If there is one thing that comes with being a Republican mayor of a large Northeastern city when it is losing its industrial base and jobs, it’s what is now called “street cred.” With a growing minority community and serious economic problems, Nick Panuzio got his own street cred when he served as mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
With his city facing financial disasters left and right, Panuzio cut budgets and walked to halls of the US Congress and federal agencies during the Nixon and Ford administrations for earmarks and federal grants to keep Bridgeport going. In fact, Panuzio’s greatest ally was none other than Spiro Agnew, who had admired Panuzio’s political skills in winning a mayoral election. He later ran for governor in Connecticut and eventually joined the Ford administration after winning re-election in 1973 and dropping out of the gubernatorial race.
In his interview with the Spy, Easton resident and current chair of the Talbot County Republican Central Committee, Nick Panuzio recalls a different time in American politics, the challenges of being a mayor, including when a member of the Black Panthers shot two police officers during his watch. Nick also talks about what worked in those days, and how hard it is to find common ground now.
This video is approximately nine minutes in length
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