Coviello launches third party campaign

Charlie Coviello wants to be the mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Again, you ask.

Yes, Coviello has thrown his hat in the ring before dating back to 1981 during the John Mandanici era. The longtime community activist re-merged in 2003 to challenge John Fabrizi along with a host of other candidates in the Democratic primary. Coviello was also a candidate in both 2007 and 2011 but withdrew on both occasions.

In 2007 he stepped aside for Bill Finch to allow a one-on-one primary battle between the future mayor and his main rival, state Representative Chris Caruso. In 2011, he withdrew from the race and gave his support to Mary-Jane Foster in her first run for office. This year, both Foster and Finch are in the hunt and Coviello says he is in for the long haul.

“I’m not dropping out of this race for anybody,” said the candidate emphatically. “I’m in one way or another. They are going get a chance to vote for me this time around.” And he means the general election.

Along with Republican David Goodman Coviello has formed the New Movement Party and he will be spearheading the ticket. Coviello did receive the 1,900 signatures necessary to qualify for the Democratic primary on Sept. 16th.

“Jasper McLevy never would have been mayor of Bridgeport for 24 years if he hadn’t run as a third party candidate,” explained Coviello, referencing Bridgeport’s longest tenured mayor who was a Socialist. “That’s the way he succeeded.”

Coviello, who once served as McLevy’s paper boy,

said the naming of his new coalition is significant.

“People want movement,” he said. “People don’t want Finch.”

Finch is in the primary along with former mayor Joe Ganim and Foster. Board of Education member Howard Gardner has also turned in signatures to be on the ballot but the city’s registrar’s office has not announced if he has qualified.

With Coviello’s declaration that he is in the race to stay a crowded field in November is assured. There are strong indications that Finch, Ganim and Foster will press onward no matter what the results of the Democratic primary and Republican City Councilman Enrique Torres is the standard bearer for the GOP.

“I have a program, I have a plan,” said Coviello who has been releasing a series of policy statements to local media outlets including the Bridgeport Banner. “They don’t. That’s the difference.”

His two main issues are economic development and the reduction of crime in the city through better education saying, “More police officers are not the problem. The school system is the problem.”

Politically Coviello may appear to be a longshot but he is determined to get his message to the voters of Bridgeport. He has a base of support in the East End and East Side neighborhoods and is determined to become well-known citywide by pounding his message.

A key component to Coviello’s numerous themes is that he is not a fan of current mayor Bill Finch.

“Everything in this city is for the short term. There is no vision,” he said.

As an example he pointed to the Trumbull Gardens shootings and the response of Finch and Ganim by opening up dueling police posts in the neighborhood.

“The debate over crime in Bridgeport will not be solved by competing police posts,” argued Coviello. More police presence in the community may be a good start but we need more action in other area’s to reduce our city’s crime rate.”

Coviello was also dismissive of another candidate he once supported saying of Foster, “Mary-Jane is part of the club, too. I’m not part of the club. The third party is about changing the club.”

And unlike Foster and Finch, Coviello has no problem with Ganim entering the race. He just doesn’t want him to win.

“I have no problem with Joe Ganim being in the race. My problem with Joe Ganim is he wasn’t a good mayor,” he said. Ganim was sent to federal prison for seven years on a variety of charges for actions committed during tenure in office.

Coviello pointed to Ganim’s courtship of the minority community with exasperation.

“There were very few black department heads in the city when he was mayor,” pointed out Coviello. “There was no minority contracting ordinance at that time. He had 12 years to get a supermarket into the East End and we’re still waiting for it. Instead he put a supermarket into a neighborhood that didn’t want one and now it’s closed.

The candidate was referring to the controversial Super Stop & Shop on Madison Avenue which he called a “blighted property.” The store is located on the Dewhirst property and opened in 1998 amongst strong neighborhood opposition.