OUR HISTORY
June 2019 – Bridgeport Generation Now Votes is started by Gemeem Davis and Niels Heilmann.
June-August 2019 – Ran a successful “Get Out The Vote” campaign ahead of the 2019 municipal primaries for Mayor, City Council, and Board of Education.
July 2019 – Delivered a petition to end absentee ballot fraud and abuse to the Secretary of State’s office in Hartford with over 2,000 signatures
September 2019 – Director, Callie Heilmann led the organization in helping 3 Bridgeport residents sue the Ganim campaign and Bridgeport elected officials for absentee voting fraud and abuse. Known as “Lazar v. Ganim, et al” this historic case exposed the manipulation of low-income, elderly, and mono-lingual Spanish speaking voters, all for the purpose of controlling their votes.
2020 – Joined the Safe Vote Coalition to advocate for voting safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Worked on GOTV for the 2020 Presidential Election.
2021 – Worked with Bridgeport’s State Delegation and secured an independent Election Monitor who reports to the Secretary of State and monitors Bridgeport’s elections. Started the Unrig Bridgeport Coalition and engaged directly in Bridgeport’s municipal elections to advance The People’s Platform. Endorsed 7 candidates for City Council and Board of Education – and 6 out of 7 of our candidates won!
2022 – Helped to organize the Black Women Speak march in Bridgeport in the wake of Lauren Smith Fields’s and Brenda Lee Rawls’s deaths. Joined the Make It Count Coalition Steering Committee and the CT Voting Rights Act Coalition. Executed a voter education campaign on Connecticut’s Early Voting ballot referendum, which passed with overwhelming support in November 2022.
2023 – Advocated at the state level for no-excuse absentee voting, the CT Voting Rights Act, equitable early voting implementation and funding for Bridgeport’s Election Monitor – all of which passed! In January, we also launched The Year of Change campaign to get candidates for Mayor, City Council, and Board of Education elected in the 2023 municipals who pledge to work on The People’s Platform.