Democrat Anderson Challenges Republican Stewart for Mayor, Tuesday, in City Elections That Include City Council, Board of Education and Other City Offices

Democratic mayoral candidate Chris Anderson will challenge Republican incumbent Mayor Erin Stewart in the city elections to be held on November 7, 2023. City Council, Board of Education and other offices are also up for election.

Anderson has criticized large Stewart tax increases and low funding for education and other city services by the Republican mayor, as well as pay increases Stewart approved for herself. He accuses her of providing large tax breaks to wealthy developers and handing out jobs and benefits to friends and family, while everyday taxpayers pay more and receive less public services, such as investments in storm drainage.

Stewart is campaigning on the generally favorable opinion many people have of her, personally, and a feeling of optimism from cranes in the sky from large downtown development and other projects. She claims to have kept good fiscal order for the city and to have supported education, two claims Democrats fiercely dispute.

Petitioning candidates Al Mayo and Angel Segarra are also running for mayor.

While he is the Democratic Party candidate, Chris Anderson, and some Democratic Council candidates, are “cross-endorsed” as candidates on the Working Families Party line. In these cases, voters may vote for them on either the Democratic Party or Working Family Party line, but not both.

Polls will be open from 6:00am to 8:00pm for those already registered to vote. The city says that, for people not yet registered to vote, “Election Day Registration will be available in City Hall Room 108 between 6:00 am – 8:00 pm.”

The election for mayor, city treasurer, Board of Education, Board of Assessment Appeals and constable are citywide. But the City Council, officially called the “Common Council” will have different elections in each of of the City Council districts, commonly called, “wards.”

After a recent city Charter change, the system for electing Council members is entirely from neighborhood wards. In each ward, voters may vote for up to two candidates. Each party may nominate only two candidates in each ward, but each ward elects three Council members. The result is that no more than two Council members from a ward can be from the same party.

Ward 1 is generally in the West End and Willow Brook neighborhoods. The Mount Pleasant neighborhood, in a controversial decision by the recent Republican-controlled districting process, was moved from the center-city Ward 3 to the disproportionately white Ward 1.

Ward 2 is in the city’s East Side.

Ward 3 includes parts of the Arch Street neighborhood, downtown, the North-Oak neighborhood and parts of the Broad Street neighborhood.

Ward 4 includes most of the Belvedere neighborhood, the Stanley Parks neighborhoods, parts of Farmingdale, Batterson Pond neighborhood and the Brittany Farms area.

Ward 5 includes parts of Farmingdale, the Slater Road and Corbin Avenue area, parts of the Farmington Avenue area and most of Little Poland.

Ward 1 Council Elections

In Ward 1, five candidates, Democrats Nate Simpson and Richard Lacouriere, Republicans Sharon Saavedra and Alden Russell and Independent Party candidate James Sanders, Jr. are competing for the three Council seats.

Simpson and Lacouriere are also candidates of the Working Families Party.

Ward 2 Council Elections

Ward 2 has four Council candidates, two from each major party. Democrats Lori McAdam and Wilma Barbosa-Holley will face Republicans Lukasz Rulka and Jerrell Hargraves.

Ward 3 Council Elections

In Ward 3, there are five candidates for the three Council seats. Democrats Candyce Scott and Iris Sanchez, Republican Jason Gibson and Independent Party candidates Manny Sandoval and Patrice Smith are the candidates.

Ward 4 Council Elections

In Ward 4, six Council candidates are competing. Democrat Neil Connors, Democrat John McNamara, Republican Robert Smedley, Republican Michael Thompson, Independent Party candidate Luz Ortiz-Luna and Independent Party candidate Gayle M. Connolly are running for the three seats.

Ward 5 Council Elections

In Ward 5, Democrats Francisco Santiago and Luz Osuba, Republicans Willie Pabon and Matthew Malinowski and Independent Party candidate Paul Catanzaro are completing for the Council three seats representing that district.

Board of Education

Democrats Joan Pina, Joey Listro and Sal Escobales and Republicans Anthony Kane, Homer White and Jose Rivera are competing for five seats on the Board of Education.

In Board of Education elections, voters may vote for up to three candidates and the top five win. They run at-large in the city. The Board has ten members and serve from four years, different from other city offices that have two-year terms. Their elections are staggered, so that half of the seats are elected every two years.

Other Citywide Offices

Democrats Colin Ivan Osborn and David Grant and Republicans Maria Turczanik and Sheryl Mala are running for the three-member Board of Assessment Appeals. In the election, voters may vote for up to two candidates, and three are elected.

For constable, Democrats Suzanne Bielinski, Patrick Thomsen, Jan Edwards and Carlo Carlozzi, Jr., and Republicans Alan Zaniewski, Richard Moreno, Sean Steele and Jamie Vaughan are running. Voters may vote for up to four candidates for constable, and eight are elected.

Polling Places

For people already registered to vote, voting is at one of seventeen locations throughout the city. Where a voter votes depends on which voting district they reside in, according to their voter registration. This can be found from the city’s Voting District Map and finding the voting district number on the list of voting places. The office of Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas also provides a website where voters can look up where they vote online.

VOTING LOCATION	WARD	VOTING DISTRICT	LOCATION ADDRESS
GAFFNEY SCHOOL	1	1	322 SLATER RD
ST. MAURICE CHURCH HALL	1	2	100 WIGHTMAN RD
VANCE VILLAGE SCHOOL	1	3	183 VANCE ST
VFW	2	4	4 VETERANS DR
ROOSEVELT MIDDLE SCHOOL	2	5	40 GOODWIN ST
CHAMBERLAIN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL	2	6	120 NEWINGTON AVE
SCHOOL APARTMENTS	3	7	50 BASSETT ST
GRAHAM APARTMENTS	3	8	107 MARTIN LUTHER KING DR
NEW BRITAIN SENIOR CENTER	3	9	55 PEARL ST
GENERALE AMEGLIO SOCIETY	3	10	13 BEAVER ST
INTERNATIONAL CHURCH	3	11	40 ACORN ST
ST FRANCIS OF ASSISI CHURCH HALL	4	12	1755 STANLEY ST
HOLMES SCHOOL	4	13	2150 STANLEY ST
PULASKI MIDDLE SCHOOL	4	14	757 FARMINGTON AVE
CRYSTAL BALL ROOM	5	15	211 FARMINGTON AVE
ST. JOHN PAUL II SCHOOL	5	16	221 FARMINGTON AVE
ST. JEROME CHURCH HALL	5	17	1010 SLATER RD

Pre-election voter registration ends seven days before the election, so that is now closed, but people eligible to vote may still register to vote and vote on election day. The office of Secretary of the State Thomas says that,

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 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. If you are in line at the Election Day Registration site at 8 pm, you can remain in line to complete your registration and vote. You will need to provide proof of identity and residency.

New Britain’s election day voting place is city hall, at 27 West Main Street, in room 108.

Voting on election day, Tuesday, November 7, 2023, is between 6:00am and 8:00pm.

Editor’s note: John McNamara is a contributing writer for the New Britain Progressive, but was not an author of this article.

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