In Central Park in front of City Hall, Democrat Alicia Hernandez Strong announced that she is running for Mayor of New Britain, ending her exploratory campaign and announcing that she will officially open a campaign for Mayor.
On Saturday afternoon, Strong announced that she is officially running for the city’s top elected office, saying that she wants to use her, “talents, all my knowledge, everything I have learned over the years, and help uplift my city.”
Saying that she is, “running on a working class platform,” Strong said that she is, “fighting for working class people here in New Britain.”
“My priority,” Strong said, “is working people. I am fighting for working people because I believe that our students deserve a well-funded, quality education in this town.” She called for affordable housing and a police civilian review board with subpoena power, “in which the police will be accountable to all of the residents of New Britain.”
But Strong said she is opposed to increased taxes on the working class of the city. “We have paid enough to the city,” she said.
“The fact of the matter is,” Strong said, “if we truly want to transform this city, we need bold change.” Strong said that Republicans in office want to keep the status quo, “and even some of the establishment Democrats are afraid of too much change.”
“Today is only the beginning,” she said. “We demand better for our city.”
Joining Strong were two Democratic candidates for City Council this year, both of whom said they are supporting Strong in her run for Mayor.
Democratic City Council candidate Lee “Tre” Brown, III announced that he is supporting Strong for Mayor, saying that it “takes all of our voices” to create change.
Brown said it is time, “for a stronger New Britain,” that is dedicated to, “the change that we need to see.”
“We are not,” Democratic Council candidate Richard Lacourciere said, “going to be silent anymore. We are going to demand what we need here in New Britain.”
“That means a well-funded education system,” said Lacourciere. “That means affordable housing, social workers, mental health professionals, social programs and a union for workers and tenants.”
This is what justice looks like,” Lacourciere said.
Lacourciere went on to say, “we don’t need a police tank. We don’t need so many high-paid positions at City Hall going to the mayor’s friends and allies. We don’t need to spend $8 million on a bridge, that just broke, by the way, while children in this city go hungry.”
When Strong announced, in January, that she was exploring candidacy for Mayor, her statement at the time said considering running for Mayor,
comes after years of activism and community organizing in New Britain and throughout the state. After graduating from Wesleyan she served as Executive Director of the Connecticut chapter of the well-known civil rights group, the Council on American-Islamic relations. She also helped run the New Britain office for Congresswoman Hayes’ first campaign. After the murder of George Floyd, Strong helped co-found the New Britain Racial Justice coalition to combat institutional racism in the city.
“Her experiences as a young Afro-Puerto Rican growing up in New Britain has reinforced her commitment to racial and economic justice,” Strong’s announcement in January said. “She prides herself in bringing together diverse sets of people to fight for a common cause.”
When she announced her exploratory committee, Strong says that she was stepping aside from her role as President of the New Britain Racial Justice Coalition to explore candidacy. She was one of the co-founders of the Coalition, which was created as part of the summer of protest and activism sparked by the killing of George Floyd and many other people of color by police.
Strong is now the first Democratic candidate to officially announce a challenge to four-term incumbent Republican Mayor Erin Stewart. But two other prominent Democrats are also building possible campaigns to challenge Stewart.
State Rep. Bobby Sanchez (D-25) announced in January that he is exploring a run for Mayor. He has already received endorsements from the entire Democratic state legislative delegation and the Democrats’ City Council leader.
Prominent Democratic community leader Veronica T. DeLandro, who is the former District Director of Congresswoman Jahana Hayes (D-5), announced that she is exploring candidacy for mayor in January.
Nominations by the Democratic Party are a potentially two step process. The Democratic Party’s governing Town Committee makes endorsements of candidates for city offices in July. If there is no primary, the Town Committee’s choice becomes the nominee of the Democratic Party. But, candidates not endorsed by the Town Committee can send the decision on the nomination to a Democratic primary by collecting petition signatures.
Any primary in 2021 would be held on September 14th.
