The various political players in the City of Bridgeport and State of Connecticut have collaborated to make it impossible for us continue our mission to open the waters of Long Island Sound to all. Specifically, The DEEP has threatened us with fines and criminal reprisals if we do not remove our Floating Boat House from Long Island Sound and the City has pig-piled on their coat tales to yank our mooring permits and kick us out of the Harbor. That is regardless of the fact that the Floating Boat House it is a legally registered vessel under State and Federal law, completely compliant in every respect, and could be a much finer example of such structures that exists across the Planet , as well as here in Connecticut, if we were just allowed to finish building it. But because we do not play politics at CCB and we don't have the financial backing or political cover like some other Non-profits, we are being strong armed into submission and shut down by the DEEP.
But that is just a full disclosure of the challenges we currently face, because that is not the purpose of this post. I could write for days about the DEEP or for that matter, the DMV, The DECD, The State Police, The Governor or any number of other backwards institutions in this State. The fact is Connecticut is a target rich zone for complaints due to inefficiency, lack of Government oversight, apathy and outright corruption- and it all needs to be addressed in a big way, but we cant fix it if we cant fight it.
WE cant fight it because the very ground rules under which we are governed are flouted with open disregard and the apathy we all suffer from is so well deserved- F#@$! it or fight it- most of us have decided to say "F@$! it".
And for good reason.
Take for example CT HB 5724. If you dont know what that is, you should and shame on you, but I am not surprised.
CT HB5724 is a law currently under review in the State legislature that would make it illegal for local elected officials to hold office and vote for their own salary as municipal employees or for that of their friends and political allies. I know your saying but wait Chris, isnt that a law already?
Yes it is, but a loop hole makes it possible for certain towns to get around it, such that Bridgeport (for example) has number of elected City officials who hold office and jobs simultaneously- a clear conflict of interest but the case none the less.
Citizens for a Better Bridgeport are working to get the loop hole closed up at the State Legislature, but are having trouble because House Speaker Sharkey refuses to allow it to come to a vote until all the local leaders in Bridgeport agree to let it pass. Most have been shamed into support except for the stalwart Anthony Musto of Trumbull who sits as State Senator over Bridgeport and enjoys a certain amount of insulation from the issue. But it isn't Musto alone who needs to wake up to Bridgeport's plight and the mission for good governance in Connecticut.
Bridgeport is merely the greatest example of political corruption gone awry in this State with over 30 years of bad mayors, poor economic policy and political cronyism. But the problems in Bridgeport affect the whole State. The fact of the matter is Bridgeport is the gateway to the rest of Connecticut and New England. As that largest City in the State and the first thing you see when you come up I-95, Bridgeport is really your first step into legitimate Connecticut (even Craig's List calls Fairfield County part of New York). But Bridgeport is also one of the biggest polluters of Long Island Sound, one of the biggest recipients of State and Federal aid, and certainly one of the biggest black sheep of the Connecticut fold being the butt of jokes internationally. It is the freaking Roger Clinton of Connecticut towns.
And so when you say, oh that's Bridgeport's problem, your saying, you don't care how your State and Federal dollars are spent, don't care that Bridgeport is an environmental travesty and that you dont care that the a City with some of most impoverished children in the State is so, because it is also one of the most backwards in the State because State law allows institutional corruption to persist despite the profound list of examples of how it is affect you personally.
We didn't ask Afghanistan to fix themselves when it was clear they were on the wrong track. We marched right in, removed the leaders and installed our own because we knew a fair election would never take place in a place that was so intrinsically backwards. Now Im not saying we should invade Bridgeport, but House Speaker Sharkey would have you believe the political officials who have driven the City into the ground and have a clear conflict of interest can be trusted to fix themselves and it is not his responsibility to sow up the loop hole that is allowing such apparent maleficence to prosper in a City that is so beset by issues and so propped up by the State tax payer.
Will HB5724 fix all the woes of Bridgeport? Certainly not. But will it begin to give the local citizens of Bridgeport the tools to begin to try and fix some of the issues that they are so afflicted with? You bet it will. And it is my hope, that once the reigns of corruption can be yanked in, we can begin to prop up the City that sits as the Gate-Keeper to New England and should be the shining example of Connecticut's prosperity for all to see.
Please call your elected officials and urge them to make House Speaker Sharkey put HB5724 up for a Vote.
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