GOP, lobbyist donors emerge in Hartford’s tight, three-way Democratic race for mayor

With little more than two months before a crucial September primary, three major candidates are scrambling in a tight race for Hartford mayor that some Democrats say is too close to predict.

State Sen. John Fonfara and former Sen. Eric Coleman are touting their decades of experience winning elections in parts of Hartford, and they have proven track records in turning out votes.

They are battling relative newcomer Arunan Arulampalam, Hartford Land Bank CEO and an attorney who ran unsuccessfully for state treasurer in 2018 but has pulled into second place in the all-important fundraising contest behind Fonfara.

The race is expected to be close in an increasingly diverse city with a high poverty rate that is 45% Hispanic or Latino, 34% Black and less than 20% white, according to U.S. Census records. The city’s population peaked in 1950 at 177,000 and has declined for decades to about 121,000 now. The stakes are high as the city chooses its next leader at the end of the Luke Bronin era.

Each of the major candidates has their own base of supporters, slicing up the vote in multiple ways that include geographic and ethnic constituencies in what’s likely to be a low-turnout primary.

Former state Democratic Chairman John F. Droney said that identifying the supporters and getting them to the polls in a non-presidential election — when many voters might not be paying attention — will make the difference between victory and defeat.

“There’s not a frontrunner as of yet,” Droney said in an interview. “The question is who is the most organized or has the largest group that will come and vote at a weird time (in September). That’s uncertain at this point in time.”

Coleman maintains support in the city’s North End, while Fonfara is strong in the South End, and Arulampalam holds support in the West End and other neighborhoods. Fonfara’s Senate district covers about 60% of the city.

“Eric, the judge, is an African-American candidate in a city that has a plurality of African Americans,” Droney said.

“Arunan has been very, very active in the community. He’s very well liked and very well respected. I believe he will probably be the best-financed candidate when all is said and done,” Droney said. “John Fonfara has been a legend in Hartford for many years. You have people who voted for him for Senate for many, many years. It’s very hard to tell who is going to win at this point in time. If you’re talking about picking a pony who is ahead, I can’t do it yet.”

Since the city is overwhelmingly Democratic, the winner of the Sept. 12 primary is generally seen as virtually guaranteed to win the November election.

The votes are divided so much that Fonfara and Coleman’s supporters say it is possible that no candidate will win the necessary 50% of the 77 delegates on July 24 at the Hartford Democratic Town Committee convention. If that happens, then the candidates would need to gather about 2,000 valid signatures of Hartford Democrats in a tight window by Aug. 9 — which insiders say is harder to do than it appears.

“I can’t predict,” Fonfara said. “Is it possible that the majority is not reached? Yeah.”

But Arulampalam has served on the town committee for the past eight years and personally knows many of those voting at the convention. He said he has been talking to town committee members for the past year, gathering in their living rooms and describing his vision for Hartford in one-on-one conversations.

“I have support within every corner of this city, and I feel good heading into the nominating convention in July,” Arulampalam said.

Arulampalam

A little-known candidate, Arulampalam has vaulted near the forefront in the contentious battle. He is not a household name to the general public, but he is well known to key political power brokers and donors who have helped him raise substantial money for his campaign, including multiple Republican contributors.

Arulampalam, 37, and his wife, Liza, are raising five children under the age of 10, including four in the Hartford public schools. A former deputy commissioner of the state consumer protection department under Gov. Ned Lamont, he now serves as chief executive officer of the Hartford Land Bank, a nonprofit that redevelops blighted and vacant properties to turn them into affordable housing.

His deep contribution list of more than 750 donors includes well-connected political insiders from both sides of the aisle.

Among the donors are his father-in-law, Greg Butler, a Republican who briefly ran for governor and serves as general counsel for Eversource, the mammoth utility that delivers much of Connecticut’s electricity. Butler is married to former House Republican leader Themis Klarides, a longtime legislator who won her party’s convention endorsement but lost in the 2022 U.S. Senate primary.

Klarides contributed to the campaign, along with her sister, state Rep. Nicole Klarides-Ditria of Seymour and her son, Cade, who plays football at Trinity College in Hartford.

At the same time, Arulampalam has received contributions from leading liberals and supporters of the union-backed Working Families Party, including former city council member Wildaliz Bermudez and current councilor Tiana Hercules. Democratic state legislators Julio Concepcion of Hartford, Eleni Kavros DeGraw of Avon, Cristin McCarthy Vahey of Fairfield, and Sen. Jan Hochadel of Meriden are among the supporters.

Others include former Sen. William Aniskovich, who withdrew from running for Republican state chairman after various controversies, former Democratic state Rep. Barnaby Horton, and Charlie Pillsbury, the baking company heir who once ran for Congress under the Green Party banner.

The filings also cover numerous lawyers from Updike, Kelly & Spellacy — Arulampalam’s former firm — and Brown Paindiris & Scott, which is headed by Democratic activist Nick Paindiris. Some of the contributors in both law firms are registered Republicans but are not prominent officeholders. Other Republican contributors work as consultants, executives, and attorneys, among others.

