Democratic State Representative Rick Lopes (D-24) has announced his candidacy to succeed Sen. Terry Gerratana (D-6) in the State Senate in an upcoming special election.
Gerratana has been appointed by incoming Gov. Ned Lamont (D-CT) as a senior advisor in the state Office of Health Strategy.
“Running to fill the seat of such an accomplished and dedicated public servant as Senator Terry Gerratana will be a truly humbling experience for me,” Lopes said.
Lopes added that Gerratana, “has been an exemplary advocate for this district at the Capitol and I hope to build on the great foundation of work that she has established over the past eight years. Although I will be running to fill a new seat, my convictions are resolute, and I will continue to fight for the values and priorities I have championed throughout my career.”
Lopes received support from the two most recent figures to have represented the Senate seat.
“Serving as state senator in this district has been the most challenging and rewarding job of my life,” said Sen. Gerratana. “Knowing that it is Rick who will be running to succeed me has truly made the decision to move on easier because I know he will be as passionate, determined, and driven as I was in representing this district.”
“When Rick is elected,” added Gerratana, “the people of Berlin, Farmington and New Britain should know they are in great hands.”
“Terry certainly left big shoes to fill,” said former State Senator and Mayor of New Britain, Donald DeFronzo, “but I cannot think of a more capable successor than Rick Lopes.”
DeFronzo said, “He has dedicated much of his life and career to bettering our communities and being elected state senator will be another opportunity for him to do what he loves, which is serving the people. Rick is a roll your sleeves up and get stuff done kind of guy so I look forward to seeing what he can accomplish in the senate.”
Lopes has served neighborhoods in New Britain and Newington as the State Representative for the Twenty-Fourth Assembly District. He was elected to the legislature in 2012.
For more than ten years, Lopes worked as a legislative aide to Senator Donald DeFronzo. He has worked as a community organizer in New Britain. His official biography says that he, “went on to a position as a housing coordinator at the Middletown Chapter of the American Red Cross and then as a vocational counselor at the Chrysalis Center in Hartford, an agency offering employment support to adults with mental illness.”
Lopes has also been a small business owner, providing property management and maintenance services.
Gerratana’s departure from the State Senate sets in motion a process in state law for a special election to fill her seat, which includes all of New Britain, all of Berlin and neighborhoods in Farmington.
Incoming Gov. Ned Lamont will have ten days to issue the call for the special election, and the election will then occur forty-six days after the Governor’s call. If the election is planned for a Tuesday, as they typically are, it would appear likely that it would occur either on February 26th or March 5th.
Each party will have the opportunity to nominate a candidate for the special election. Nominations are done by the same nominating convention delegates who endorsed their parties’ candidates for the 2018 election.
