To the editor,
There are so many issues to consider in this next election. I am voting for Barack Obama for many reasons. Not because he has ended the war in Iraq or bringing to end a war in Afganistan.Not because of his professional demeanor and respect on the world stage.Not because of his unshakeable support of our closest ally Israel. Not because he understands that there is separation of Church and state and doesn't feel he needs to impose his personal beliefs on his country. Not because he understands a woman's right to make a choice that is her own and not open to the Judgement of religious zealots. Not because he was the first American President to acknowledge that gays serve our country and deserve the right to marry and be recognized. Not because he is the most respected leader of all ethnic groups.Not because he has started us on a road to recovery after being handed the worst economy in a generation from a Republican party that sent our country into financial ruin. Not because he saved the auto industry and jobs. I am voting for Barack Obama because I trust him. I know where he stands on the issues. He is forever evolving to a higher plain where there is no turning back for society or mankind.
Mitt Romney seems to be a very nice guy. I am not interested in his days at Bain capital and the thousands of jobs sent overseas. If veterans and John Mccain could support a man that supported the Viet Nam war and than spent 2 years on a mission in France sending love letters home while 18 year old men were losing their lives and limbs, than that is their prerogative. If they can support a man that has changed his stand on nearly every issue in the past 10 years then what can I say. If his supporters are not interested in his tax returns and choose to give him a free pass that is their privilege. Personally, as nice a guy as Mitt Romney is , He is a man lacking character and conviction. You can not stand for one thing one day and change the next. He can not be trusted. He lacks experience on the international stage and his Vice Presidential pick not only lacks experience on the world stage but also any business experience. Mitt Romneys ticket has no respect for woman and their issues and gays rights. The Republican party has no respect for the Latino community or African American community. City's like Bridgeport, Connecticut will suffer terribly under Republican rule.All social programs will be cut and create terrible hardships. The Republican party has done this to themselves. They have been exclusive for so long. They do not represent the face of the 21st Century America. They do not deserve to control the White house after 4 years when the Republicans destroyed the country in 8. Barack Obama deserves 4 more years to continue moving our country forward.
The City Of Bridgeport, Connecticut, has so much potential. With the right leadership, an individual with vision, charisma and the ability to excite developers, Bridgeport has the ability to outshine its major competitors Norwalk and Stamford, Connecticut. All three urban centers are located in Fairfield county, the wealthiest county in the United States. I believe Mary Jane Foster is that individual that can bring Bridgeport into a new era.
During the best of times, while Norwalk and Stamford have been focused on economic development, Bridgeport was content to be the dumping ground of all social ills, leaving the burden of support on the taxpayers of the city while businesses were quick to relocate. While Stamford proceeds full speed ahead with its Harborpointe development (ironically a name once used by Bridgeport’s project now known as Steelepointe), Bridgeport still has dreams of getting that first shovel in the ground to start the touted 1 billion dollar project, Steelepointe.
Mayor Finch, in a recent Connecticut post article had given himself a grade of A for his performance on economic development in the city. I would not agree.
For the past 4 years Mayor Finch had the perfect opportunity to market Bridgeport to nearly 500,000 vehicles passing on I95 weekly. A simple Billboard on the vacant Steelepointe site touting the future of the city starts here .People would be a buzz with excitment. Maybe plant a few thousand flowering bulbs, after all we are the Park City.The sad reality is that even with a highly paid Development Director, Donald Eversley, The basic marketing skills were never applied and Bridgeport missed an opportunity that can never be regained after 4 years.
While time moves on as it stops for no one, Bridgeport still hopes to become a major destination. Mayors and business leadership continue to pat themselves on the back as though the project, expected to take 20 years to complete, has already been started. The rumor of a big box retailer eg. Walmart on the waterfront property is painful to imagine. Creating nothing more than minimum wage jobs not to mention all the families that had to be relocated. Is this the best Bridgeport can do. Not even a quality Supermarket can be attracted to that neighborhood?
Perhaps the most important element in making Bridgeport’s dream of Steelepointe a reality is an improvement of colossal proportions to the education in the Bridgeport Public Schools. Improved schools will be an incentive for young families to move here. Now it just becomes another burden on the overtaxed resident to send their children to a private school to get the education that they need to succeed in life.So now we have a high priced Superintendent of Bridgeport schools relying on a state appointed school board.
The arts and entertainment are yet another key component to attract developers. The long vacant Poli Majestic theaters in the downtown area remain a constant memory to what Bridgeport’s glorious past used to be. In the past 40 years there have been hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on study after study to see if it was viable to rehabilitate the theaters. So there they stand vacant, dark and dilapidated as one enters a downtown that has been seeing an upswing in development (most notable being the Bijou Square Project). Developer Phil Kuchma has done a great job in creating an arts theater that outshines most theaters from New York To Hartford . Mayor Finch may want to take credit for helping this project along but truth be told, Phil Kuchma does an excellent job marketing his projects and he would have been able to secure the funds without the City's help.
Finally, one must remain optimistic in the future of Bridgeport, the largest city in Connecticut and the wealthiest county in the United States. The question is who will lead us into the future, reduce the taxes and create a quality of life for the working middle class and create the incentive to want to live here, work here and play here.I believe Mary -Jane Foster is that individual. She is thoughtful, charismatic,determined and honest. This September 27th we have a choice.