"I think cooler heads prevailed and an outright fight between the Bridgeport and Stratford legislative delegations over language is not in the best interest for either town or for the airport," he said. It got to the point, Stafstrom said, where the rivalry would have interfered with passage of an important state transportation bill sent from the Senate to him and his colleagues in the House of Representatives. One would have given Stratford the right of first refusal to buy, another required Stratford's approval of any sale, and the others attached strings involving historic preservation and future environmental impacts.Īs the session moved forward toward this week's final budget vote and Wednesday's adjournment, Bridgeport and Stratford legislators engaged in behind-the-scenes wrangling, the former trying to find ways to block Kelly's and Gresko's proposals, and the latter seeking to revive them. Joseph Gresko, D-Stratford, submitted a handful of bills aimed at complicating a sale. I n March Hearst Connecticut Media reported that a preliminary assessment of the potential high costs of environmental clean-up that CAA would have to, under state law, assume at Sikorsky should it become the owner had resulted in the authority opting to instead seek an operating arrangement there.īut prior to that after the current 2023 state legislative session got underway in January, Kelly and state Rep. Currently the facility only caters to private, business and charter planes, not commercial air carriers. Hoydick last year submitted a counter-offer to buy the airport, arguing her town was better suited to own it than the Windsor Locks-based CAA located over an hour away.īut Ganim and other proponents of the CAA takeover have repeatedly argued the authority, which already operates Bradley International in Windsor Locks and a handful of other Connecticut airports, is best suited to make Sikorsky more successful for the region and Connecticut. Kelly did not immediately respond Wednesday to a request for comment.įor months there has been tension between Ganim's and Stratford Republican Mayor Laura Hoydick's administration's over the former's plans for Sikorsky. ![]() ![]() "In other words, if they just say 'we don't like it' without a valid reason, then that could potentially give Bridgeport judicial recourse to force a lease or sale," Stafstrom said. "The idea is not for Stratford to have an outright veto, but for Stratford to have a voice at the table," Stafstrom continued, noting the budget language specifies that an approval of a lease or sale "shall not be unreasonably withheld." "I think we both realized that in order for Sikorsky to be an economic driver for the state, the relations between Bridgeport and Stratford need to improve and there needs to be better dialogue not just between the respective city halls but with the state through the legislative delegation." "Senator Kelly and I had a really productive conversation over the last few days," Stafstrom said Wednesday.
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