August 11, 2025 — On Wednesday, July 30th, four more people connected with Bridgeport’s 2023 Democratic mayoral primary were arrested on state charges of election fraud. From the CT Mirror:

The arrest warrants filed against four Bridgeport residents this week allege that operatives on both sides of a hotly contested race for mayor illegally harvested absentee ballots ahead of the city’s 2023 Democratic primary.

Three of the people charged say they were working for and paid by Mayor Joe Ganim’s campaign.

The newly unsealed records allege that Robert Anderson, Elsie Mercado and Silvia Ramos illegally collected absentee ballots on behalf of Ganim ahead of the September 2023 primary, which the incumbent mayor won by just 251 votes. All three of those defendants told investigators that they were paid by Ganim’s campaign.

State prosecutors also claim that Maria Hernandez, who was running for a city council seat in the city’s 137th district, illegally collected two voters’ absentee ballots while working in conjunction with John Gomes, Ganim’s Democratic challenger.

… The warrant filed in Ramos’s case, for instance, notes that she received at least $2,600 from Ganim’s campaign and that Ramos told investigators that city councilwoman Eneida Martinez recruited her to be a “chaser” for the Ganim campaign.

The allegations against Mercado similarly state that Ganim’s campaign paid her $8,620 for what they categorized as “consulting.”

One of the voters who was interviewed by investigators alleged that Ganim himself went door-to-door with Mercado while she was signing up people to vote absentee ahead of the 2023 election.

That voter told investigators that Mercado “entered the apartment while Ganim simply said hello from the threshold of the apartment door and walked away presumably to greet other potential voters in her building.”

… When confronted with that video footage, investigators said, Anderson acknowledged depositing roughly 10 ballots into two of the drop boxes in the city.

Anderson did tell investigators that “he worked for, and was paid by the Ganim campaign during the 2023 Primary campaign,” the warrant states…Ramos made similar admissions during her interview.

According to the arrest warrant, Ramos initially said she didn’t pick up anyone’s ballots, but later told investigators that she picked up “one or two.”

She also told investigators that once she picked up those ballots, she would “give ’em to Eneida (Martinez).”

Ramos is not the first person to claim that they were working for Martinez when they harvested voters’ ballots. Margaret Joyce, who was charged previously with absentee ballot crimes, told investigators that she was also working on behalf of Martinez and Ganim.

READ Elsie Mercado’s Warrant
Read Silvia Ramos’S Warrant
Read Robert Anderson’s Warrant
Read Maria HernanDez’s Warrant

These latest arrests not only expand the breadth and depth of the state’s ongoing criminal prosecution, but add to the growing list of people connected to Bridgeport’s Democratic Town Committee who have been charged. Of the ELEVEN people who have now been arrested for election law violations in the 2019 and 2023 mayoral primaries, SIX have ties to the DTC.

Let’s Recap

Wanda Geter-Pataky: Current Vice-Chair of the Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee, District Leader for the 136th District. Arrested on over 90 counts related to election fraud.

Alfredo Castillo: Current DTC-endorsed candidate for City Council, elected City Council Representative, and Democratic Town Committee Member in the 136th District. Charged with over 20 counts of election fraud.

Maria Pereira: Current City Council Representative and former Democratic Town Committee Member in the 138th District. Arrested on 29 counts of election fraud, 1 count of forgery, and 1 count of disorderly conduct.

Elsie Mercado: Current Democratic Town Committee Member in the 137th District, elected in 2022 on a slate led by City Council President, Aidee Nieves. Also ran unsuccessfully for City Council as the endorsed Democratic candidate in 2021. Arrested on 8 counts of election fraud.

Maria Hernandez: Former Democratic Town Committee Member elected in 2016 in the 137th District on a slate that included City Council President, Aidee Nieves. Charged with 2 counts of illegal possession of absentee ballots.

Robert Anderson: Former Democratic Town Committee Member elected in 2018 in the 135th District. Mr. Anderson is also an employee of the City of Bridgeport. Arrested on 7 counts of election fraud.

And although Eneida Martinez has yet to be arrested, she is currently both the City Council representative for the 139th District, as well as on that district’s Town Committee. Ms. Martinez pled the fifth over 70 times under oath in response to questions related to video that appeared to show her placing absentee ballots into drop boxes. She also was part of a SEEC complaint that was referred to the Chief State’s Attorney for criminal prosecution.

All 4 individuals who were arrested will be in Bridgeport Superior Court tomorrow at 10:00am for their arraignments. Most others are due back in court on Primary Day, Tuesday, September 9th.

Bridgeport City Council Rep. Eneida Martinez, center, watches video of her allegedly placing absentee ballots into election drop boxes during Bridgeport’s Democratic Mayoral Primary. Martinez was advised by her lawyer John R. Gulash, right, not to answer questions regarding the absentee ballots to avoid self-incrimination. Credit: Brian Pounds / Hearst Connecticut Media/pool photo

Second Complaint Is Filed

It’s a tangled web they weave, and many roads lead back to the Democratic Town Committee – and its continued disregard for laws, rules, ethics, and transparency.

You may remember in March of 2024, based on a complaint filed by our Co-Directors Gemeem Davis and Callie Heilmann, the Democratic State Central Committee (DSCC) ruled that the Bridgeport DTC was in violation of state party rules. The DSCC Decision directed Mario Testa to take meaningful actions to come into compliance. 

16 months later, Mario Testa and the Bridgeport DTC have largely ignored the DSCC’s Decision. They continue to violate state Democratic Party rules and their own bylaws.

So on July 23, five Bridgeport Democrats – including Gemeem Davis (131st District), Callie Gale Heilmann (130th District), Josue Jorge (137th District DTC Member), Maria Pires (134th District DTC Member), and Joseph Sokolovic (134th District DTC Member) – filed a follow-up complaint with state party officials.

Among the continued violations listed in the complaint are the following: Failure to hold properly noticed meetings; Failure to hold the required four meetings within a calendar year; Failure to follow Robert’s Rules of Order; Failure to stop conducting business illegally through subcommittees; and more.

Hearing Date Is Scheduled

A hearing date has been set for Wednesday, August 13th at 6:30pm on Zoom. The hearing is open to the public and the Zoom link can be found here: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83683892729?pwd=1FFEMcGS4AAJHS1srIF9arls9IEqAn.1

A panel, composed of State Central Committee members from outside Bridgeport’s congressional district, will hear from both sides.

In many other towns, DTCs meet regularly and maintain websites where they post meeting notices, agendas, minutes, and treasurer’s reports. In other towns, DTC meetings foster collaboration, where members actually spend the meeting discussing and debating shared goals. But under Testa’s leadership, Bridgeport’s DTC failures are by design. Because keeping people in the dark, confused and divided about what’s really going on benefits him and a small group of people.

We know that what’s hidden in the dark always comes to light. And as more people are held accountable and the system is exposed, the lights in our city are slowly turning on.