McLevy vs Rodgerson

Thursday, October 25, 2007
Socialist Study

Is Keith Rodgerson poised to become the Jasper McLevy of his generation?
By Lennie Grimaldi

Rodgerson's no socialist, but he is rather popular with the older set...


Can you believe it, less than two weeks until the general election? The political season's been so quiet since State Senator Bill Finch won the Democratic mayoral primary that there's not even a decent, irresponsible, libelous rumor worth spreading. Give me time, I'll think of something.

Barring an act of God (or a court) Finch will be Bridgeport's 52nd mayor. He has the money, political support, registration advantage and momentum. That leaves second place as the real competitive race. Will it be Republican candidate Michael Garrett, or that Harvard brainiac Keith Rodgerson, running under the Bridgeport First Party? What about Bridgeport police officer Milton Johnson or the pastor James Morton? No money, no Velcro message.

Rodgerson, a 32 year old policy wonk, has been trying to tap into the senior citizen Bridgeport electorate that recalls the city's last third-party mayor Jasper McLevy, a Socialist, who served from 1933?57. McLevy and Rodgerson share some similarities—both Scottish descent (Rodgerson's Italian on his mother's side) and roughly the same age when running their first races for mayor. But there are also major differences. For one thing, McLevy stood on street corners for 20 years railing against the sins of both Democrats and Republicans.

When the Depression hit and folks were suffering like never before, voters began listening to McLevy, particularly when both major parties became embroiled in scandals involving public-works projects. Voters will overlook a lot during the good times, but during tough times forget about it. The electorate reached its breaking point and voted for the Socialist, a roofer by trade, and kept him in city hall for 24 years.

McLevy, however, was more reformer than orthodox Socialist, the guy who introduced the civil service system to the city that cut through the heart of the parties' overwhelming patronage system. If you think there's patronage today, it pales to the stuff that went on pre?civil service. Everyone —cops, firefighters, bridge tenders, custodians—had jobs through patronage.

One day, a guy was sweeping floors at the police station. The next day an election that changed political power overnight literally swept him out of a job. So it went.

McLevy was the cheapskate among cheapskates and most of the people adored his penny pinching. He hated spending money unless it was absolutely necessary. The original snow removal appropriation in 1938 was $300, and therein breathes the story of all McLevy stories.

Snowfall was particularly heavy in 1938 and the people were not happy. The Herald, one of the city's popular rags of the day, was plowing McLevy and in particular his public works director Pete Brewster, whom the paper dubbed "Sunshine" because his way of removing snow was waiting for the sun to shine. "Sole responsibility for the terrible condition of Bridgeport streets following last weekend's double snowstorm rests with Director of Public Works Peter P. 'Napolean' Brewster" screamed an article's opening paragraph.

One day Brewster was sitting in Billy Prince's, a favorite downtown gin mill, taking a beating from Herald reporters. How could you allow so much time to pass before ordering plows to hit the streets? the scribes needled. The headlines, the name-calling, the teasing inched Brewster to the boiling point. He was building a heavier lather than the foam on his beer. Finally he snapped "Let the guy who put the snow there take it away!"

From that day forth the legend of McLevy took on a whole new meaning. The story of how Jasper McLevy said, "God put the snow there; let him take it away," is as much a part of Bridgeport lore as P.T. Barnum's "There's a sucker born every minute." Both men are most famous for lines they never uttered.

As Jasper's voter base began dying and newer voters saw the Socialist as a dinosaur, McLevy was defeated by Democrat Samuel Tedesco in 1957. (Quick trivia question: Who's the second longest serving Bridgeport mayor after McLevy? Yup, Joe Ganim, more than half done serving a nine-year federal prison term. Joe was also the youngest serving mayor at 32.)

Rodgerson doesn't have the money, or political organization to wage a realistic run at the mayoralty, but finishing second is not an irrational goal. Bridgeport's new Republican town chair Rob Russo, who succeeded Rick Torres after he was banished for endorsing Democrat Chris Caruso for mayor, needs a representative showing from Michael Garrett as part of Russo's effort to rebuild, albeit slowly, the party.

Independent candidate Milton Johnson comes across earnestly in his approach to neighborhood issues particularly public safety, his profession. Maybe he does better than expected. One thing is for sure, the general election turnout will be pathetically low. That's what happens when opposition candidates have so little money to frame an alternative message.

lenniegrimaldi@timemomentum.com



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