The special election for the State Senator who will represent New Britain, Berlin and part of Farmington is coming up this Tuesday, February 26th.
The election is being held to choose who will succeed Sen. Terry Gerratana (D-6), who was appointed by Gov. Ned Lamont (D-CT) as a senior advisor in the state Office of Health Strategy.
Gerratana endorsed Democratic State Rep. Rick Lopes (D-24) to succeed her as the State Senator in the Sixth Senatorial District.
“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.”
Lopes is the Democratic nominee in the election.
The Republican Party’s candidate is Gennaro Bizzarro, who is Corporation Counsel in the administration of Republican Mayor Erin Stewart.
Bizzarro has said, “We are facing a budget deficit of more than a billion dollars, we are in the midst of an opioid crisis that is shattering families, we have inequities in how we fund our schools and municipalities, and the list goes on.”
Bizzarro has made news lately for his past defense former Republican Mayor Timothy Stewart despite 2017 comments that were widely criticized as racist. At that time, it was Bizzarro, who is also chair of the board of the Greater New Britain Chamber of Commerce, who announced that Stewart would remain as Chamber President, despite the public outrage. Stewart’s recent misogynistic words about female members of Congress renewed calls for Stewart’s removal and ultimately led to his resignation from the Chamber presidency and two city commission positions.
In addition to being the Democratic Party candidate for the State Senate seat, Lopes is was also cross-nominated by the Working Families Party. As a result, Lopes will appear twice on ballots in the February 26th election.
Voting districts, polling places and hours of voting
Voting in New Britain takes place at seventeen polling places in the city. New Britain has fifteen voting districts, but Voting District 5 has three polling places, including two located senior housing complexes.
Voting Districts in the February 26, 2019 Special Election
| Voting District | Polling Location | Address |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vance Village School | 183 Vance Street |
| 2 | VFW Post 511 Hall | 41 Veterans Drive |
| 3 | Roosevelt Middle School | 40 Goodwin Street |
| 4 | Gaffney School | 322 Slater Road |
| 5 | New Britain Senior Center | 55 Pearl Street |
| 5-1 | School Apartments | 50 Bassett Street |
| 5-2 | Graham Apartments | 107 Martin Luther King Drive |
| 6 | Angelico's Restaurant | 542 East Main Street |
| 7 | Generale Ameglio | 13 Beaver Street |
| 8 | International Church | 40 Acorn Street |
| 9 | Chamberlain School | 120 Newington Avenue |
| 10 | Saint Francis Church Hall | 1755 Stanley Street |
| 11 | Holmes School | 2150 Stanley Street |
| 12 | Pulaski Middle School | 757 Farmington Avenue |
| 13 | St. John Paul II School | 221 Farmington Avenue |
| 14 | DiLoreto School | 732 Slater Road |
| 15 | Slade Middle School | 183 Steele Street |
The special election on February 26, 2019 will be held between the hours of 6:00am and 8:00pm.
Editor’s note: Polling locations reported in this article are as they appeared on the city website as of February 23, 2019.
