Editor’s note (11/1/2020): This article is from 2019. The New Britain Progressive has published a similar article for 2020, Registering and Voting This Tuesday Nov 3rd.
The 2019 New Britain city election has arrived, with Democratic Mayoral candidate Chris Porcher challenging Republican Mayor Erin Stewart, along with petitioning candidate Deivone Tanksley.
The election also gives voters choices for Ward and At-Large City Council positions, Board of Education and other city offices.
Polling places open at 6:00am today and close at 8:00pm.
Voting Districts and Election Day Registration
In addition to seventeen polling places, people eligible to vote, but not registered in New Britain, can register and vote on election day at City Hall. The office of the state’s chief election official, Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, (D-CT) says,
Election Day Registration permits anyone to register and vote in person on Election Day who meets the eligibility requirements for voting in this state and is not already registered, OR is registered in one town but has moved to another town. By law, a person is eligible to register and vote if he or she is (1) a US citizen, (2) age 18 or older, (3) a bona fide resident of the town in which he or she applies for admission, and (4) has completed confinement and parole if previously convicted of a disfranchising felony.
Election Day Registration is not available at your polling place, but is available at a designated EDR location in each town, beginning at 6 am and ending at 8 pm. You will register and vote at the designated EDR location in your town. Please plan to arrive early in the day as there may be long lines. You must be registered by 8 pm in order to vote. You will need to provide proof of identity and residency.
New Britain’s election day registration location is City Hall, 27 West Main St., 1st Floor, Room 108.
New Britain had fifteen voting districts, but the fifth voting district is divided into three polling places. So there are actually seventeen polling places in the city. Voters, other than those registering to vote on election day, vote at the polling place for the particular location where they live.
New Britain Polling Places
| Ward | Voting District | Polling Place | Address |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Vance Village School | 183 Vance Street |
| 1 | 2 | VFW Post 511 Hall | 41 Veterans Drive |
| 1 | 15 | Slade Middle School | 183 Steele Street |
| 2 | 3 | Roosevelt Middle School | 40 Goodwin Street |
| 2 | 6 | St Jean Baptiste Société | 209 Smalley Street |
| 2 | 9 | Chamberlain School | 120 Newington Avenue |
| 3 | 5 | New Britain Senior Center | 55 Pearl Street |
| 3 | 7 | Generale Ameglio | 13 Beaver Street |
| 3 | 8 | International Church | 40 Acorn Street |
| 3 | 5-1 | School Apartments | 50 Bassett Street |
| 3 | 5-2 | Graham Apartments | 107 Martin Luther King Drive |
| 4 | 10 | Saint Francis Church Hall | 1755 Stanley Street |
| 4 | 11 | Holmes School | 2150 Stanley Street |
| 4 | 13 | St. John Paul II School | 221 Farmington Avenue |
| 5 | 4 | Gaffney School | 322 Slater Road |
| 5 | 12 | Pulaski Middle School | 757 Farmington Avenue |
| 5 | 14 | DiLoreto School | 732 Slater Road |
Candidates for Citywide positions
Leading each slate of candidates are the candidates for mayor.
Democratic Mayoral candidate Chris Porcher holds the first position on the ballot, on row A, where the Democratic candidates are on the ballot.
Porcher is also cross-endorsed by the Working Families Party, a political party organized around economically progressive issues. The cross-endorsement means that Porcher, while a Democrat, will appear on the ballot in two locations.
The Working Families Party appears on Row C of the ballot.
Votes for Porcher and other cross-endorsed candidates on a third-party line, like the Working Families Party are added to their votes on the major party line, like the Democratic Party, to determine their total votes. Voters can only vote for a candidate once on either one row or the other.
Republican Mayor Erin Stewart leads the Republicans on the ballot. She, and other Republicans, appear on Row B on the ballot.
Petitioning candidate Deivone Tanksley is on Row D of the ballot. He does not have a slate of candidates for other city offices. State law allows a candidate to appear on the ballot as a petitioning candidates if they receive signatures on a candidate petition of at least one percent of the total number of votes cast in the last election for the office they are seeking.
The Democratic candidate for office of Tax Collector is Lanette Spranzo Macaruso. She is challenging incumbent Republican Tax Collector Cheryl Blogoslawski.
Democratic City Treasurer Ron Jakubowski is running for re-election, and is being challenged by Ald. Jamie Giantonio (R-1).
Candidates for City Council At-Large
Elections for City Council, officially called the “Common Council,” are in two parts. Voters elect five Council members citywide, called “At-Large” Alderwomen and Aldermen, and two to represent each neighborhood-based district, called “wards.”
Voters cast votes for up to five At-Large Council candidates, and the five candidates with the most votes are elected.
Voters also cast votes for up to two candidates to represent their own ward on the Council, and the two with the most votes in their ward are elected.
For At-Large Council, the Democrats are Ald. Manny Sanchez (D-AL), Chris Anderson, Ald. Katie Breslin (D-AL), Ald. Richard Reyes (D-AL) and Antonio Tee Lavoy, Sr. The Democrats are on Row A. Sanchez, Breslin and Reyes are incumbents.
Sanchez, Anderson, Breslin and Reyes are also endorsed by the Working Families Party.
Republicans for At-Large Council are Matthew Malinowski, Sharon Beloin-Saavedra, Ald. Danny Salerno (R-AL), Lauren Gonzalez and Peter Scirpo. The Republicans are on Row B. Salerno is an incumbent.
Candidates for Ward 1
In the election for Ward 1 Council members, the Democrats are Willy Justiniano and Richard Lacourciere. The Republicans are Howard Dyson and Ald. Willie Pabon (R-1). Pabon is an incumbent.
Candidates for Ward 2
The Democrats in the election for Ward 2 Council members are Colin Osborn and Ald. Brian Keith Albert (D-2). The Republicans are Jerrell Hargraves and Ald. Kristian Rosado (R-2). Alberts and Rosado are incumbents.
Candidates for Ward 3
In Ward 3, Democrats in the election for Council are Ald Aram Ayalon (D-3) and Ald. Iris Sanchez (D-3). The Republicans are Joel Moret and Jason Gibson. Ayalon and Sanchez are incumbents.
Candidates for Ward 4
In the election for Ward 4 Council members, the Democrats are Bobby Berriault and Ann Speyer. The Republicans are Ald. Robert Smedley (R-4) and Michael Thompson. Smedley is an incumbent.
Candidates for Ward 5
For the Council members representing Ward 5, the Democrats are Ald. Francisco Santiago (D-5) and Ald. Carlo Carlozzi, Jr. (D-5). The Republicans are Kris Rutkowski and Gary Mala. Santiago and Carlozzi are incumbents.
Santiago is also a candidate of the Working Families Party.
Candidates for Board of Education
Board of Education members are elected citywide. Voters cast votes for up to three candidates and each party may nominate three candidates. The five candidates with the greatest number of votes are elected.
The Democrats running for Board of Education are Merrill Gay, Monica Dawkins and Diane Leja. Gay is an incumbent.
The Republicans are Anthony Kane, Gayle Sanders-Connelly and Sheryl Mala. Sanders-Connelly is an incumbent.
Candidates for Other offices
For Board of Assessment Appeals, Democrats are Nate Simpson and Wyatt Bosworth. The Republicans are Todd Cheney and Alden Russell.
For Constable, the Democrats are Patrice Smith, Suzanne Bielinski, Russell Garuti and Tom Shields. The Republicans are Sean Steele, Richard Moreno, Alan Zaniewski and Rooney Baker.
Editor’s note: The polling places and voter map are the information available on the city website as of November 3, 2019.
