Bridgeport, Conn., Mayor Joe Ganim talks with reporters after filing papers to run for governor in Hartford, Conn., on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018. Ganim was elected Bridgeport mayor in 2015 after serving nearly seven years in prison for corruption committed during a previous term as mayor. (AP Photo/Dave Collins)
Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim, who has declared a candidacy for governor, speaks with Nicholas Coscia at Dominick & Pia in Waterbury Wednesday morning. Paul Hughes/ Republican-American
Bridgeport, Conn., Mayor Joe Ganim files papers to run for Connecticut governor in Hartford, Conn., on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018. Ganim was elected Bridgeport mayor in 2015 after serving nearly seven years in prison for corruption committed during a previous term as mayor. (AP Photo/Dave Collins)
HARTFORD — A former mayor and ex-convict who mounted a political comeback with his election as mayor of Connecticut’s biggest city is now running for governor.
Democrat Joe Ganim submitted paperwork to launch his campaign Wednesday in Hartford. He has a stop scheduled for Waterbury at noon.
Ganim served nearly seven years in prison after he was convicted of corruption for steering city contracts in exchange for private gifts during his time as Bridgeport mayor. He was released from prison in 2010 and stripped of his law license but was elected again as Bridgeport’s mayor in 2015.
Ganim joins a crowded field of candidates looking to succeed Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who is not seeking re-election. Ganim also has been barred from the public campaign financing program because of his felony conviction.
