Out of ‘discord,’ Bloomfield candidates promise progress; East Hartford election outcome inevitable

In the lead up to Election Day, Republican challengers in Bloomfield and East Hartford municipal races are taking different approaches to town council campaigns in their heavily blue towns.

The guaranteed reelection of East Hartford’s town council led Democratic Mayor Mike Walsh to say the East Hartford Republican party “really needs to get its act together.”

“They’re doing a disservice to the community by not representing a bona fide challenge,” Walsh said. “Democrats will be better if the Republicans had a formidable presence in town and they do not. (A) one-party government is not good for anybody… A two party system is only healthy when both parties are healthy.”

Democrats Rich Kehoe, Don Bell, Sebrina Wilson, Harry Amadasun, Angie Parkinson and Awet Tsegai, and Republicans John Morrison, Tom Rup and Travis Simpson make up the ballot. All nine are incumbents, and all nine will be reelected to the town council in November.

But East Hartford Republican Town Committee Chair Prescille Yamamoto said East Hartford Republicans, who make up just 10% of active voters, lack the resources to run a full slate of candidates every election.

“Not only are we short in numbers, we’re sometimes short in financial assistance,” Yamamoto said. “It costs money to run candidates … And if I had the resources, perhaps I would have run the fourth candidate.”

Beyond elections, Yamamoto said attracting candidates for public office is an issue across both parties, in part due to a “swollen” unaffiliated base that now accounts for more than 43% of the electorate, and a general lack of willingness.

“For whatever their reasons, in today’s society, people do not choose to become involved in their community, which is a poor situation,” Yamamoto said.

Yamamoto said that under the current system, unaffiliated voters can petition to be placed on a commission or board, but it’s up to the party whether or not to put that candidate forward.

“We have a zoning and planning commission, we have a veterans commission, we have any number of commissions, who have vacancies. How effective can that body be, without the volunteer support of our citizenry?” Yamamoto said.

Yamamoto said the Republicans on the ballot for reelection, Morrison, Simpson and Rup — are strong contenders with a proven track record on the town council.

“We have three well-known candidates. They have proven themselves to the community,” Yamamoto said. “We have an experienced team.”

In Bloomfield, where Democrats are likely to sweep the competition after a highly contested primary, Republicans are presenting a nearly full slate of five candidates for town council.

On the Bloomfield ballot Republican incumbent Councilors Joseph Merritt, Shamar Mahon, Elizabeth Waterhouse, and newcomers Seth Pitts and Lisa Simone will face off against Mayor Danielle Wong, fellow Democratic Incumbents Anthony Harrington, Kenneth McClary, Cindi Lloyd, and newcomers Todd Cooper and Michael Oliver.

Comprising more than 60% percent of the electorate, Bloomfield Democrats are expected to once again secure the town council majority.

Bloomfield Republican Town Committee Chair Robert Ike said he remains enthusiastic but realistic with the party’s goals.

“I’m very enthusiastic but given the voter registration disparity here in Bloomfield … our goal is always to hold on to the minority party seats (and) It looks like that’s going to happen,” Ike said.

As in East Hartford, Ike said the Bloomfield Republican Party has considered whether running three candidates, as opposed to a full slate, would be more or less effective.

“That’s a big debate within the party,” Ike said “Because of the disparity, essentially, the Republicans end up running against the Republicans. But there’s some thought that if you don’t run a full slate, you’re going to lose those three votes.”

Ike said that the Republican image has been tarnished by party dysfunction at the federal level. He said that if the Bloomfield electorate were more openminded, local Republicans would have a better shot at securing council seats.

“We’re not the National Republican Party. We’re not involved with all the bickering and partisan and hateful stuff going on at the national level,” Ike said. “You got to have an electorate that’s willing to look at the Republican party, look at our candidates (and) look from the local level. … But the people, because of the stigma of the (National) Republican Party, are not willing to even give our candidates a look.”

Ike said that Bloomfield Republicans “don’t let our minority status stop us.”

During a contentious period of Democratic infighting, Ike said it was the Republicans on town council who pushed policy, and Bloomfield, forward.

