BRIDGEPORT GENERATION NOW VOTES AND THE UNRIG BRIDGEPORT COALITION RELEASE SWEEPING NEW PRO-JUSTICE, GOOD GOVERNMENT, ANTI-CORRUPTION POLICY PLATFORM AND ANNOUNCE CANDIDATE ENDORSEMENT PROCESS IN ADVANCE OF THE UPCOMING 2021 BRIDGEPORT MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS.

Beginning in 2017 Bridgeport Generation Now Votes began talking with hundreds of Bridgeport residents about the issues they care about and what change looks like for them. We had conversations at senior housing buildings, public schools, and community events around the city including in Trumbull Gardens, PT Barnum Apartments, Marina Village, Newfield Park, and the South End. 

Everywhere we went- The Terrace Reunion, East End Reunion, Back to School Summer Jam, The Bernard Buddy Jordan Foundation’s 15th Annual Memorial, The Gary Crooks Center, #100 Girls Leading, National Night Out, The East End Farmer’s Market, Downtown Thursday’s, Grocery Store parking lots and more – the message was clear. Bridgeporters want our kids to have a good education and youth programs to keep them off the streets, a police department that respects us, safer streets and fair elections. Over and over again we heard frustration about how our elections and city government is rigged to ensure those in power keep it while the needs of Bridgeport residents go unmet.

The people spoke, we listened and started organizing. As a result the UNRIG BRIDGEPORT COALITION developed THE PEOPLE’S PLATFORM — a sweeping set of thirty policy proposals, anchored around four pillars:

  • Justice + Equity
  • Good Government
  • Anti-Corruption
  • Pro-Democracy

You can read it HERE!

Rev. Stanley Lord, president of the Greater Bridgeport NAACP and an #UnrigBridgeport Coalition member, said “For far too long, we’ve allowed the few to control the many. No more. Today, we stand together and commit to supporting candidates that stand by what we stand for.” Lord continued, “We want and demand the best for Bridgeport. When we stand together in common cause and common purpose, we can do great things – we can change Bridgeport.”

Along with the The People’s Platform, the Coalition also unveiled its first-ever candidate endorsement process and an #UnrigBridgeport Candidate Questionnaire. All candidates running for Bridgeport City Council in the 2021 municipal elections will be invited to participate in the endorsement process, to fill out the questionnaire, and take the “#UnrigBridgeport People’s Pledge” in support of The People’s Platform. An endorsement committee, made up of representatives from the #UnrigBridgeport Coalition organizations, will evaluate all the candidates based on these inputs, invite like-minded candidates to participate in a candidate interview, and then announce the slate of endorsed candidates later this summer in advance of the city’s primary elections.

The Unrig Bridgeport Coalition is made up of the following partner organizations, community leaders and anyone committed to TAKE THE PLEDGE! 

Bridgeport Generation Now Votes, Bridgeport Strong, Connecticut Citizen Action Group, The Greater Bridgeport NAACP, Make The Road CT Action, PT Partners, SEIU 1199 New England, The Working Families Party – Bridgeport, The Working Families Party – CT, The Greater Bridgeport Ed Gomes Black Democratic Club, Kelvin Ayala (Downtown Bridgeport resident and business owner), Donna Curran (Former Democratic Town Committee member), David Daniels, Ron Bailey, Joe Luciano (Bridgeport Resident), Pete Spain (Former City Council Representative).

“In the 2020 election, we saw the power in how black women like me turned out to vote. We saw the impact that marginalized communities, existing largely in urban centers, could have on elections as large as the Presidential election. Today, it’s about how we build power with our neighbors to fight for the issues we care about in Bridgeport. Being active in our communities and in our political elections is the only way things will change,” said Zina Bennett, an #UnrigBridgeport Coalition member and a delegate and member of SEIU District 1199 New England. “I am proud to stand here today with the #UnrigBridgeport campaign to do the same thing at a local level.”

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