Former City Council member, Ald. Dave DeFronzo (D-AL) has been endorsed by Democrats for State Representative in the 26th Assembly District, receiving more votes from the Democratic Town Committee than former Council and Board of Education member, Ald. Aram Ayalon (D-3).
The vote in the Democratic Town Committee was 7 votes for DeFronzo and 4 for Ayalon.
Ayalon’s campaign says he plans to petition to challenge for the Democratic Party nomination in a primary.
As the recipient of the party endorsement, DeFronzo will be the Democratic Party’s nominee, if there is no primary. He also automatically qualifies for a primary, if there is one. Ayalon can qualify for a primary for the Democratic Party nomination by gaining support by petition of five percent of Democratic-registered voters in the district.
The 26th Assembly District election is an open seat race this year, after Rep. Peter Tercyak (D-26) announced his retirement, after serving the district for 21 years.
Rep. Tercyak has endorsed DeFronzo, saying that,
Dave’s unwavering commitment to our community, his proven track record on the City Council, and his deep understanding of the issues that matter most to our residents make him the ideal candidate for the 26th District. I am proud to endorse Dave DeFronzo for State Representative. He embodies a new generation of Democratic leadership that is sorely needed in our state legislature.
A New Britain High School graduate who went on to teach for 18 years at Jefferson School, DeFronzo, “worked tirelessly with community members and elected officials to protect AW Stanley Park and has been a vocal supporter of addressing neighborhood concerns, such as snow removal, infrastructure improvements, road paving, and park revitalization,” his campaign has said.
“His dedication to fairness and community well-being is further evidenced by his opposition to large tax breaks for corporations and out-of-town developers,” DeFronzo’s campaign added, “championing instead the interests of local residents and small businesses.”
DeFronzo has announced that he has enough qualifying contributions to participate in the state’s Citizen Election Program, sometimes called the “clean election program,” in his run for the 26th District State Representative seat.
“This program epitomizes a clean election process,” DeFronzo explained. “It bans dark money and emphasizes grassroots funding through small local contributions.” DeFronzo said he encourages other candidates to run following this system.
The Program, an historic reform created under leadership from the younger DeFronzo’s father, former State Senator Donald DeFronzo (D-6), in 2005 and 2006, is widely seen as largely removing the influence of big money special interests from state legislative and other elections.
Ayalon’s campaign has said that, as a candidate, “He pledges to advocate for more equitable education funding across the state and to diminish reliance on real estate taxes to fund schools, promoting a fairer distribution of resources.”
On property taxes, Ayalon is proposing, “a threshold circuit breaker system for Connecticut’s property tax, modeled after successful implementations in states like New York,” adding, “This system would cap property taxes at a certain percentage of income and provide credits to taxpayers based on their income level, offering much-needed relief to struggling homeowners and renters alike.”
Ayalon, who is a retired CCSU education professor and former Board of Education member, said, “investing in higher education is not just an investment in our students’ futures; it’s an investment in the prosperity of our communities,” saying he wants to increase state funding for public higher education institutions, like CCSU.
“I will tirelessly advocate for increased state funding to reduce student tuition and borrowing, ensuring that all students have access to quality education without the crushing weight of debt,” said Ayalon.
On the issue of skyrocketing rents, Ayalon says that he, “supports a plan to establish a 2.5% annual cap on rent increases, mirroring pre-pandemic trends and ensuring that rent hikes remain in line with inflation.” He says the plan would exempt, “owner-occupied 1-4 family homes,” and have, “a local, administrative process for landlords to request higher rent increases on a case-by-case basis.”
If there is a primary, Democratic-registered voters will decide the Democratic nomination for the seat in an August 13th primary election.
