For the first time in several weeks, an individual has thrown their name into the hat to run in the June Bridgeport City Election. This time, however, the filing means that the race for mayor won’t be an uncontested one.

 

Long-time businessman Andy Lang filed this morning at the Bridgeport Municipal Complex in the office of City Clerk Andrea Kerr to run for mayor. Lang will be looking to fill the seat of current Mayor Robert “Bob” Greer, who has opted not to run for a second term as mayor. Greer, instead, will be seeking a seat on City Council.

 

Lang’s filing means the race is on. He will go up against current City Council Diana Marra in the June 13 election for the four-year mayor’s term.

This marks the first time that Lang has sought public office in Bridgeport. In fact, it’s the first time he’s ever sought public office at any level – locally, statewide, or nationally.

 

“I actually thought about this when I sold my business four years ago and with the changes involving (former Mayor) Mario Blount and Bob, I had a date targeted to consider running and that is this election,” said Lang. “I thought this would be a good thing for me because I have the time and I have the business background. This is like running a small business. In this case, it’s like running a small $15 million business and getting involved would be a chance to give back to my community.”

 

Lang previously worked at Lang Brothers, Inc. He then began Blue Dot Services, Inc., where he gained experience in heavy highway construction, the oil and gas industry and real estate before, as mentioned above, eventually selling the company.

 

“There are a lot of positives with Bridgeport. I absolutely believe that this is the preferred place to live; there is no doubt about that in my mind,” he said. “We have quality schools, quality police and fire protection and the quality of housing in the city is top notch. I say that as a seventh generation family member that has lived in the same town.”

 

That doesn’t mean that Lang doesn’t want to see some changes in the direction the city has taken. If elected, he has several areas where he’d like to see city resources diverted, but one in particular.

 

“I’m not at all against the growth of the city. It’s a great place to live and I’m a lifelong resident that wouldn’t live anyplace else,” said Lang. “What I have issue with that I would like to see modified is that you have older sections of the city that need to see the same level of upkeep, or the same balance, that we have with the new areas of the city.”

 

Lang pointed to growing up in a section of the city parallel to Main Street. He spent his earliest years on Grand Avenue and while those areas aren’t failing, he does want to make sure they stay up with the other new developments.

 

“That’s my main focus and it includes the downtown corridor, the areas around the old junior high, Cherry Street, Lawman and many other places of similar nature,” said Lang. “We can continue the growth that we have and do so by making sure the areas that have been around since the 1950s and the 1960s receive the same attention. That’s something that’s very important to me and, I believe, to the overall health of the city.”

 

Lang and his wife Lisa has a daughter, Miranda.

 

The city will hold its election on June 13. The seats up for election include the Council seats of Marra, John Wilson and Dustin Vincent. Wilson and Vincent have filed for re-election, along with Greer and Marra seeking the seats listed above. Kerry Hess has also filed for a spot on Council.

 

The filing period ends Friday, April 14, 2017 at 4 p.m. City Clerk Andrea Kerr said the certificates have to be filed with her office and there is a filing fee of $25.

 

Click HERE for a story on the election that ran at the start of the filing period. The story contains some additional details; some of which are dated. Please read carefully.