NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) – Bridgeport Mayor John Fabrizi says he agonized for months before deciding to call it quits.
Agony, it seems, has a way of returning to Connecticut’s largest city even amid signs of progress. Instead of payoffs, this time it was personal demons.
Fabrizi, 50, said last week he would not run for re-election. His decision came after he admitted last year to using cocaine while in office and, more recently, drew fire and later apologized for speaking on behalf of a sex offender in court.
“I probably agonized over this decision for a solid two months, each and every day,” Fabrizi said Wednesday. “I’m talking about sleepless nights, irritable, a lot of stress.”
Fabrizi’s woes are the latest saga in a city that was on the verge of bankruptcy in the early 1990s and for a time was known as the murder capital of Connecticut.
Mayor Joe Ganim helped salvage Bridgeport, but he was sent to prison in 2003 for nine years after he was convicted in a massive corruption scandal along with numerous aides.
Fabrizi’s supporters and even some of his critics say he managed to keep Bridgeport’s revival going with new economic development projects downtown, new schools and housing.
“Unfortunately character issues really were what broke the backs of both of those administrations,” said state Sen. Bill Finch, a Bridgeport Democrat who is running for mayor. “No one I know is happy about our poor image in terms of integrity.”
Now Bridgeport faces a bruising Democratic primary in September.
Four candidates have already entered the mayoral race and Ganim’s brother is considering joining the contest.
“It’s really at a crossroads,” said Gary Rose, chairman of the politics department at Sacred Heart University. “One road can lead to reform and the other road is basically business as usual, a continuation of machine politics.”
Fabrizi said he’d rather try to finish projects he’s started such as a major waterfront development than compete in the primary.
“Knowing some of the candidates it would be nasty, personal and vicious,” Fabrizi said.
Fabrizi admitted the controversies played a role in his decision, but said the main reason was he had enough of the long hours and lack of personal time to spend with his wife and 20-year-old son.
Fabrizi, who says he’s stayed off drugs for nearly two years, insisted that he still had the support of Democratic Party leaders. But other officials and observers say his support had eroded.
One of the candidates, state Rep. Christopher Caruso, is vowing to shake up the party machine if elected. He says Bridgeport is still rife with conflicts because many of the members of the Democratic Town Committee and City Council have city jobs or relatives who work for the city.
“They’re been more interested in protecting their nest than the city of Bridgeport,” Caruso said. “They put up candidates that have frankly been major embarrassments for our city and hurt the reputation of the city.”
Finch says such claims are overblown and that the real choice is between continuing the city’s progress or risking more divisive politics.
“I think I’m the candidate who can unify the city,” Finch said. “I think what we really need is someone who can be that sort of father figure, that unifier who provides the direction without slipping and falling.”
AP-ES-05-19-07 1410EDT
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