Bridgeport campaign workers arraigned on charges from 2019 election

Four former campaign workers were arraigned in Bridgeport Superior Court Monday on charges related to the city’s 2019 Democratic mayoral primary.  

The four face a range of charges, but all are accused of unlawful possession of absentee ballots.  

“To see these people finally brought to justice is a great day for democracy,” Bridgeport Generation Now Votes Co-Director Callie Heilmann said after the arraignments.  

The four arrested campaign workers include current Democratic Town Committee Chairwoman Wanda Geter-Pataky, City Councilman Alfredo Castillo and Nilsa Heredia, who all worked for Mayor Joe Ganim’s 2019 campaign.  

The fourth person, Josephine Edmonds, worked for challenger Marilyn Moore.  

Geter-Pataky declined to comment when reporters asked if she would step down from her role with the party.  

According to an affidavit, a Bridgeport woman told police Geter-Pataky asked her to sign an absentee ballot application and filled out the form for her.  

The document states a woman also told investigators she intended to vote in person and didn’t think she met the state’s requirements for an absentee ballot, but Geter-Pataky told her to request one anyway.  

Geter-Pataky is also charged with misrepresenting absentee ballot eligibility, failure to sign as an assister on an absentee ballot application and tampering with a witness.  

Castillo’s lawyer, Sam Kreztmer, said Castillo doesn’t plan to step down from his seat on the council. Castillo was also the only of the four defendants to plead not guilty Monday.  

“He's really looking forward to putting this behind him, clearing his name and everybody will be able to see, like I said, this is just a political ploy against him,” Kretzmer said.  

According to an affidavit, a voter told investigators Castillo misrepresented the absentee ballot requirements and helped him get a ballot.  

He also told investigators he hadn't yet voted when Castillo took his absentee ballot, the document states.  

Castillo is also charged with misrepresenting absentee ballot eligibility, failure to sign as an assister on an absentee ballot application and failure to file a list of absentee ballot applications with the town clerk. 

Like the other two, Heredia’s accused of helping voters get absentee ballots despite them not meeting the requirements.  

According to the affidavit, one woman also told investigators Heredia told her how to vote.  

Heredia’s attorney questioned why police arrested his client - characterizing her as only having an eighth-grade education - but not Ganim.  

“Instead of going after the person who benefitted most from electoral fraud, the state is going after one of the lowest level people,” attorney Ken Krayeske said.  

None of the warrants implicate Ganim with having any involvement. A spokeswoman for his campaign, Rowena White, also said Ganim didn’t know Heredia.  

“It is irresponsible for Attorney Krayeske to stoop to making these false statements to seek media attention for himself while at the same time doing disservice to his client,” White also said.  

Heredia was also charged with misrepresenting absentee ballot eligibility, failure to sign as an assister on an absentee ballot application and failure to file a list of absentee ballot applications with the town clerk, being present when an applicant fills out an absentee ballot and tampering with a witness.  

Josephine Edmonds is the only of the four who worked for Marilyn Moore in her bid to beat Ganim. Edmonds did not talk to reporters after the arraignment.  

Edmonds faces charges for failure to file a list of absentee ballot applications with the town clerk, being present when an applicant fills out an absentee ballot and tampering with a witness. 

Bridgeport Generation Now Votes challenged the results of the 2019 Democratic primary in court. Moore won the in-person tally but lost after absentee ballots were counted.  

“It was very clear that in 2019, there was overwhelming evidence that that election was stolen from her,” organization Co-Director Jameem Davis said.  

The arrests have nothing to do with the 2023 mayoral election, when a judge ordered a redo amid questions about Ganim’s primary over challenger John Gomes.  

Geter-Pataky was captured on video allegedly stuffing absentee ballots into a drop box.  

Davis and Heilmann hope that investigation will be faster. The State Elections Enforcement Commission took more than three years to hand the 2019 case over to prosecutors last year.  

They also took an optimistic view when asked what all the negative attention meant for Bridgeport.  

“I'm hopeful that for Bridgeport this is a turning point and that this story creates a positive -- like a positive agenda going forward,” Heilmann said.