A postcard of Waterbury City Hall. Credit to Jablonski Building Conservation, Inc. (JBC)

Overview

Over the past few weeks, I’ve focused on the elections at the top of the ballot in many local races across the state. This included the mayoral race in Hamden and the town council election in Bloomfield. What I wanted to remind readers about is the many other offices that are on the ballot. This ranges from town to town as each town has its own government structure and decides which committees include elected and appointed positions. This leads to a variety of positions on the ballot in November.

One city I wanted to focus on is Waterbury. In 2023, Waterbury had a competitive mayoral election for a open seat. Democrat Paul Pernerewski defeated Republican Dawn Maiorano in a close 50-45 victory.

Perenerwski is not on the ballot this year as Waterbury has a four-year mayoral term. However, there could be competitive races in both the primary and general elections. The Board of Aldermen could potentially have Republican and Democratic primaries in all five districts. There are likely Democratic primaries on the Board of Education.

Brief Background on Waterbury

Waterbury, known as the “Brass City” due to their historical dominance of the brass industry, is the fifth-largest city in the state.

In the 1920s, the Naugatuck Valley produced more than 1/3 of the brass manufactured in the United States. This brass was used in a wide variety of products, including screws, washers, toy airplanes, and cocktail shakers.

However, Waterbury and the surrounding area have watched the brass industry go overseas while local factories shut down in the following decades.

Currently, Waterbury has a growing downtown area with notable attractions such as the Mattatuck Museum and the Palace Theater.

Mayor Perenerswki noted that he wasn’t surprised by the 2024 presidential results. He explained that he felt National Democrats did not address the needs of the people in the community. In addition, Republicans were able to tap into the grievances and dispossession of the white working-class voters across the country.

Waterbury has an interesting and rich political past. Though there have not been any major controversies in the last 25 years, the 20th century past is a whole different story. T. Frank Hayes, the city’s mayor from 1930 to 1939, was convicted with 26 others for a conspiracy to defraud the city out of one million dollars. The city had years of serious financial strain due to mismanagement. In 1992, Mayor Joseph Santopietro was convicted in a payoff conspiracy where he received bribes and kickbacks disguised as loans. Mayor Phillip Giordano was found soon after his mayoral tenure convicted on child sex charges and possible political corruption.

The 2024 election results in Waterbury had Kamala Harris winning the town 55-44.

Waterbury System of Government

Waterbury has a town-council form of government.

The council is comprised of the mayor and 15 aldermen. The 15 aldermen are split among five districts, with the three highest vote-getters in each district winning a spot on the board.

The mayor and aldermen are elected biennially in odd years. The board of education also has staggered terms to ensure there are veteran members on the board.

A party cannot have more than 2/3 of the seats on the board of aldermen.

2023 Elections

Democrats have done well in local elections in Waterbury in recent years. In 2023, Democrats won the maximum number of Alderman seats they could have won (10). Democrats also won the Mayor Race, City Clerk, City Sheriff, and the majority of seats on the Board of Education.

The closest race on the Board of Aldermen was in the first district. The Board of Education results were also fairly close.

Board of Aldermen and Board of Education Results in 2023. Source: Secretary of State Website

Republican Board of Aldermen Primary Races

Despite this dominance from the Democratic party, and the unlikelihood of gains that can lead to a change of party control, City GOP chair Dawn Maiorano believes Republicans can whittle down Democratic majorities.

However, Waterbury GOP has to contend with infighting due to two Republican primaries in Aldermanic districts, and plausible challenges in all five, depending on candidates receiving the required signatures needed.

Maiorano describes the situation as “it’s the family fight“. She explained that once it’s over, everyone will unite behind the campaign. That wish might be far-fetched, however, as Republican factions accuse the others of not being sufficiently supportive of the party.

In District 2, Josh Brenner qualified for the primary ballot against endorsed candidates Ruben Rodriguez and Andrew Clisham.

In District 4, former Minority Leader George Noujaim and Paul Kondash have gathered enough signatures to challenge the endorsed slate of Allen Leon and Reynaldo Melendez.

