CTNJ/Opinion: Ganim 2018: Why would anyone vote for him?

Contributing op-ed columnist Terry Cowgill lives in Lakeville, blogs at ctdevilsadvocate.com and is managing editor of The Berkshire Edge in Great Barrington, Mass.

Few things in life are as interesting and delicious to watch as the rehabilitation of a corrupt politician. When the mighty fall, they do one of two things: they either crawl under a rock and you hear from them only sporadically if at all (Richard Nixon, Philip Giordano); or they emerge from jail proclaiming their reformation and try mightily to regain the approval of the public, only to get in trouble again (John Rowland, Ernie Newton).

Our history of corruption has been well documented over the years, earning us some dubious monikers.

But even by the storied standards of the hypermasculine “Corrupticut,” Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim has displayed an uncommon amount of testicular fortitude. In 2003, he was convicted of 16 corruption-related counts, including racketeering, extortion, bribery, and mail fraud. Essentially, Ganim and his aides shook down city contractors for more than half a million in cash, meals, clothing, wine and home renovations. Why? Because they could.

Read the full story on CT News Junkie.