Bridgeport must stop Arena pursuit

6/4/07
Maybe now the message is finally getting through.
Bridgeport was rejected once again in its bid to get out of paying a contractor for final work on the Arena at Harbor Yard. The city, claiming that the contract was obtained through corruption and that therefore should not have to be paid, has turned a $4.8 million argument into an $8 million-plus problem.
Interest and legal fees have continued to pile onto the original sum in question, and the city has been stymied every step of the way. Officials are of course entitled to seek legal remedy for actions they deem questionable, but the signs have been pointing against them for a long time.
The contractor, C.R. Klewin Northeast, was informed in 2001 that it was not a target in the federal corruption probe that ensnared former Mayor Joseph P. Ganim, but the city continued its pursuit despite receiving that knowledge two years later.
Now, finally, it’s time to stop. When the state Supreme Court ruled against Bridgeport in April, it was difficult for some city officials to take, but that was the time to fold up the tent. Instead, they asked the court to reconsider, which they last week declined to do. Now, the city says it will confer with the City Council on how to proceed, but there’s really only one choice — pay the bill.
It’s not as though the city has millions of dollars lying around to spend on quixotic legal campaigns. The mill rate is out of control, schools are underperforming and property owners are looking for relief. No one wants to see more money wasted on this lost cause.
The city is still picking up the pieces from the disastrous aftermath of the Ganim years, and it is looking for help anywhere it can think of. The courts have proven, though, that this is not the place to look. There are no federal issues at stake, so turning to the federal Supreme Court is out of the question. Painful as it may be after so much time and money spent, it’s time to get on with it and pay the money that is owed. There is, at this point, no other choice.