The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-10-18
MIR. MULLINS SPEECH
 ACCEPTING NOMINATION

Gentlemen of the Convention;-In | appearing before you to accept the | nomination for mayor, l desire hrst to express my sincere gratitude to you | and through you to the Democracy of Bridgeport for the honor which you | have thus paid me. And in acknowl- edging my appreciation of this honor | I wish, at the same time, to assure you that I fully realize the responst- bilities which the office of mayor car ries with it.
 During my years of service as city clerk, I had abundant opportunity to observe the important and responsible duties which attach to the nayoralty. l My experience in municipal affairs has taught me that the office of may or not merely a personal honor, but a most important public trust. For a man to successfully serve the city as its chief executive requires long hours of devoted work and attention to the various city problems which are bound to confront city administra- tion. I promise, if elected, to give to | our city the best service of which am capable and I sincerely trust that at the expiration of my term, I shall have had a sufficient measure of suc- 1 cess to merit~the approval of my fel- low citizens regardless of party. I shall enter upon the work of the off l fee free of all pledges and independ- ent of 8 promise to a single individual. shall not be infIuenced|in the per- formance of the duties of the office I 13e. ambition for a re-nonination has been the rock which has sf1ipwrecked many | a municipal administration and brought disaster to many good may ors. My sole aim will be to advance the best interests of the city.
 1 In making the appointments, which a mayor is called upon to fill, shall not seek to promote the political ad- | vantage of any man or group of men within the party. This nomination l has come to me unsought on my part and I fully realize that for it am in | debted to the entire Democracy of the city and shall act accordingly. know | that more or less feeling has been aroused in the heat of the active l primaries which have just closed. But
 now as a Democrat speaking to Dem | ocrats, I appeal to you one and all to lay aside any differences which you 1 may have had and unite behind me 1 in my efforts to serve the city and I 1 promise you that your confidence will
 not be betrayed. I shall approach
 the duties of the office of mayor in a spirit of absolute fr1end1iness to all ! The
 city government and with a spirit o1 hostility toward none. This state
 ment of my attitude applies as wei
 to the public service corporations as
 to other corporations and individuals
 What shall ask of the public service
 corporations is, that they live up te their charter obligations to the peo-
 pie of the community and their legal
 duties and this much shall demand If elected, I promise to be mayor in every sense that the term implies It will not be truthfulIy said of ne that am only the nominal executive and that behind me, concealed from
 the public view is a dominating power. indirectly exercising the func, tions and prerogatfves of the mayor. I do not at this time intend to en- : ter into any lengthy discussion o1 ! municipal policies. This occasion
 does not afford me the time. I de sire. however, to dwell in some meas
 ure upon the present financial condi- 2 ton of the city. The extravagance and i'll considerate financial policies } of the present Republican administra ton have created the most importan
 and difficult problems, which the mex i, administration will have to solve. r As you are aware, for several years had the honor of serving the city al
 it's city clerk and during that period
 was also clerk of the Board of Appor
 tionment and Taxation. Since tha
 time, I have kept in close touch will
 the doings of that important board y as every citizen and taxpayer ough : to do. and have carefully studied eacl of it's annual reports.
 . The last report for the year 1913 Il 1914 shows that the city's grand lis
 is $1O5, ,s47.oo.
 That the total appropriations mad
 by the board for the current yea
 were $2,0S2, ,82536. That the tax rat } levied on a fully property valuation basis was 1e 5-1o mills on each dolla,
 or $16.6e. per thousand of the gran'
 list.
 I find. from such report, that tn q l appropriations provided for takin
 care of our city debt, including in
 terest, annual installments on princi
 pal and payments to sinking fun
 aggregatRd S122 3O1 co
 This sum does not include an 8. provision for $2oo,OOo.oO pavemen 4i notes; $2o,OOO.OO sewer notes, o lel $2OO,ooO.00 school building note