Democracy, government by the people and for the people, can only survive if we have free and fair elections. 

When candidates get the majority of their campaign money from special interests and not the voters, our elections are compromised. Some candidates, like Stacey Abrams and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, run grassroots campaigns that are driven by small, individual donations as a way to demonstrate their people power. Other candidates, however, unabashedly raise the majority of their money from contractors, businesses, and special interests, choosing to be captured by the wealthy few in exchange for political support. Sadly, the numbers clearly demonstrate that our current mayor, Joe Ganim, is such a candidate. 

In March 2022, over 18 months before this year’s 2023 mayoral election, Mayor Ganim announced he was running for re-election, asking the people of Bridgeport for 4 more years. Yet, when he set out to fundraise for his campaign, raising $235,615 in the first two quarters alone, he did not go to the people of Bridgeport for support. 

By analyzing Ganim’s public filings, newspaper articles, and OpenCheckbook (a database of city vendors), we learned the following:

From his 481 donors, 93% came from special interest donations, the majority of whom are located outside of Bridgeport. Put another way, only 7% of Ganim’s donations came from Bridgeport residents who do not receive a financial benefit from the city. From registered Republicans living in Florida to a slew of attorneys who do business with the city, Ganim’s filing reads like a who’s who of outsiders who don’t live – and definitely don’t vote – here. 

24% of Mayor Ganim’s donations come From city contractors and vendors. With another 20% From City Employees

  • 24% of Ganim’s donations came from city contractors or vendors, accounting for $55,425 in donations from 86 donors
  • Of these 86 donors, 70% of these contractors DO NOT live in Bridgeport
  • Of these 86 donors, at least 19% are registered as Republicans and do not live in Bridgeport. This is important because it shows that political alignment may not the reason for support. Or perhaps it is. Rumors that Ganim is a Republican masquerading as a Democrat have been floating around for years. Certainly, his long relationship with Donald Trump doesn’t do him any favors.
  • $6,000 of this money came from 6 donors associated with the Steelpointe Development, 4 of whom live in Indiana and Florida. In case you missed it, this is the development that received multiple well-documented tax breaks from the City of Bridgeport in 2021: https://www.ctpost.com/opinion/article/Opinion-Ganim-gives-developers-a-belated-16756764.php 
  • 111 city employees donated a total of $42,690 or 19% of all money raised

All candidates have a choice: do I serve my voters or do I serve my donors? For candidates committed to a strong democracy, the answer is both because your voters are your donors. This guarantees that the issues your campaign addresses are the peoples’ issues. Mayor Ganim has made his choice and it will be personal favors, not public policies, his candidacy is beholden to. The voters of Bridgeport deserve better.