Convicted felon announces campaign for governor in Democratic state

Henry Rodgers, DCNF

The Democratic Mayor of Bridgeport, Conn., who spent almost seven years in federal prison for political-corruption, announced a campaign for governor of the state Wednesday.

Joe Ganim, 58, filed the necessary paperwork to run for governor at the State Elections Enforcement Commission office in Hartford, Conn., joining a number of other Democratic candidates who have expressed interest in running for current Democratic Gov. Dannel Malloy’s spot, who said in April that he would not seek re-election.

Ganim was convicted of 16 federal corruption charges in 2003 while serving as mayor and was sentenced to nine years in prison. After serving almost seven years, Ganim was released.

Prosecutors said he directed contracts to his business partners and their clients for over $500,000 of personal gifts, including cash, diamonds, designer clothing, fine wine and even improvements to his home, WTOP reported.

Ganim was released and elected mayor of Bridgeport again in 2015 after apologizing, but now believes he deserves a shot as the governor of Connecticut.

“I am far from a perfect candidate,” Ganim said in statement Wednesday. “I’m someone who has made mistakes in my life.” He continued, “When you get past the headlines and you get to the body of the story, I think it’s about my experience of leading the state’s largest city.”

“I’m excited about this,” he added. “As you know, I’m not a guy who shies away from challenges or controversy. I will run, I will run hard.”

So far three other Democrats have announced their candidacy for governor, including Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, former state Sen. Jonathan Harris and Middletown Mayor Dan Drew.

Ganim will also have to run without receiving any funding from Connecticut’s public finance system since he is a convicted felon. This will put him several million dollars behind his opponents.

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