In District 1, Alderman Mary Cavallo is running with Amy Nardozzi as a slate. They still have to finish gathering signatures. However, this is the second time Cavallo has not received the town’s endorsement, yet she made the ballot in 2023, and intends to again. Cavallo and Nardozzi will face the endorsed slate of Michael Grosso and Jameson Stock,

Both Cavallo and Noujaim have faced scrutiny from Maiorano, who says they are not reliable Republicans. They did not receive the endorsements due to GOP leaders feeling like they are too close and cooperative with the Democratic majority.

With all the infighting, it’ll be interesting to see how Maiorano can get the GOP back behind candidates they didn’t endorse if they emerge victorious in the primary. Primaries in the other Aldermen districts are possible.

Endorsed Candidates in Other Districts

District 3: Kelly Zimmerman, Abigail Diaz

District 5: Jack Alspeh, Adrian Sanchez

Board of Education: Thomas Van Stone Sr., Terrance Lott, Jr.

Waterbury DTC vs United Democrats of Waterbury

Democrats are not free from infighting. However, they face a slightly different situation.

The Democratic Town Committee (DTC) is facing challenges from the organization United Democrats of Waterbury. United Democrats of Waterbury believes the Waterbury DTC is a stagnant status quo and that they have concentrated power and limited transparency. They’ve also campaigned for a more diverse slate across every demographic.

According to a Facebook Post by the Waterbury Observer, the issues date back over a hundred years. When the city elected officials at-large, or across the city, power was concentrated among affluent white voters and not the Black and Brown populations of the city. When the Board switched to a district system, many felt that Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary neutralized this new system by exerting control over the board, ensuring everything went through him. The post continues that Mayor Perenerwski, a longtime Board of Aldermen member, continued the system. The United Democrats of Waterbury wants to bring power to the districts.

A slate of candidates led by Rafael Roman, who has recruited nine candidates for the Board of Aldermen and three for the Board of Education, will face off against the endorsed slate from the DTC.

Democratic Primary Races

However, it isn’t exactly a simple case of one side vs the other.

Some candidates are endorsed both both the DTC and United Democrats of Waterbury. This includes Nelson Roman, who is running in the 5th district. He was endorsed by incumbent Geraldo Reyes Jr., who has an independent streak as an alderman, meaning he is both a challenger and an endorsed member. Alderwoman Sanra McCarthy, the president pro tempore of the board of Aldermen, is also cross-endorsed by United Democrats of Waterbury

Ken Curran, the city chairman of the Democratic Party, is the endorsed DTC candidate along with Michael Rinaldi in District 1. They are facing a challenge from United Democrats Brenda Liz Cotto Figueroa and Denise Martinez.

The endorsed slate by the DTC includes

District 2: Belina Weaver, Ian Blake

District 3: Sean Mosley, John Drewery

District 4: Michael DiGiovancarlo, Jeffrey Hunter Sr.

Board of Education: LaToya Ireland, Kay Munoz, and Margaret Heyward

It’ll be interesting to see how the slates end up at the end from two different factions.

Offices Elected in Other Towns

This article should act as a reminder to everyone to look at other offices on the ballot that aren’t the mayor or town council races. In some towns, this is fairly simple.

In West Hartford, the only offices on the ballot typically are the Board of Education, Town Council, and Town Clerk.

Other towns, however, have a lot more to vote on. Some towns have ballot questions depending on the year. The Town of Brookfield in 2023 had the typical expected offices like First Selectman, Selectman, Board of Education, and Town Clerk. However, voters vote on other offices, including Town Treasurer, Board of Finance, Board of Assessment, Planning Commission, Zoning Commission, Zoning Board of Appeals, and four ballot questions.

The town of Orange in 2023 had to vote for Constables, and Amity Regional Board of Education, the Board of Education, Tax Collector, and more. The Town of Glastonbury elects a Board of Fire Commissioners. In 2021, the Town of Plainfield had 7 ballot questions and a two-page ballot for voters to vote on.

Though for many of these offices, most people who run win a seat, as the exact number of candidates running for the needed positions is. Some races hidden in the ballot can be competitive and potentially affect certain positions in your town that you didn’t know were so important.

It’s important to understand how these committees and boards work so one can better understand how the town and its services are run.

I highly recommend using the Secretary of State website prior to the primaries and the general election to get a good look at your ballot before you head to the voting booth, so you are fully aware of all the offices that are on the ballot.

Thanks for Reading!