40 Facts About Joe Ganim

Joseph Peter Ganim was born on October 21,1959 and is an American Democratic politician and former attorney who is the mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Joe Ganim was elected mayor of the city six times, serving from 1991 to 2003, when he resigned after being convicted on federal felony corruption charges.

In 2015, Joe Ganim mounted a successful political comeback and was again elected Bridgeport mayor.

Joe Ganim has twice unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for governor of Connecticut, running in 1994 and 2018.

Joe Ganim was reelected to a consecutive term in 2019, and is currently serving his seventh term as mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Joe Ganim's father was a prominent Bridgeport attorney and Republican Party loyalist who was a lieutenant of local Republican boss Ed Sandula.

Joe Ganim graduated from the University of Connecticut and received a JD degree in 1983 from the University of Bridgeport Law School.

In 1988, a young Joe Ganim made his first run for office against Lee Samowitz in the 129th House District, a Connecticut House district in Bridgeport.

At the time Joe Ganim took office, the city's dire financial straits caused it to be the only municipality in Connecticut to have its finances under the control of a state board.

Joe Ganim campaigned on a law and order platform, promising to hire a hundred new city police officers to combat crime.

In 1994, three years after becoming mayor, Joe Ganim ran for the Democratic nomination for governor of Connecticut.

In 1997, Ganim defeated Republican challenger Joan K Magnuson by a huge margin.

In 1999, Joe Ganim was one of three American mayors to receive the City Livability Program Award from the United States Conference of Mayors.

Joe Ganim benefited personally by collecting kickbacks from developers, eventually leading to his prosecution.

On March 19,2003, Joe Ganim was convicted of 16 federal counts: one count each of racketeering, extortion, racketeering conspiracy, and bribery; two counts of bribery conspiracy; eight counts of mail fraud, and two counts of filing a false tax return.

Over six years, Joe Ganim engaged in a shakedown of city contractors, accepting more than a half-million dollars; he took bribes in the form of cash, food and wine, clothing, home renovations, and diamonds.

Joe Ganim surrendered in September 2003 and served most of his sentence at FCI Fort Dix in New Jersey.

Joe Ganim unsuccessfully petitioned for a transfer to FCI Otisville in New York, to be with his family.

In 2009, Joe Ganim was transferred to the FCI McKean prison camp in Pennsylvania.

Joe Ganim then served the last seven months of his sentence at a halfway house in Hartford.

Joe Ganim's sentence was reduced by a year for participating in a drug-treatment program.

In July 2010, Joe Ganim was released after serving seven years in prison.

In 2012, a five-member panel of the State of Connecticut Grievance Committee recommended that Joe Ganim's license be restored.

In 2017, Joe Ganim applied to the US District Court for the District of Connecticut for permission to practice in that federal court without being readmitted to the Connecticut bar; these efforts were rebuffed by the court.

In 2021, Joe Ganim again sought reinstatement of his license to practice law.

In March 2015, Joe Ganim moved back to Bridgeport from Easton, where he had been living.

In May 2015, Joe Ganim officially entered the race for mayor, filing paperwork to challenge incumbent Democrat Bill Finch as mayor of Bridgeport.

Joe Ganim won the key support of local clergy and the Democratic machine led by Democratic Town Committee chairman Mario Testa.

Joe Ganim managed to persuade Edward Adams, a former FBI agent who helped convict Ganim on corruption charges, to support his campaign.

On November 3,2015, Joe Ganim won election as mayor by a wide margin, defeating Mary Jane Foster and Republican nominee Enrique Torres, a city councilman.

In 2017, Joe Ganim filed paperwork creating an exploratory committee to run for governor of Connecticut in 2018.

Joe Ganim requested public campaign financing, which in Connecticut is available to qualified candidates.

Joe Ganim was reelected as mayor in 2019, securing a seventh term as mayor.

Joe Ganim's administration contended that the high backlog was caused in part by the city's introduction of a new "user-friendly public portal" that facilitated the submission of more FOIA requests than before.

Joe Ganim's campaign raised just under $579,000, while Gomes' campaign raised about $365,000.

However, because the results of the 2023 mayoral election were not certified, Joe Ganim was not sworn in on December 1,2023, but, pursuant to the city charter, continued in office until the election do-over could be completed and the election result could be certified.

In 1993, Joe Ganim married Ellen Jennifer White, known as Jennifer.

In May 2023, Joe Ganim sold his home in the Black Rock neighborhood of Bridgeport for $1.13 million, three times what he paid to purchase the property two years earlier, and purchased a condo in Black Rock.

In November 2023, one week before Election Day, the Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission voted unanimously to investigate a complaint, submitted by a former Bridgeport city employee, that alleges that Joe Ganim is not a resident of Bridgeport.

Joe Ganim called the complaint "ridiculous" and said that he lived in his condo in the city.