September 8, 2025 — It’s a sleepy Primary Election Day tomorrow in Bridgeport. Only the 138th District (Upper East Side, North End) has a Democratic primary challenge between Kevin Monks, Samia Suliman, Keyla Medina and Maria Pereira.

But it’s not going to be a sleepy day in Superior Court! While the polls will be open in the 138th District from 6:00am – 8:00pm, the real action starts at 9:30am in downtown Bridgeport.

Arraignments and hearings

At 9:30am, all four people arrested in August – Elsie Mercado, Robert Anderson, Maria Hernandez, and Sylvia Ramos – will be in Bridgeport Superior Court for their arraignment. An arraignment is the first step in a criminal proceeding where defendants are brought in front of the judge to hear the charges against them and enter a plea.

Initially all of the people arrested on election fraud charges related to the 2019 and 2023 mayoral primaries pled not guilty. So far, Josephine Edmonds is the only defendant to change her plea to guilty after being offered a deal with state prosecutors in exchange for probation. How will the 4 new defendants plea tomorrow? It may depend on whether anyone has been talking with the state prosecution…

Then at 2:00pm, Wanda Geter-Pataky, Alfredo Castillo, Jazmarie Melendez, Margaret Joyce, and Nilsa Heredia, are due back in court for another pre-trial hearing. Since their last court appearance, Geter-Pataky and Castillo have both been arrested on MORE charges.

Truck full of Grapes and Stolen Ballots

From August 15th in The Connecticut Post:

BRIDGEPORT — A pickup truck filled with grapes, a City Council member, and an absentee ballot application for a disabled nonverbal woman are at the center of a new criminal charge lodged against Wanda Geter-Pataky, a Bridgeport Democratic operative already facing nearly 100 felony charges of violating state election laws.

An arrest warrant filed in state Superior Court in Bridgeport charged Geter-Pataky, 69, with a single count of first-degree violation of conditions of release, a class D felony punishable by up to five years in prison, by contacting witnesses in multiple other cases related to absentee ballot fraud in the 2019 and 2023 mayoral primaries.

And from September 2nd in The Connecticut Post:

BRIDGEPORT — A Pond Street man told investigators that City Council member Alfredo Castillo “stole” his and his family’s votes during the September 2023 primary between incumbent Mayor Joe Ganim and challenger John Gomes, according to an arrest warrant affidavit for Castillo’s third arrest on election-related charges.

The man, who was interviewed by the Gomes campaign as part of its successful challenge to overturn the results of the primary in civil court, subsequently told inspectors from the Chief State’s Attorney’s Office that despite always voting in person, Castillo and co-defendant Wanda Geter-Pataky showed up to his home and “instructed” him to sign absentee ballot applications for the family weeks before the election.

What about Maria Pereira?

Maria Pereira won’t be back in court tomorrow, likely due to the fact that she is seeking re-election and tomorrow is Primary Election Day. That doesn’t mean she’s off the hook though. She’ll be back in court for her next pre-trial hearing on Tuesday, September 16th at 10:00am.

One thing about Maria Pereira is that she seems undeterred by her criminal charges. Like Alfredo Castillo and Wanda Geter-Pataky, she has refused to resign from her elected position and like Castillo, continues to seek office despite facing 29 counts of election fraud, 1 count of forgery, and 1 count of disorderly conduct related to her 2023 re-election campaign.

But the real question is, has she continued to engage in the ballot chasing that has gotten her into so much trouble? According to the Absentee Ballot Application Log, Maria has signed out 300 applications to distribute. And today’s Absentee Ballot Report released by the Town Clerk has 41 PAGES of absentee ballots requested, for a total of 481 ballots. Of those requested, 306 have been returned so far.

Have state investigators gone to speak with any of those voters to inquire about their process? Do any of the names on the AB Report match names of witnesses in Maria Pereira’s arrest affidavits?

READ THE Sept 8th AB Report

… and Eneida Martinez?

We are still waiting to hear if and when Eneida Martinez will be charged. She is implicated in 2 of the arrest affidavits of Margaret Joyce and Sylvia Ramos as being the person who recruited them to work on the Ganim Campaign, as well as someone who Ramos delivered ballots to.

And like Wanda Geter-Pataky, Martinez also pled the 5th over 70 times when subpoenaed to court during the 2023 lawsuit to overturn the primary, when asked to testify about her activity caught on camera at ballot drop boxes.

Will any of the people facing charges “give up” Eneida Martinez? Will anyone have evidence that connects Ganim directly? And will the trials for all of these individuals finally get underway?

It’s going to be a long day tomorrow, but it certainly won’t be boring!