Latest news with #BridgeportCityCouncil
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bridgeport mayor plans legal response to former city manager
Editor's note: This story has been updated with a statement from City Councilor Clayton Rice. BRIDGEPORT, (WBOY) — Bridgeport Mayor Andy Lang says he's pursuing his own legal action after former city manager Patrick Ford filed a civil suit against the city late last week. Ford's civil complaint, filed Friday, claimed 'malicious, oppressive, secretive, corrupt and retaliatory actions' against him. It also claimed that Lang specifically asked Ford to purchase property on behalf of the city that belonged to Lang. Bridgeport City Council voted 5-1 to fire Ford in a special meeting on April 3. In addition to compensation from the city, Ford's lawsuit also calls for Mayor Lang to be removed. Harrison County mom heads to Guantanamo for USS Cole suspect's pretrial In a written statement issued to 12 News Monday afternoon, Lang said: As a lifelong resident and business owner in Bridgeport, I pride myself on being a fair and honest individual. I raised my family here, and I have given back to my community, including serving as mayor for the past eight years. My reputation is important to me, and I cannot sit idly by while others attempt to tarnish the goodwill and respect I have hopefully built within my community. The recent lawsuit filed by the Past City Manager of the City of Bridgeport has insinuated, that I have acted in vengeful and inappropriate ways in the handling of City business, most of all in pursuit of personal gain. I will not stand for this. While the City follows their own standards of protocol, I fully intend to pursue legal action by me to set the record straight and restore my reputation. I am dedicated to showing my community that I am the trustworthy official, neighbor, and friend you voted into office eight years ago. Mayor Andy Lang City Councilor Clayton Rice's lawyer also released a statement to 12 News on his behalf, which said in part: Though I'm disappointed that Mr. Ford chose to file what I believe to be a frivolous lawsuit against the City of Bridgeport, I can't say that I'm totally surprised. It is not uncommon for terminated employees to lash out and retaliate against those who were responsible for terminating their employment. Hurting and angry people try to hurt other people, and it's clear that's what is going on here… Mr. Ford's allegations don't reveal corruption; they reveal his attempt at retaliation. I have nothing to hide and welcome any investigation into the truth. Though I've now had to retain an attorney at my own expense, I remain focused on the integrity of our city government and the future of Bridgeport. The residents of Bridgeport deserve leadership rooted in facts, not fiction. We owe it to our community to stand firm in the face of falsehoods. I remain committed to accountability and service to the people of Bridgeport who elected me. This is my hometown. We are a special community, and our city deserves better than this. Clayton Rice Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Fired Bridgeport city manager files civil suit against city
BRIDGEPORT, (WBOY) — Patrick Ford, who was fired from his position as Bridgeport city manager last month, has filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging wrongful termination and violations of West Virginia Code. In the lawsuit, which was filed in the Harrison County Circuit Court on May 2, Ford alleges that several members of Bridgeport City Council, including Mayor Andy Lang and Councilman Clayton Rice, pushed him to take actions and make purchases that benefitted their own personal gain and excluded him and members of the public from meetings where decisions were made on public business, including Ford's employment. The lawsuit claims that between October 2024 and April 2025, Ford was directed to do many 'odd' things on behalf of the city, and when he refused to do certain things that 'did not sit well with Mr. Ford' and began to learn more details from an internal investigation, he was wrongfully terminated. Man arrested after Mannington standoff charged with felony child neglect The lawsuit says that the internal investigation that was approved by the city in February due to 'a personnel issue' revealed that 'multiple Councilmembers used their offices for private gain.' Ford says he was repeatedly asked to 'find a way to' purchase property from Mayor Lang on behalf of the city and to approve payments for a private citizen for car parts/damages 'which were not caused by the City.' Additionally, the lawsuit claims that 'City employees were caught on camera removing banker's boxes of procurement files' around the time of the internal investigation, and that the city and Lang 'have taken substantial steps to cover up/close the investigation – to effectively sweep the investigation under the rug.' The investigation was canceled by the city prior to Ford's removal. Ford also claims that prior to his removal from office on April 3, the city council met in an executive session behind closed doors on Feb. 24 and discussed his employment, which the lawsuit says is a violation of the Open Meetings Act. Ford said that throughout his tenure as city manager, he was asked to 'always place an executive session on the City's agenda.' Ford asks to be reinstated as city manager and compensated for fees and damages and for the city to be fined and Andy Lang be removed as mayor. You can read the full lawsuit here. 12 News has reached out to Mayor Andy Lang for comment, and this story will be updated when we hear back. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
14-04-2025
- Yahoo
City of Bridgeport says tension at April 3 meeting was caused by ‘misinformed individuals'
A full video of the Bridgeport City Council meeting on April 3 can be watched in the player above. BRIDGEPORT, (WBOY) — The City of Bridgeport has released a lengthy statement after ongoing questions regarding an internal investigation that led to the firing of former city manager Patrick Ford. According to the statement, which was sent to 12 News Monday morning, the city said that it opened an internal investigation after a former city employee threatened a lawsuit against the city, alleging that they were treated unlawfully. The firm hired by then city manager Ford, Flannery Georgalis, LLC, began the investigation for several weeks, but according to the release, city officials learned that the investigation had cost $70,000, drastically over the approved $25,000 budget. 'Thus, the decision was made to suspend the investigation, until City Council could understand the monetary impact to the City and ultimately the monetary impact to you, the taxpayers,' the release said. Ford was let go from his position during a meeting on April 3. 'There was a lot of emotion displayed at the City Council meeting on April 3rd,' the city's statement said. 