Republicans Set Aside DeLandro Council Appointment

New Britain City Council Republicans have voted to set aside the appointment of Democrat Veronica T. DeLandro to succeed Rep.-Elect Manny Sanchez (D-24) on the Council.

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.

Numerous people spoke in the public participation part of the Council meeting in support of appointing DeLandro. The public speaking session was unusually long, continuing for hours, with people speaking both for DeLandro and on the resolution to remove the Christopher Columbus statue.

After bipartisan speeches of congratulations for Rep.-Elect Sanchez, as he departed the Council, the Council Democrats’ new leader Ald. Francisco Santiago (D-5) invited DeLandro to speak to the Council about her experience and work in the community.

But then the Council Republicans voted to table the widely supported appointment of DeLandro. While the resolution was tabled on a voice vote, Republican Mayor Erin Stewart said, she assumed, the Council members voted on the motion on party-lines. The Council Republicans’ leader, Ald. Daniel Salerno (R-AL), made the motion to table the resolution,seconded by Republican Ald. Sharon Beloin-Saavedra (R-AL).

On Monday, just two days before the Council was set to vote on DeLandro’s appointment, Republican Mayor Erin Stewart called for a “search” for the seat, setting off widespread speculation that Republicans planned to pass over DeLandro and name their own candidate for the seat.

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

Since Rep.-Elect Sanchez is a Democrat, the person appointed to complete the remainder of the two-year Council term he was elected to in 2019 must be registered to vote in Democratic Party primaries. But with control of the New Britain Council, Republicans have the power to overrule the Democratic Party’s own choice and name someone loyal to the Stewart-led Republican political machine, instead.

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), Board of Education member Violet Jiménez Sims (D), 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.