Democratic Voters to Decide Party Committee Members in Wards 1 and 3

Democratic voters will decide who will represent them on the Democratic Party’s governing Town Committee in a party primary election in Wards 1 and 3.

Ward 1 includes the West End, Willow Brook and Mount Pleasant neighborhoods and Ward 3 is located in the center of the city.

Candidates on two opposing slates in each ward have been collecting signatures to run for the party committee seats. The deadline for submitting signatures was Wednesday, January 31st. Democratic Registrar of Voters Lucian Pawlak confirmed that each slate in the two wards had enough signatures of Democratic voters to qualify for a primary.

Ward 1 Democratic Town Committee Slates

Ward 3 Democratic Town Committee Slates

The primary is to be held on March 5, 2024.

Unlike the city’s Republican Party, the Democrats’ local Town Committee is chosen using a direct primary model. In the Democrats’ direct primary system, any registered Democratic voters wishing to be on their party’s Town Committee must gather signatures from at least five percent of registered Democrats in their ward to qualify to run for Town Committee. Candidates collect the five percent of signatures jointly as a slate and the slates must have candidates for at least 25% of the seats to be elected.

If more people qualify by obtaining signatures than there are seats to fill in a ward, a party election, called a primary, is held for registered Democrats to choose their ward’s party Town Committee members. If there are the same or few candidates than there are seats to fill in a ward, no primary election is held and all of the candidates are deemed elected.

New Britain Republicans use a system for choosing their party’s governing Town Committee in which party activists gather in a meeting, called a “caucus” to “endorse” members of their Town Committee. It is also possible for Republicans to challenge the Republican Party’s endorsed candidates for its Town Committee in a primary, as well.

The upcoming term of the Democratic Party’s local governing committee is the first time that it will be elected from the five City Council districts, commonly called wards. Previously the Democratic Town Committee was elected from voting districts.