Erin Stewart wants new term as New Britain mayor: ‘I’m not done just yet’

After months of speculation, New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart announced Wednesday morning that she’s running for a nearly unprecedented sixth term.

“I’m not done just yet. I’ll see you in November,” Stewart said in a 15-second Facebook video posted around 6:30 a.m.

Stewart told the Courant that she wants another term to complete a series of downtown development projects and municipal initiatives that launched in recent years, and also intends to promote revitalization along the East Street, Arch Street and John Downey Drive corridors.

“I love what I do and after a lot of careful consideration, I’ve decided to run again,” Stewart said. “People are actually seeing where their tax dollars are going, they’re seeing progress block by block.

“I’ve broken ground on a lot of projects, and now there are so many that we can be proud of. I want to be around to keep this going and to cut some of those ribbons,” she said.

If she wins, Stewart, 35, would become only the second mayor in New Britain history to win six terms, and the first Republican in the heavily Democratic city.

Despite encountering heavy turbulence when she tried to break into statewide politics five years ago, Stewart has been a political star in her hometown since voters first elected her in 2013. She was just 26 then with a short political resume, but handily defeated Democratic incumbent Tim O’Brien to become the youngest mayor in New Britain.

Democrats hold a massive advantage on the voter registration rolls, and New Britain historically elects an all-blue or mostly blue delegation to the General Assembly. But Stewart has won all of her four reelection campaigns by wide margins, and polled more than 60% of the vote in both 2019 and 2021.

Her popularity locally has extended beyond just the standard GOP base of white middle-class residents, extending to minority voters and the poorer sections of Connecticut’s eighth-largest city.

Stewart’s supporters contend she’s a likeable political moderate who could make a solid run for governor in a state where the GOP has been going down in defeat behind a string of older male candidates with hard-right views.

But so far, she’s made little progress against the heavily conservative state Republican leadership. It gave her 2018 bid for governor no support at all, and her primary for the lieutenant governor’s spot on the ballot failed. Still, she has developed a following beyond New Britain by forecasting — correctly — that the statewide GOP ticket would fail if it didn’t build appeal beyond the party’s right wing.

So far, she is not ruling out the possibility of a new race for governor in 2024 or beyond.

“I’ve made no secret that being governor would be a dream job for me. I tried in ‘18 and it didn’t work out, I took a pass this last time (2022) because I didn’t think the time was right,” she said. “It will all depend on if the time is right and if my personal situation will allow me to go in that direction.”

Stewart and her husband, Dominic Mutone, had a daughter, Lina, two years ago, and Stewart acknowledged that they’d like a second child. She also said a run for the governor’s job would hinge on how New Britain is doing.

“For me to do that, I’d need to feel fulfilled about the work I’ve completed here,” she said. “I don’t look at this job as being done yet. I want to be here to finish Complete Streets, the new public works yard, The Brit, the High Railer, 102 West Main, the Strand ... there are so many thing happening now.”

The city’s downtown has undergone a dramatic renaissance under her administration, with large-scale complexes of market-rate apartments going up at a remarkable pace. But critics have said too much attention has been focused on downtown, and Democratic leaders in the city condemn her record of holding education spending largely in check while boosting the city’s own budget.

If Stewart wins, she’s certain to face a more heavily Democratic council in her next term. Currently Republicans dominate it by 12-3 supermajority, but a charter revision now ensures Democrats will get five seats at the very least.

Stewart said that will benefit the city, even though it means more work for mayors.

“I don’t think it’s fair that a mayor — including me — doesn’t even need to have a conversation with the minority party because we don’t need their votes,” she said. “Does it mean there’s potential for more work for whoever is in the mayor’s seat? Yes. Is it for a good reason? Yes.”