Ganim Calls For Voluntary Financial Disclosure, Lamont Camp Calls It A Distraction

HARTFORD, CT — Connecticut doesn’t have any personal financial disclosure requirements for any candidate seeking statewide office. It’s not until a person is elected that they have to fill out a form with the Office of State Ethics.

But that hasn’t stopped Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim who is challenging Ned Lamont in the Democratic primary from asking his opponent to voluntarily release his personal financial information to the press.

At the Billings Forge farmers market, Ganim said he’s asked Lamont to fill out the same financial disclosure that’s used in New York. In 2006, Lamont, a Greenwich cable executive, filled out a financial disclosure for his U.S. Senate race against Joe Lieberman and it estimated his net worth at between $90 million and $332 million. 

Typically, the call for tax returns doesn’t come until after the primary. In 2014, both Gov. Dannel P. Malloy and Republican Tom Foley released their tax returns to reporters.

But Ganim, who was convicted of tax evasion, doesn’t want to wait.

Ganim has been making an issue of Lamont’s wealth in the lead up to the Democratic primary.

Ganim said he would fill out the form if Lamont fills out the form, but he declined to make his form public unless Lamont also participates.

Marc Bradley, Lamont’s campaign manager, said it’s ironic that “we’re standing here today and talking about ethics.”

Ganim, who was convicted of taking more than a half-million dollars in bribes and kickbacks while leading one of the poorest cities in the country, was re-elected by the voters in Bridgeport in 2015.

“Ned Lamont has a vision for the state. We put a plan forward and that’s what we’re spending our time talking about,” Bradley said.

Bradley said Ganim has spent a lot of time talking about Lamont, but has not talked about what his plan is to move Connecticut forward.

“We’re talking about cars, and bathrooms, and now some sort of challenging of Ned’s ethics and integrity,” Bradley said.

He said the difference between Lamont and Ganim couldn’t be greater when it comes to character.

“This is clearly a distraction Mark from what’s most important here,” Bradley said addressing a reporter.