Furthermore, the CT Post has now discovered that this unprecedented effort to block the will of Bridgeport’s voters has been in the works for months.
Going all the way back to October, 2011, the Malloy and Finch administrations were in discussions aimed at giving the state the power to appoint Bridgeport’s superintendent, in return for a short-term loan. At one point the proposed loan was only $1.5 million. As we now know, the loan amount ended up at the $3.4 million level.
The key player for the state has been Ben Barnes, Malloy’s Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management. Barnes had previously worked for Malloy in Stamford and then took the post of finance director for the Bridgeport School District. As finance director, Barnes was responsible for Bridgeport’s school budget. As a result of inadequate funding and poor management, Barnes left a huge budget deficit in place when he moved on to become Malloy’s budget director.
Now, as Malloy’s OPM secretary, Barnes has positioned himself in such a way as to continue to play a major role in Bridgeport’s finances.
The public documents that the CT Post acquired show that the people involved in the wheeling and dealing included Barnes, Commissioner Pryor, Pryor’s chief of staff, Adam Goldfarb; former Bridgeport School Superintendent John Ramos, Mayor Bill Finch and some of Finch’s top aides.
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