BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (WTNH)– Supporters of Marilyn Moore and Joe Ganim are still fighting over the results of the Bridgeport mayoral primary.
The incumbent Mayor defeated the sitting State Senator by 268 votes. Absentee ballots put him over the top. Moore and her supporters are accusing the Democratic Town Committee of violating absentee ballot laws.
The State Elections Enforcement Commission announced earlier this week it is investigating the allegations.
A lawsuit is also being filed by a self-proclaimed non-partisan group of concerned voters. The group, Bridgeport Generation Now, is asking the courts to order a re-vote for the Mayors race and under-ticket races.
The group says it tracked down 50 voters who allege they were coerced or forced to vote for Ganim.
“Our canvass uncovered a systematic targeting and manipulation of some of our most vulnerable citizens,” said Callie Gale Heilmann.
Heilmann told News 8’s George Colli prior to the news conference that the group truly is non-partisan and not affiliated with any losing primary campaigns contesting the election results.
Heilmann and the groups attorney Prerna Rao re-iterated at the news conference that the group was completely non-partisan and no one involved in the group was involved with any of the campaigns.
News 8 discovered that the “non-partisan” group of voters taking on the Bridgeport machine is not so non-partisan after all.
After being pressed by Colli, the group acknowledged that the campaign manager for the Moore campaign, Gemeem Davis, is on leave from her work as co-director of Bridgeport Generation Now.
Heilmann herself eventually conceded that she held fundraisers at her house for Moore in February and two losing Working Family Party City Council candidates in July.
Another lawsuit was filed this week alleging Marilyn Moore improperly gained signatures to get on the ballot. The organizers from Bridgeport Generation Now said that issue wasn’t a concern for them.
WEB EXTRA: Bridgeport primary lawsuit Q&A: