Just Two Days Before DeLandro Vote, Stewart Calls for “Search”

Just two days before the City Council is set to vote on appointing Democrat Veronica T. DeLandro to the Council, Republican Mayor Erin Stewart is calling for a “search” for the seat.

Representative-Elect Manny Sanchez (D-24), the Democratic Town Committee and all six Council Democrats are supporting DeLandro to succeed Rep.-Elect Sanchez as Council member. Sanchez was recently elected as the Twenty-Fourth District State Representative, succeeding Senator-Elect Rick Lopes (D-6) in that seat.

“Let the search commence!” said Stewart online on Monday, calling attention to the effort by Republican Ald. Daniel Salerno (R-AL), “searching for a vacancy candidate,” despite wide support for DeLandro to succeed Sanchez.

Just two days before the Council is to take up a resolution to make DeLandro’s appointment official, Stewart’s move drew wide criticism online, with some Republicans voicing support for the move.

In recent weeks, Rep.-Elect Sanchez posted a video on Facebook on why he is supporting DeLandro to complete the term on the Council he was elected to. He has been joined by the other Democratic members of the City Council in supporting DeLandro.

DeLandro posted a video on why she is seeking the position. She has been supported by Senator-elect Lopes, State Representative Peter Tercyak (D-26), State Representative Bobby Sanchez (D-25), Democratic City Treasurer Ron Jakubowski (D) and others.

DeLandro has served as District Director for Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (D-5) and now provides consulting, training and coaching to nonprofit organizations at VTD Consulting Group, which she founded. She previously had a career at ESPN before she began working with organizations with a focus on philanthropy, college access and mentoring.

DeLandro ran for City Council in 2017, very nearly winning an upset victory in an uphill race in the City’s First Ward, where Republicans have historically had the advantage in city level elections, and then was selected as the City Council’s first woman and first African American Clerk of Committees. She has also previously served on the city’s Youth & Family Services Commission and the school system’s Graduation Odyssey Task Force.

A longtime community leader, DeLandro is on the Executive Board of the NAACP New Britain Branch and serves on the Board of the YWCA New Britain, co-chairing the YWCA’s Policy Committee. She is a founding member of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving’s Black Giving Circle, and her biography notes her roles as, “Connecticut State Coordinator for the Eastern Region of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Recording Secretary for the North Atlantic Region of the National Hampton Alumni Association, Inc. and Technology Chair for the Greater Hartford Chapter of The Links, Incorporated.”

DeLandro was one of Connecticut Magazine‘s “40 under 40” of rising leaders, recognized for her leadership at the Inaugural MIP (Minority Inclusion Project) Honors Gala and was named one of the Top 25 Most Influential Blacks by the New Britain NAACP.

DeLandro is married and has two children.