Democrats Endorse Lopes for Re-Election

Democratic State Representative Rick Lopes (D-24) was unanimously endorsed by Democrats for re-election for a fourth term in the State House of Representatives.

“I’m humbled and honored to continue to serve the 24th district in the state legislature,” said Lopes. “I will continue to fight for issues important to the people of Connecticut.”

Lopes was endorsed at the Democratic Twenty-Fourth Assembly District nominating convention, which was held May 16th at the Alvarium Beer Company at 365 John Downey Drive.

If there is no Democratic primary challenger, Lopes will be the Democratic Party nominee for the state legislative seat in the 2018 election.

On the Republican side, Lopes is being challenged by former Board of Education President Sharon Beloin-Saavedra, who registered her candidacy on May 15th.

The Twenty-Fourth Assembly District includes New Britain’s West End neighborhood, the Willow Brook neighborhood, parts of the East Side neighborhood and the south west corner of Newington.

Lopes was elected to represent the Twenty-Fourth Assembly District in 2012. He is a member of the Education, Transportation and Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committees.

Previously Lopes was a member of the New Britain City Council.

Lopes worked as a community organizer in the 1990s, helping to organize the Broad Street Neighborhood Revitalization Zone (NRZ). He has worked for the American Red Cross as a housing coordinator and as a vocational counselor at the Chrysalis Center in Hartford.

Lopes holds a Masters Degree in Social Work (MSW) from the University of Connecticut, and has also been the owner of a small business providing property management and maintenance services.

When an election is held for a district that includes all or parts of more than one city or town, the political parties in each municipality in the district select a certain number of delegates. Each party then holds a nominating convention where its delegates from the different cities and towns in the district meet to choose their party endorsed candidate for that district.

The Twenty-Fifth District and the Twenty-Sixth District are both entirely within New Britain. Each party’s town committee directly endorses candidates for those seats.

Editor’s note (5/17/2018): The article was updated with comments by Rep. Lopes.