In the 2023 primaries, two factions of the Bloomfield Democratic party battled for the November ticket.

In the end, after losing the primary, Bloomfield Councilor Rickford Kirton resigned from the Bloomfield Democratic Town Committee and announced that he would step away from politics entirely.

“I believe it’s crucial to maintain the integrity and unity of the Democratic Party, and unfortunately, I felt that the committee was experiencing a significant level of division and polarization due to self-interests,” Kirton said in an email to the Courant. “In my view, the Democratic Party should be about inclusivity, collaboration, and working together to create positive change for our community. Regrettably, the situation within the BDTC does not align with these core values.”

After winning the primaries, Democratic Councilor Kenneth McClary was quoted as saying that the people of Bloomfield “chose work over rhetoric.”

Lynette Easmon, the Bloomfield Democratic Town Committee chair and a candidate for reelection to the board of education, said in an email to the Courant that the Democratic slate’s overwhelming victory in the primaries “demonstrates the trust and confidence that the community has with this team’s ability to lead and represent Bloomfield effectively.”

“From the Town Council to Library Trustees, the November 7th election presents an opportunity for positive momentum and growth in our community,” Easmon said. “Every candidate on the Democratic ballot will have the opportunity to help Bloomfield flourish. Collaboration within the town’s boards and commissions will promote economic growth, an enhanced educational experience for our students and reasonable taxes for our residents.”

Easmon said the Committee-endorsed candidates reflect unity within the party.

Republican Town Councilor Joseph Merritt said that the discord extended to one member of the Republican party but that the “main people causing that problem are not candidates,” this November.

“They were primaried out,” Merritt said. “I’m glad this happened and hopefully we’ll have a more peaceful future since we’ve eliminated, I think, the main cause for the discord.”

Serving on the Council since 1975, Merritt said “I’ve seen difficult periods like we’ve had in the last couple of years and I hope we don’t see any more of that.”

In addition to hiring a new town manager, Merritt said his personal interests involve the budget, economic growth, avoiding tax increases, and completing East Hartford’s section of the East Coast Greenway bike path.

Republican Councilor Shamar Mahon said he would like to see a renewed focus on flood mitigation projects, education, strengthening the town’s fiscal soundness and improving services for residents during trying financial times.

Unlike his Republican colleagues on the ballot, Mahon was not initially endorsed by the Republican Town Committee during the primaries, something that Mahon said he is still having a “tough time wrapping my head around.”

Mahon said he has always put people over politics and has worked to build bridges instead of burning them. He said that the divisions on the Bloomfield Town Council were more ideological than partisan.

“Even though some folks described the council as dysfunctional, I thought a lot of the conversations that we had brought in so many different perspectives and allowed for a lot of fruitful conversations,” Mahon said.

“Democracy isn’t always pretty, sometimes it’s messy,” Mahon added. “But the important part and what I’m trying to get to is yes, we can take on those different positions, and although I love the fact that we have very diverse discourse, we have to build a bridge of compromise.”

Ike said that what Bloomfield residents need now is “calm.”

“We want to bring a town manager that’s going to stay. We want calmness. We want the town to grow. We want economic development.,” Ike said. “We’re trying to build the economic base of this town, the Republican Party.”

Economic development and securing a new town manager is also a top priority for Bloomfield Democrats.

In an email to the Courant, Mayor Danielle Wong laid out a broad agenda that built on past successes that included a $250,000 state grant to reimagine Bloomfield’s Town Center, enhanced tenant protections in an updated housing code, and investments in youth sports, job training and the new town library, and voting now against a 6.5% tax increase

“The Democratic team is committed to working together to hire an excellent professional town manager, implement fiscally responsible policies that keep our taxes under control, collaborating with the School board to enhance academic performance, supporting smart economic development in our town center area and Blue Hills corridor fostering growth and prosperity for local businesses and residents alike, enhancing recreational facilities and preserving parks and our environment, as well as tackling concerns related to public safety, including speeding and littering,” Wong said.