Civics Statements from Casual Conversations - City Council Address May 4, 2026 (John Marshall Lee)

Last fall 2025, citizens, registered as voters, elected you to represent them. They also

said YES to the proposals referred to you by the Charter Review Committee, of which I

was a member. That group of thirteen citizens early understood and agreed that our

city’s response to ethics violations was critical. And the consent of the governed showed

up in the ballots. Any delay in maintaining the former status quo with no Ethics Director,

recruited, selected, and employed as staff to collaborate with the volunteers on the

Ethics Commission fails to respond to the hearings, discussions, and the time allowed

as well as the work assigned to Charter Review.

We did our work. Delivered a better written document, shorter, and edited for ease in

understanding especially in the areas of Civil Service and Ethics. Since the 2026

Budget and Appropriations review of the Mayor’s budget failed to assign a dollar

amount for consideration as a placeholder for future consideration, what plan does the

Mayor and Council have in mind? Ignoring the voting consent of the governed looks like

stalling and creates a looming emergency at this moment.

Governance structure failures in Bridgeport include the elimination of Fair Housing

Commission by a series of Mayors. That body died in place for failure to have regular

nominated citizens and consequently left no logical place for over 700 residents of

Success Village to turn for its own governance issues, to involve the city earlier then

health circumstances demanded later. Financial justice is still sought.

Fair Rent Commission is a different story but your oversight over the restoration of this

body three years ago as a public service does not show a full-time qualified

representative, or records of what subjects that office management has faced and how

rental questions are managed or reported. Is that what you set in motion? You budgeted

a position and monthly it still is not operating.

But the Legislative Services office, established in recent years, and serving the City

Council, is staffed, operating, and growing in its services.

Time will tell, certainly, but consider a “placeholder budget” as suggested by Council

person Hodges, please. If the duties of the Charter Review Commission were complete

in 2025, why does it continue to be listed on the website in 2026? The voters responded

to the process. If additional work is necessary from Charter Review members, please

inform us today with specific instructions. The Mayor and Council agreed in January

2024 to do the Charter review, but they took about 15 months to set us in motion. We

completed our work within four months. What are we waiting for? Is time awasting?