Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim was officially sworn in to commence his eighth term in office at a city hall ceremony on Wednesday.
The oath was administered to Ganim by his 97-year-old father, George Ganim Sr., in front of a crowd of city officials and well-wishers gathered outside the mayor’s office at the Margaret Morton Government Center.
“You know, the road to get here, especially this time, was long and challenging, but we are here," Ganim said to his supporters after being sworn in. "And a job well done, Bridgeport."
The ceremony comes after court-ordered redos of the city’s Democratic mayoral primary and the November general election prompted by an absentee ballot stuffing scandal. Ganim thanked his supporters for standing by him through the four elections.
“I was forced to reconnect with voters four times,” said Ganim, acknowledging the long campaign.
“And although we won every time, it wasn’t convincing enough for me and I thought I needed to not only focus on bond ratings from Wall Street and waterfront development, but it was reconnecting with individuals, neighborhood to neighborhood, one on one.”
Ganim has served as Bridgeport mayor for 20 years. He was first elected at age 32 in 1991. He served a federal prison sentence for corruption after five terms in office. He won reelection in 2015 following his release and has been mayor since.