'Much of this was attributed to misinformed individuals questioning the reasonfor the investigation and if there was or was not a final report. We hope this information helps to clarify the current state of the investigation.' The release also clarified that there have been no lawsuits filed by that former employee at this time and that the overbudget investigation was not related to a separate West Virginia State Police investigation involving Mayor Andy Lang. The full release, which is attributed to the Bridgeport City Council, can be read below: On behalf of the Mayor's Office and the City Council we have the following statement. There appears to be continued questions regarding the investigation recently undertaken by the City of Bridgeport. We want to bring as much clarity to this issue as possible while also meeting the duty of the City, as an employer, to respect the confidential personnel information of its employees. A consideration that must be kept in mind by all, is that 'Employee and Personnel Matters' are held in the upmost confidential manner in accordance with West Virginia and Federal Law, to protect all employees. The City cannot openly discuss confidential employee matters. With that said, the investigation was initiated after an employee resigned from the City,and shortly thereafter threatened litigation, alleging that he/she was subjected to certain treatment that the employee asserted to be unlawful. Please bear in mind that the allegations by the former employee were just that – allegations. At that point, the City Manager, with the approval of City Council, hired the firm Flannery Georgalis, LLC, to begin investigating the employee's allegations. After several weeks, the City Council discovered the $25,000 approved for the investigation was severely over budget, without City Council approval. The cost of the Investigation has exceeded $70,000 with the law firm unable to provide its anticipated cost of concluding the investigation and producing the Investigation's findings. Thus, the decision was made to suspend the investigation, until City Council could understand the monetary impact to the City and ultimately the monetary impact to you, the taxpayers. Presently, there has not been any legal action filed against the City by the former employee, but the protocol calls for the City to notify the West Virginia Communities Risk Pool (the 'Risk Pool'), who provides coverage for the City. Following notification of the employee's allegations that could (though may not) result in a lawsuit against the City, the Risk Pool assigned legal counsel to protect the City's interests. We cannot predict if there will be a lawsuit filed by the employee who resigned, but if that does occur, the City's legal counsel will continue to protect the City's interests. The City will direct Flannery Georgalis, LLC, to forward all documents related to its investigation, including investigation notes, to the attorney assigned to the case by the Risk Pool. The Attorney appointed by the Risk Pool will handle this matter going forward and will advise the City respecting future actions, if any, relating to the Investigation. We would also clarify that the investigation in question done by Flannery Georgalis, LLC, is in no way connected to the investigation involving Mayor Lang being conducted by the West Virginia State Police. The Mayor and Council pride ourselves on respect and professionalism. There was a lot of emotion displayed at the City Council meeting on April 3rd. Much of this was attributed to misinformed individuals questioning the reason for the investigation and if there was or was not a final report. We hope this information helps to clarify the current state of the investigation. Bridgeport City Council Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Washington Post
06-03-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Democratic operatives accused of ballot tampering make first court appearances in Connecticut
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. — Five Democratic operatives in Connecticut's largest city made their first court appearances Thursday since being charged with tampering with absentee ballots in 2023, allegations that led to a court-ordered rerun of a mayoral primary and general election and fueled skepticism about U.S. election security. Three Bridgeport City Council members and the second in command of the city's Democratic Party organization were among the defendants who briefly appeared before a Bridgeport Superior Court judge, who set their next court dates for March 21. No one entered any pleas.
The Independent
06-03-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Democratic operatives accused of ballot tampering make first court appearances in Connecticut
Five Democratic operatives in Connecticut 's largest city made their first court appearances Thursday since being charged with tampering with absentee ballots in 2023, allegations that led to a court-ordered rerun of a mayoral primary and general election and fueled skepticism about U.S. election security. Three Bridgeport City Council members and the second in command of the city's Democratic Party organization were among the defendants who briefly appeared before a Bridgeport Superior Court judge, who set their next court dates for March 21. No one entered any pleas. In the runup to the 2023 primary, surveillance videos showed people on several occasions stuffing what appeared to be multiple absentee ballots into city collection boxes, police said. The defendants have also been accused of illegally helping voters fill out ballots and telling them who to vote for, according to arrest warrants. News of the surveillance videos helped fuel skepticism about the security of U.S. elections and was used to bolster false narratives about the 2020 presidential election being stolen, Among those arrested on Feb. 21 by state police were Wanda Geter-Pataky, vice chairperson of the Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee; City Council members Alfredo Castillo, Maria Pereira and Jazmarie Melendez; and Stratford resident Margaret Joyce, who told authorities she worked on Mayor Joe Ganim's campaign, according to arrest warrants. Castillo, Pereira and Melendez deny the allegations. Geter-Pataky and her lawyer declined to comment on the charges. Joyce declined to comment Thursday. Ganim has denied any knowledge of ballot tampering. Geter-Pataky and Castillo were supporters of Ganim, while Pereira and Melendez were for John Gomes, who challenged Ganim in the 2023 Democratic primary. Geter-Pataky and Castillo were previously charged with similar absentee ballot crimes connected to the 2019 election won by Ganim. State police allege Geter-Pataky is seen on the surveillance videos stuffing ballots into collection boxes. Ganim narrowly won the 2023 primary over Gomes and went on to win the general election. But both results were thrown out by a state judge because of evidence of alleged ballot tampering. Ganim won both do-over elections. Ganim was first elected mayor in 1991 and served 12 years before quitting when he was caught accepting bribes and kickbacks. Convicted of racketeering, extortion and other crimes, he spent seven years in prison but then won his old job back in 2015.
