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I address you as members of a new City Council, but each of you put yourself in a position serving all the people of the city especially for those who reside in your district. Therefore, I readdress you as neighbor, Bridgeporter, and leader. We who are not members of this Council depend on your wise decisions, based on principle and lived values of open, accountable, transparent, and honest governance using oversight to reckon whether we are on target with City plans in each

Welcome to each member of the CC tonight. It is the final public speaking session in a short month. Oversight is a responsibility of all. You are expected to oversee on behalf of all the public. Specifically, you created an ordinance several years ago that requires official residency reporting by “Elected Officials, Board and Commission Members in the City of Bridgeport.” The Ordinance requires annual reporting during January or when changes occur subsequently in a year. Are

Thomas Jefferson wrote and spoke more than a few words which are often quoted in contemporary conversations. A sentence worth of wisdom from him was revealed with a quote in David McCullough’s HISTORY MATTERS: “Any nation that expects to be ignorant and free expects what never was and never will be.” Civics is the study of citizen rights and responsibilities, duties, and obligations. When we demand “our rights” and fail to practice the activities of duty personally and regula

Questioning about corruption in Bridgeport? Longtime, baked in the woodwork, structured to focus on interpersonal divisiveness/petty shit, without regular “oversight” or evaluated reporting from Boards and Commissions. Boards/Commissions do not pursue either “unaffiliated” voters or folks looking to serve. WHY? Where is online central hub to carry info on urban activities? Where is an AI service, retained by the City, to assist citizens with ‘hard to find info’ , English ch

Mary Lou, great partner that she is, celebrated this birthday with a carrot cake, which I like. But the creativity of choosing the main project of the past year, CASUAL CIVICS CONVERSATIONS made the frosting more ‘delicious’ for certain. If we are not out to advance the “common good” what are we about at any attained age? And if we are not attempting to bridge whatever challenges, gaps, or barriers exist at a time with respectful, dignified, and intelligent conversations wher

With the Thanksgiving holiday celebrated on the previous Thursday, and the host for “the last Saturday of the month at Fruta Café” off on an out-of-town journey (with Fruta closed) we posted signs of our move to URSA. At 9AM sharp a young woman entered URSA and sat down to learn more about how conversations that can be held by all when you spot a listener with a topic that is of interest to each of you. The guest was an educated woman of color, interested in the types of book

Casual Civics Conversations will have a session at Fruta on the last Saturday of November 29 at 9 AM. Perhaps you can raise questions as you do on OIB and evaluate responses from other Bridgeport citizens who bring a variety of experiences, knowledge, and questions likely from you. That is how learning gets shared. Reading Akhil Reed Amar’s 2021 THE WORDS THAT MADE US: America’s Constitutional Conversation 1760-1840 has led me to understand how newspapers PLUS conversations

It was the first gathering last Saturday at URSA, on Fairfield Avenue, and also the first CCC meeting after the election. Comments focused on the civil service changes that can improve process, making it more efficient and understandable; on the Ethics Commission and staffing for review and enforcement; on the City Council steps towards empowerment; and the fact that all parts of the Charter Revision were approved as presented to the Council and even though split into two que

Four resident taxpayers including a Charter Commission leader, a candidate for City Council currently, a retired City employee and JML. After meeting the others at the table and reviewing the operation of a conversational approach to learning more about CIVICS in a City, we found a common interest and expertise I housing that revealed the Federal threats to HUD subsidy properties in the City, to the people who may depend on Social Security payments, and Medicaid/Medicare assi

VOTE YES ON THE CHARTER QUESTIONS ON ELECTION DAY Have you heard much about the local election on November 4, 2025? There are 10...

John Lee the founder and known "community observer" by the City of Bridgeport Police Department joins City Councilmember Scott Burns as...