years is enough and it’s time for the Bridgeport DTC to enter the 21st century. The complaint and Decision is just the first step in holding the Bridgeport DTC accountable to the values of transparency and inclusiveness that the state and national Democratic Party not only hold dear but require. As we continue fighting for free and fair elections, expanding voting rights and making sure that our local Democratic Party reflects the will of Bridgeport Democrats we are inspired and strengthened by the words of Vice President, Kamala Harris, “Our democracy is only as strong as our willingness to fight for it.”