Joe Ganim was once a rising Democratic star who was turning around Connecticut’s largest and most troubled city. But then the Bridgeport mayor was convicted of 16 counts of felony corruption in office and sentenced to seven years in federal prison.
Surprisingly, Ganim returned to Bridgeport and was elected mayor once again.
Now, he is asking voters to choose him as Connecticut’s next governor.
This hour we ask Joe Ganim: why should voters trust putting the state in his hands. And what are his plans for Connecticut’s future?
Do you have questions for Mayor Ganim before the August 14th primary?
Join the conversation on Facebook and Twitter.
GUESTS:
- Joe Ganim - Mayor of Bridgeport and Democratic candidate for governor(@joeganim)
- Dr. Bilal Sekou - Associate Professor of Political Science in Hillyer College at the University of Hartford (@Bilalsekou)
- Dr. Jonathan Wharton - Assistant Professor of Political Science and Urban Affairs at Southern Connecticut State University (@PreppyProf)
READING LIST:
New York Times: From City Hall to Prison and Back, Ganim Now Eyes Governor’s Mansion (March 2018) – “He is the embodiment of the second chance: After serving as Bridgeport’s mayor in the 1990s and early 2000s, Mr. Ganim, a Democrat, was convicted on multiple charges of corruption and sent to federal prison. Seven years later, he emerged from his “time away,” as he calls it, a changed man.”
The Day: Opinion: Why Not Joe Ganim? (David Collins, July 2018) – “As he talked about his own successful second chance, I couldn't help but think about my own prejudice about considering anyone with a serious criminal past. But doesn't that undermine the whole principle of our criminal justice system? If no one can hope for a successful rehabilitation, isn't the whole thing doomed to fail?”
CTNewsJunkie: Op Ed: Joe Ganim and the Second Chance Society (Susan Bigelow, July 2018) – “Joe Ganim may be reformed. “Every saint has a past,” he said at a recent debate, quoting an Oscar Wilde play, “and every sinner has a future.” I get it. But right now the public doesn’t need someone with public corruption in their past. We’ve been burned too often, and our standards for who we elect to serve us have become dangerously low.”
Chion Wolf contributed to this show.
