Leonard S. Paoletta

Leonard S. "Lenny" Paoletta (born November 9, 1934) is an American lawyer and former mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut from 1981 to 1985. He was a Republican.^[1] Earlier in his career, he served in the Connecticut House of Representatives in the 1970s.^[2]

Paoletta was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, on November 9, 1934.^[3] He is a second-generation Italian-American.^[4]

Paoletta graduated from Warren Harding High School. He then received his bachelor's degree from Fairfield University, where he was a member of the Fairfield Stags men's basketball team, and his J.D. degree from Georgetown University Law School.^[4] He was admitted to the bar in Connecticut in 1959.^[3]

Paoletta first ran for the Connecticut State Senate in 1962, but lost the general election to Louis Gladstone.^[5] He served in the Connecticut House of Representatives in the 1970s.^[2]

In 1979, Paoletta ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Bridgeport against Democratic incumbent John C. Mandanici, although Paoletta held Mandanici to his smallest margin of victory in his three elections.^[1]

In 1981, Paoletta (then age 48) again challenged Mandanici and was successful, narrowly edging out the incumbent by just 64 votes (17,950 to 17,886 votes, following a recount).^[1][6] The New York Times reported at the time that "In what is virtually a trademark of Bridgeport politics, the mayoral campaign was held against a backdrop of violence and bizarre incidents."^[1] Paoletta was sworn in on his 47th birthday, becoming Bridgeport's 47th elected mayor.^[7]

In 1983, Paoletta won reelection, defeating both Democratic challenger Charles B. Tisdale and Mandanici (who ran under the third party "Taxpayers Party" ballot line after losing the Democratic primary election to Tisdale).^[6] Paoletta received 15,606 votes, Tisdale 14,358 votes, and Mandanici 9,728 votes.^[6]

As mayor, Paoletta clashed with Joseph A. Walsh, who had been Bridgeport's superintendent of police for 22 years.^[8] Walsh had been a colorful and controversial figure in the city for many years.^[9] In December 1983, at Paoletta's urging, the city's Board of Police Commissioners voted 6-0 to force Walsh into retirement.^[8] Paoletta immediately appointed Thomas Thear, the former police chief of Battle Creek, Michigan, to be the interim leader of Bridgeport's 420-member police department.^[8] Walsh subsequently challenged his dismissal, and the Bridgeport Civil Service Commission ordered his reinstatement.^[9]

According to the New York Times, "two burly detectives, acting under orders from the Mayor, blocked him from entering his office. The dispute then shifted to the courts and a lengthy hearing on 185 charges of misconduct that the city drew up against the superintendent."^[9] In mid-1984, a state trial referee ruled that "no just cause" existed for Walsh's dismissal.^[9] During the seven-month standoff between Walsh and Paoletta, the police commissioners assumed day-to-day control of the police department for a time. Walsh returned to work in July 1984, after an "uneasy truce" took hold.^[10]

In 1985, Paoletta was defeated in the general election by Democratic candidate Thomas W. (Tom) Bucci.^[11] In September 1989, Paoletta ran in a seven-way Republican primary for mayor, but came in second place, losing by 32 votes to Mary C. Moran, who went on to win the general election and become mayor.^[12]

In 1997, Governor John G. Rowland named him as a member of Connecticut's Workers' Compensation Commission.^[13]

In the 1990s, Paoletta was a lawyer with Seeley & Berglass, which has offices in New Haven and Fairfield.^[2] In 1994, Paoletta moved to Easton, Connecticut.^[2][14] The same year, Paoletta unsuccessfully ran for probate judge.^[2]

In September 1994, Paoletta (then 59 years old) was shot on the steps of Holy Rosary Roman Catholic Church School in Bridgeport in an apparently random shooting; a priest and a parishioner were also shot.^[2] Paoletta was seriously wounded but recovered following emergency surgery at Bridgeport Hospital.^[2]