Ganim ex-spokesman hired to serve as city’s ‘green’ voice

BRIDGEPORT — Say what you will of ex-Mayor Bill Finch’s time in office, he put this old manufacturing hub on the map in the new “green” and environmentally sustainable economy.

Old industrial sites are now occupied by recycling and other businesses and generating jobs and taxes.

Now the man who ousted Finch — returned Mayor Joseph Ganim — is making a modest gesture toward maintaining that momentum. And he is simultaneously putting an old friend back on the city payroll.

State Rep. Joseph Gresko, D-Stratford, Ganim’s spokesman from 1999 to 2003, the final years of his first administration, started work last week in City Hall. He will earn $35,000 as the part-time special assistant to the mayor for green energy and economic development initiatives.

“I’m pretty much the contact point” for the city’s efforts, on its own and with partners, to continuing luring green businesses to town and to mount projects aimed at conserving energy and saving taxpayer dollars, Gresko said.

Gresko, 52, said he has a Finch-esque passion for that work, even though his employment resume does not show it.

Gresko said he earned his degree in environmental science from Central Connecticut State University, but he has made a career out of working for media companies or in politics. He was a meteorologist, then a local radio broadcaster, then Ganim’s communications manager, then worked for the state House Democrats.

He won February’s special election to succeed the late state Rep. Terry Backer and is running unopposed next week. Gresko was a longtime aide to Backer, who was known as a champion of the environment and Long Island Sound.

The Ganim administration did not announce Gresko’s hiring. Asked to comment Tuesday, Av Harris, the mayor’s spokesman, said Ganim was “very happy to have Joe Gresko back on the Bridgeport team. Joe was a valued member of Mayor Ganim’s previous administration and he is a solid, seasoned professional who engenders a high degree of respect on both sides of the political aisle.”

Gresko was part of Ganim’s staff during the toughest point in the latter’s career — the corruption scandal that toppled his first administration and landed the mayor in prison.

“I think the last thing I did was write my termination notice and his resignation letter,” Gresko recalled.

He said he visited Ganim during his incarceration and they rekindled their friendship when his ex-boss waged a successful comeback and defeated Finch in the 2015 Democratic mayoral primary.

Finch’s loss left a vacuum when it came to championing his green initiatives, because some of the staffers who helped turn the former mayor’s visions into reality — like David Kooris, Finch’s economic development chief — left or were laid off.

Gresko said he approached Ganim about doing some work on sustainable projects.

“The direction the city was going when it came to green initiatives and sustainable energy, I didn’t want to see that come to a halt,” Gresko said. “I think it’s a credit to Mayor Ganim to not just let (that work) go by the wayside."

Asked about his lack of work-related experience in the green sector, Gresko noted he is a member of the Legislature’s energy/technology and environment committees. He also spoke about his closeness to Backer.

“Terry Backer was a mentor,” Gresko said. “For the last five years of his service, I’d drive him back and forth to Hartford and it was like a free education. I’ll never be the environmentalist Terry Backer was, but I’m hoping enough of it rubbed off where I can make some stuff happen.”

Gresko admitted his job with the city may require him to recuse himself from some legislative votes. He said he will seek an opinion from the state ethics office.

Paul Timpanelli, the just-retired head of the Bridgeport Regional Business Council, is a true believer in the city’s efforts to lure and bolster green industry. The BRBC was key to the establishment of the city’s Eco-Technology Park to revive burned-out manufacturing sites in the West and South ends.

Timpanelli said the BRBC has been pushing Ganim to devote some resources to the effort.

“It took us a while to get him there, but he is there,” Timpanelli said. “The fact the mayor has hired someone part time is a major step in the right direction. It’s a big plus he has somebody, whether part time or full time. Obviously, we always prefer full time, but the city can’t afford it. So part time is better than no time.”