New Britain Democratic voters go to the polls today to nominate their candidates for Judge of Probate, Mayor and At-Large Council.
Mayoral candidate, Rep. Bobby Sanchez (D-25), won the endorsement of the New Britain Democratic Party’s Town Committee on July 26th, but political activist and Mayoral candidate Alicia Hernandez Strong collected petition signatures to qualify for a September 14, 2021 primary in which everyday Democratic voters decide their nominee for Mayor.
The first choice on the Democrats’ primary ballot is for Judge of Probate. Attorney William C. Rivera was endorsed by the Democratic convention for the probate district that includes New Britain and Berlin. Attorney Robert A. Scalise, Jr. petitioned to primary for the Democratic nomination. The Democratic voters will nominate one of the two candidates.
2021 Democratic Judge of Probate Primary Candidates
| Endorsed Democrat | Petitioning Democrat |
|---|---|
| William C. Rivera | Robert A. Scalise, Jr. |
Democratic voters then choose their nominee for Mayor.
2021 Democratic Mayoral Primary Candidates
| Endorsed Democrat | Petitioning Democrat |
|---|---|
| Bobby Sanchez | Alicia Hernandez Strong |
When Rep. Sanchez was endorsed in July, the Democratic Town Committee also endorsed five candidates for At-Large Council seats. Members of the Council are called Alderpersons. The endorsed candidates are Ald. Chris Anderson (D-AL), Amy Labas-Barbosa, Ald. Richard Reyes (D-AL), Ald. Francisco Santiago (D-5) and current Board of Education Member, Dr. Violet Jiménez Sims (D).
Two more candidates, Richard Lacourciere and Nate Simpson, petitioned to primary the endorsed At-Large Council slate as part of Strong’s “People’s Slate.”
2021 Democratic Council Primary Candidates
| Endorsed Democrat | Petitioning Democrat |
|---|---|
| Chris Anderson | Richard Lacourciere |
| Amy Labas-Barbosa | Nate Simpson |
| Richard Reyes | |
| Francisco Santiago | |
| Violet Jiménez Sims |
Democrats who are voting in person on September 14th will be able to vote in their designated polling place. New Britain has seventeen polling places.
| VOTING DISTRICT | ASSEMBLY DISTRICT | WARD | LOCATION | ADDRESS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 24 | 1 | Vance Village School | 183 Vance Street |
| 2 | 24 | 1 | VFW Post 511 Hall | 41 Veterans Drive |
| 3 | 24 | 2 | Roosevelt Middle School | 40 Goodwin Street |
| 4 | 24 | 5 | Gaffney School | 322 Slater Road |
| 5 | 25 | 3 | New Britain Senior Center | 55 Pearl Street |
| 5-1 | 25 | 3 | School Apartments | 50 Bassett Street |
| 5-2 | 25 | 3 | Graham Apartments | 107 Martin Luther King Drive |
| 6 | 25 | 2 | St Jean Baptiste Société | 209 Smalley Street |
| 7 | 25 | 3 | Generale Ameglio | 13 Beaver Street |
| 8 | 25 | 3 | International Church | 40 Acorn Street |
| 9 | 25 | 2 | St Jean Baptiste Société | 209 Smalley Street |
| 10 | 26 | 4 | Saint Francis Church Hall | 1755 Stanley Street |
| 11 | 26 | 4 | Holmes School | 2150 Stanley Street |
| 12 | 26 | 5 | Pulaski Middle School | 757 Farmington Avenue |
| 13 | 26 | 4 | St. John Paul II School | 221 Farmington Avenue |
| 14 | 22 | 5 | DiLoreto School | 732 Slater Road |
| 15 | 24 | 1 | Slade Middle School | 183 Steele Street |
Polls are to remain open from 6:00am to 8:00pm.
Republican Mayor Erin Stewart and her fellow Republicans were nominated without a primary. It remains to be seen if the Democratic nominee for Mayor will prevail against Stewart in the November 2, 2021 city elections. Stewart has repeatedly eluded political consequences to her own re-elections of unpopular policies and politics of her administration, including low funding for the city’s schools, higher property taxes, increased City Hall spending, floating city annual budgets with long-term taxpayer debt the failed attempt to allow mining on public watershed land and what many view as the generally uncouth brand of the politics of her political machine.
