In Primary Tuesday, Democrats to Choose Nominee for 26th District; Republicans to Nominate for U.S. Senate

Everyday Democrats in the 26th State Assembly District have their say on their nominee in the election to succeed longtime State Rep. Peter Tercyak (D-26), who is retiring this year, while Republican voters, citywide will nominate in the upcoming election for U.S. Senate.

Democratic former City Council member, Ald. David DeFronzo (D-AL) is the endorsed candidate of the Democratic Town Committee. He is being challenged for the nomination by former Council member, Ald. Aram Ayalon (D-3), who is also a former Board of Education member. The winner will face the Republican candidate for the seat, Board of Education member Barbara Marino (R), in the November general election.

In the Republicans’ U.S. Senate primary, endorsed candidate Gerry Smith is being challenged for the nomination by Matthew M. Corey. The winner will face incumbent U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT).

Voting has already been conducted in the primaries, under the state’s new early voting process. Voters who have not voted early or by absentee ballot, will be able to vote in the official primary day, Tuesday, August 13, 2024.

Both Democratic State Representative candidates have announced that they are running as Clean Election Candidates, agreeing to limit campaign spending and run their campaigns using the state Citizen Election Fund instead of big special interest money.

Rep. Tercyak, who announced his retirement, after serving the district for 21 years, 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’s campaign has said that he has, “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.”

DeFronzo has called, “for a $200 million state investment in aging, unsafe and inefficient municipal infrastructure systems across the state,” his campaign has said, noting, “long delayed sewer improvement projects have led to regularly recurring flood conditions in a residential neighborhood creating public health dangers and property damage.”

DeFronzo announced a series of initiatives for, “the state to play a more direct role in the financing and oversight of affordable housing statewide.” He said that, “the state should repeal the law that prevents cities and towns from establishing their own rent caps and require local Fair Rent Commissions to have at least 45% of their members be tenants.” He added that there should be limits on when rent increases can occur and that, “We need to make sure the state provides reasonable incentives to developers while ensuring the housing being built will be affordable long term.”

DeFronzo has also advocated for expanded mental health services for high school students. Saying, “I believe every high school student, regardless of their income level, should have access to mental health services at their high school,” said he will press for more funding for staffing and other resources for mental health services in high schools in Connecticut.

Ayalon, a retired CCSU education professor, advocates for greater state support for education.

Saying, “investing in higher education is not just an investment in our students’ futures; it’s an investment in the prosperity of our communities,” Ayalon says 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.

Ayalon added that, “As a longtime education professor, I’ve witnessed firsthand the barriers facing teacher candidates and the alarming shortage of educators. His campaign says that his plan for education, “addresses the longstanding disparities in per-student expenditure in New Britain’s public schools, which rank among the lowest in Connecticut.”

Ayalon’s campaign says that, “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.”

Ayalon announced a, “policy platform for affordable housing,” seeking to address the cost to homeowners of property taxes, as well as the high cost of housing rents.

“Far too many of our neighbors,” Ayalon said, “especially those on lower or fixed incomes are struggling to keep up with skyrocketing taxes and rents, forcing some to face eviction and displacement.”

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.”

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.”

Ayalon is has also been a regular columnist with the New Britain Progressive.

In his New Britain Progressive columns, Ayalon has written about the restoration of dual-language programming at the Diloreto School and has continued his longtime advocacy for the homeless. He has written about local environmental issues, such as urban tree cover and neighborhood flooding.

Ayalon has written concerning traffic speeding problems, the possible use of speed bumps, about the “Justice for Katherine” protests and reforms in the Police Department.

In addition, Ayalon has written critically about the taxation and finances of New Britain’s Republican-controlled city hall, questioned the level of ethics in city hall and a lack of diversity in city employment, and questioned a new multimillion dollar reception pavilion at Stanley Golf Course.

Ayalon also wrote about early voting taking effect in the city and democracy reforms, and he has also informed the public on with general information on the business under consideration at the Council.

For Republicans, voting is to be citywide, while the Democratic primary is only to be at the voting districts in the 26th Assembly district, which includes the 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th and 16th voting districts.

The city Registrars of Voters have informed voters that, due to construction at the Holmes School, normally the polling place for the 13th voting district, voting for that district will be at St. Francis of Assisi Church Hall. Two voting districts, including the 12th voting district, will vote at the location.