Keila Torres Ocasio: Ernest Newton? Really?

Ernest Newton signs the t-shirt of supporter Janesha Rodriguez after winning the Democratic party nomination for state Senate at Testo's restaurant in Bridgeport, Conn. on Monday, May 21, 2012. Ernest Newton signs the t-shirt of supporter Janesha Rodriguez after winning the Democratic party nomination for state Senate at Testo's restaurant in Bridgeport, Conn. on Monday, May 21, 2012. Photo: Brian A. Pounds Photo: Brian A. Pounds Image 1 of / 44 Caption Close Keila Torres Ocasio: Ernest Newton? Really? 1 / 44 Back to Gallery

You have got to be kidding.

That was my first thought when I learned that Ernest E. Newton II had received the Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee endorsement for the 23rd Senate District. My Senate district.

When is Bridgeport going to stop recycling politicians, let go of its corrupt past and move forward?

This city is still trying to shake off the negative impression left by Mayor Joseph Ganim's conviction in 2003 on 16 federal corruption charges for taking kickbacks in return for awarding city contracts. It is still trying to wipe clean the smear of former Mayor John Fabrizi's admitted cocaine use.

And it is still trying to move past the fact that city native Newton, a former council president, state representative and then state senator, was convicted on three federal charges, including taking a $5,000 bribe to push through a $100,000 state grant, and diverting $40,682 in campaign contributions to himself and others.

And now the Democratic Town Committee wants to send Newton back to Hartford. A former disgraced, corrupt politician? Really?

In the last few years the city has been moving toward a comeback. Developers and small businesses are coming in, the downtown is flourishing, there is a glimmer of hope for progress on Steel Point and the city is finally focusing on its school system.

Is there still a lot of work to do? Yes. But there has been progress.

And whenever election time arrives I always hope that things can progress there, too. I hope that voters will choose someone who doesn't make the city the laughingstock of Fairfield County or the state; that we choose someone who understands the needs of the community and can not only talk about change, but actually deliver change.

Can Ernie, who often referred to himself as the "ghetto senator," do that?

Willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, I called him to ask what he had done for the East End as a state senator. He started rattling off a list.

He moved Mount Trashmore, a large pile of trash that stood several stories high in the East End in the 1990s. As a state senator, he helped secure $1.9 million in funding for St. Mark's Day Care Center on Newfield Avenue, also on the East End. He brought in more money for education in Bridgeport. "And I bust my f---ing a-- to get $35 million to get than damn arena," he said.

I didn't note that the Webster Bank Arena was built years before Newton became a state senator in 2003. We talked for six minutes. Newton averaged about two curse words for every minute. The f-word was his favorite.

Minutes later, he called me back and told me to ask the men at the Kingdom Cutters Barber Shop on Stratford Avenue, who I wrote about last week, whether they knew who he was. The men had been complaining about the lack of progress on the East End and that officials never visit.

I informed Newton that I did indeed ask their opinion that rainy afternoon. Their response was: "I'd never vote for him. Not because of his jail time. Because he didn't do anything for us before that."

We ended the call. Again, Newton called me back, this time to invite me on the Things-Ernie-Newton-Did tour.

We met at 4:30 p.m. at the Bridgeport Innovation Center on Connecticut Avenue. Newton was wearing a brown suit with a gold tie and pocket square. As we were standing at the center's entrance, the light rain falling around us, several people driving by stopped to congratulate him.

Newton got right to it.

Standing in front of a large white building facing Connecticut Avenue, he told me he brought in more than $2 million for the complex to expand.

"That's it?" I asked. "You spent how many years in public office?"

"Seventeen," he responded, holding the lapels of his jacket.

"And in 17 years all you brought to the East End was money for a building and a day care center?" I asked.

"My job is to bring the damn money here," Newton said. "If the mayor doesn't spend it, I don't have no power over that."

He never acknowledged that his district also includes Stratford. He did talk about redemption for ex-felons.

But my frustration isn't about sending an ex-felon to the state Legislature. I believe in second chances, too. It's about recycling politicians as if there weren't others among the 144,000 who live in this city able to serve.

Bridgeport voters need to wake from their slumber, go to the polls and stop letting the political insiders decide who represents them in Hartford. In fact, it's time our political parties gave us a fresh slate of candidates. Because, really, is this the best we can do?

ktorres@ctpost.com, 203-330-6321, http://facebook.com/ktorresbpt or http://twitter.com/ktorresbpt.