Republicans Sue Over Ward 2 Council Vacancy; Democrats Call it Distraction from Republican Scandals

The New Britain Republican Town Committee (NBRTC) says it officially filed a lawsuit over the appointment of former Council member Colin Osborn to the Ward 2 City Council seat, but the New Britain Democratic Town Committee fired back – calling it a distraction from unfolding Republican scandals.

The Ward 2 seat had been vacant since the unexpected passing of Ald Jerrell Hargraves this past winter. Last Wednesday, the Democratic majority on the Common Council amended an existing resolution to appoint Osborn to the seat. The City Charter says that Council vacancies must, “be filled by majority vote of the Common Council within sixty (60) days following the vacancy.”

During the April 22 meeting, Council Republicans had initially introduced a resolution to appoint Dr Valerie Ruby Ingram to the seat, though at the meeting Council Republicans sought to pull the resolution from consideration. Council Democrats then amended the resolution to appoint Osborn, with Ald Luz Ortiz-Luna (D-4) emphasizing the urgency of providing the people of Ward 2 with full representation.

In today’s press release, NBRTC Chairman Anthony Kane called the appointment, “a blatant and outrageous abuse of power by the Sanchez administration and the Democrat[ic] majority of the Common Council that is an undeniable violation of state election laws,” Kane stated. The Republicans accused the Democrats of appointing a Democrat to fill a seat vacated by a Republican, saying that they illegally usurped the power of the seat.

Republicans said their legal challenge rests on Connecticut General Statutes Section 9-167a, a state law governing minority party representation. However, that state election law contains specific exemptions to these rules. Subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of CGS Sec 9-167a explicitly states that the section does not apply, “to any such board, commission, committee or body whose members are elected wholly or partially on the basis of a geographical division of the state or political subdivision”. Because the New Britain City Council is elected by district, this statutory exemption means that CGS Sec 9-167a does not apply to Council representation.

The New Britain Democratic Town Committee (NBDTC) aggressively pushed back on the lawsuit Wednesday. NBDTC Chair Chris Anderson issued a statement condemning the NBRTC’s actions as “political bullying, personal attacks, and manufactured outrage”.

The Democratic statement further alleged that the lawsuit is a deliberate distraction designed to divert public attention from “serious issues surrounding the prior administration, including the ongoing questions about misconduct involving the former Mayor and the former Revenue Collector”.

Under Section 3-2(f)(2) of the New Britain City Charter, the Common Council is vested with the authority to fill vacancies, requiring that the appointee share the same political affiliation as the vacating member. While the Republicans have claimed that Hargraves was a Republican and that Osborn is a Democrat, Democrats say that Hargraves was registered to vote as an Unaffiliated voter and could therefore be replaced by Osborn, who they also say is an Unaffiliated voter.

The Democrats’ statement said that Republicans’, “baseless lawsuit and public smear campaign drove away a resident who was willing to step forward and serve the people of New Britain.” Anderson said it is his understanding that Osborn is stepping aside from the seat.

“That is not leadership,” Democrats said about the Republican lawsuit, “it is cowardice.”