Joe Ganim

Joseph Peter Ganim (born October 21, 1959) is an American Democratic politician, former attorney, and convicted felon who is currently serving as the mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Ganim graduated from the University of Connecticut and received a J.D. degree in 1983 from the University of Bridgeport Law School (which later became Quinnipiac University School of Law).

In 1988, a young Ganim made his first run for office against Lee Samowitz in the 129th House District, a Connecticut House district in Bridgeport.

Ganim lost, but only by about 150 votes.

He was elected mayor of the city six times serving from 1991 to 2003, when he resigned after being convicted on federal felony corruption charges.

Ganim was elected the 51st mayor of Bridgeport in 1991, receiving 15,768 votes (54%) and defeating incumbent Mayor Mary C. Moran, who received 10,951 votes, and two minor party candidates, who got a combined total of 2,258 additional votes.

During his campaign, Ganim accused Moran of making the city "a symbol of urban failure with a bankruptcy filing that drew national headlines."

Ganim was subsequently reelected four times, serving five terms.

The state board had ordered the city to raise its property taxes by 18 percent to close a $16 million budget shortfall for the 1991–92 fiscal year.

Ganim also campaigned on a law and order platform, promising to hire a hundred new city police officers to combat crime.

One reason why Ganim was elected was because "there were few politicians who wanted the grief of being mayor of Bridgeport for the paltry salary of $52,000 a year, hence there was not a lot of strong opposition with which Ganim had to contend."

When Ganim became Bridgeport's fiftieth mayor, he was the youngest person to hold the office in city history.

As mayor, Ganim began to clean up the city's East End, reducing the area's notorious crime rates, and reclaiming real estate from drug gangs.

Under Ganim, the city installed street lights and street signs and planted trees and flowers.

In 1992, the city removed a pile of construction debris (labeled "Mount Trashmore") that had been illegally dumped by a demolition business.

In 1993, Ganim won reelection in a landslide, defeating Republican Anthony G. Minutolo by a 4–1 margin.

Ganim's term also saw the competition of demolition of Father Panik Village—a housing project notorious for drugs and violent crime; the final fifteen buildings were razed in 1993.

Ganim also benefited personally, however, by collecting kickbacks from developers, eventually leading to his prosecution (see below).

Ganim has twice unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for governor of Connecticut, running in 1994 and 2018.

In 1994, three years after becoming mayor, Ganim ran for the Democratic nomination for governor of Connecticut.

Ganim withdrew from the race in July 1994, less than a week before the Connecticut Democratic convention, after lagging in the polls, and endorsed John B. Larson, the State Senate president pro tem and the front-runner for the party's nomination.

In 1995, Ganim defeated Republican challenger George H. Comer, the town chairman, by a 6–1 margin.

At the time Ganim took office, the city's dire financial straits caused it to be the only municipality in Connecticut to have its finances under the control of a state board.

In 1997, Ganim defeated Republican challenger Joan K. Magnuson by a huge margin.

In that election, Ganim's appearances on taxpayer-funded commercials "boosting his city's image" were criticized by his opponents, who believed that the commercials were tools for re-election.

Under Ganim, the City of Bridgeport joined a number of U.S. cities (others included New Orleans, Miami, and Chicago) to file legal actions against the handgun industry, arguing that they were liable for product liability negligence in failing to use technology to make their products safer, leading to handgun violence.

Such suits were inspired by successful litigation against the tobacco industry.

The City of Bridgeport's suit was filed in Connecticut Superior Court in January 1999; it named Smith & Wesson, 11 other U.S. firearms manufacturers, three handgun trade associations, and a dozen gun dealers in southwestern Connecticut as defendants.

Ganim said that the city's action aimed at "creating law with litigation...That's the route that we're going because [the industry has] always very effectively, with big money, lobbied the legislature and kept laws from being passed."

The city sought $100 million in damages for the cost of human life lost and the public cost of treating shooting victims; Ganim said that the city would agree to a settlement, "if the companies will agree to improve the design of their handguns to prevent their misuse."

The suit was unsuccessful: the court dismissed for lack of standing in December 1999, and the dismissal was unanimously upheld by the state supreme court in 2001.

In 1999, Ganim was one of three American mayors to receive the City Livability Program Award from the United States Conference of Mayors.

The award was conferred for Ganim's "Clean and Green program," which addressed urban decay and blight through a beautification campaign which saw the demolition of more than five buildings and the development of twelve new city parks.

A cornerstone of the city's redevelopment efforts was the construction of a new baseball park (The Ballpark at Harbor Yard) for a minor league baseball team, the building of a new arena (Webster Bank Arena), and the redevelopment of industrial land on the city's waterfront.

In 2015, Ganim mounted a successful political comeback and was again elected Bridgeport mayor.

Ganim was sworn in as mayor on December 1, 2015.

Ganim was reelected to a consecutive term in 2019, and is currently serving his seventh term as mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Ganim was born to George W. Ganim Sr. and Josephine Ganim of Easton, Connecticut.

Ganim's father was a prominent Bridgeport attorney and Republican Party loyalist who was a lieutenant of local Republican boss Ed Sandula.

Ganim, on the other hand, became a Democrat.