House Republican leader Vincent Candelora of North Branford said many of the Republican contributions to both Fonfara and Arulampalam are based on personal relationships, not ideology.

Hartford is “a city that is never going to have a competitive Republican in that seat,” Candelora said. “Unfortunately in our cities, it’s one-party rule. If it was a mayoral race in New Britain against (Republican) Erin Stewart, you’re not going to see Republicans donating to the Democrat challenger. … I don’t think it’s an ideological endorsement from Republicans. I think it is just a personal relationship.”

Fonfara

In the fundraising battle, Fonfara had raised about $340,000 as of the last public filing, compared to nearly $225,000 for Arulampalam and $101,000 for Coleman. That covered the first three months of the year, and the next financial filing deadline is July 10.

Fonfara, 67, raised eyebrows when he collected money from about 100 lobbyists who represent clients at the state Capitol. The contributions are legal, but concerns were raised because state law prohibits legislators from accepting contributions from lobbyists during a legislative session when they are running for re-election — but allows it when they are running for a municipal office like mayor.

Candelora said lobbyists should not be permitted to make contributions during the session in cases like Fonfara’s candidacy, noting lawmakers offered an amendment to block the practice on the final day of the regular session on June 7. But Democrats who control the House agenda immediately postponed any vote on the bill — essentially defeating the Republican idea as time expired.

Candelora said there should be no contributions “while there is legislation pending before you that you can influence” because of “the timing and the appearance of impropriety” on an issue in front of the legislature.

But Fonfara, who had more than 550 contributors in the first quarter, said he has no opposition to altering the law about political contributions.

“I don’t have a problem changing the system,” Fonfara said in an interview. “I play by the rules. I abide by the rules. … A small minority of my fundraising came from that building. I’ve been on both sides with people who have contributed to me. I’ve supported issues that they have advocated for. I’ve opposed issues that they’ve advocated for. … If they don’t want to help me, I’m OK with that.”

Since contract lobbyists often have numerous clients on a wide variety of issues, Fonfara said it would not be unusual for him to support a lobbyist’s positions on some matters and then oppose them on others.

Among the key lobbyists who contributed to Fonfara was former state Senate Democratic leader William DiBella, who gave the maximum of $1,000 to his longtime Democratic colleague. DiBella remains a key player in Hartford politics as chairman of the powerful Metropolitan District Commission, as does his son, Marc, who serves as chairman of the Hartford Democratic Town Committee.

Besides DiBella, other prominent Capitol lobbyists contributed from both political parties, including Patrick Sullivan, Stephen Kinney, H. Craig LeRoy, Kevin Reynolds, Jay Malcynsky, Linda Kowalski, Eric George, and Michael Dugan.

Fonfara also received contributions from two former state Republican chairmen who became lobbyists, Chris DePino and Chris Healy, along with former Senate Republican leader Len Fasano, former Greenwich Republican Sen. Scott Frantz, and former House Republican leader Lawrence Cafero, who now represents the wine and spirits wholesalers.

State Republican chairman Ben Proto said Fonfara is following the system, adding that a member of Congress who ran for Connecticut governor could receive contributions from lobbyists in the same way.

“Is it a loophole in the law? Probably,” Proto said. “Is he in some way violating the law? No, he’s not. I think John has found a legitimate, legal way around the law. Either the legislature wants to close that loophole or they want to continue to let it exist in case somebody else in the legislature wants to run for mayor of a big city or maybe for Congress, where they can go to lobbyists and ask them to give them for money to their federal campaign, which is substantially higher than the amounts they can give to a mayoral campaign.”

Despite philosophical concerns from some observers about lobbyist contributions, Droney said the issue simply does not resonate with the average voter on the streets of Frog Hollow, the North End, and across the city.

“It means a lot to the inside crowd and so forth and to the editorial boards, but this is going to be a street war,” Droney said. “Who can get the vote out? It’s that simple.”

Coleman

A longtime legislator who became a judge, Coleman received the race’s first official endorsement from a political group in the city with the support of the Greater Hartford Progressive Democratic Women’s Club.

Compared to his two major rivals, Coleman has a higher percentage of small-dollar contributors and fewer of the maximum $1,000 contributions from well-heeled donors. Coleman is being supported by high-profile Democrats like former House Speaker Chris Donovan of Meriden and former Senate colleague Toni Harp of New Haven, along with former Rep. Reginald Beamon of Waterbury, former Sen. Gary LeBeau of South Glastonbury and former Sen. Frank Barrows of Hartford, who once ran for mayor in 2007.

Coleman has also received funding from Simsbury attorneys T.J. Donohue and Nitor Egbarin and Avon attorney William Gerace, along with longtime Hartford booster Arthur Anderson and Juanita Giles, the widow of former Hartford Democratic powerhouse Abe Giles.

Now 72, Coleman served for 34 years in the state legislature before becoming a Superior Court judge. He retired as a judge after the mandatory retirement age of 70, but he says he is not yet ready to leave public life.

“Some have suggested that I have already enjoyed a long and distinguished career in public service, and at this stage of my life, I should rest on my laurels, just relax, take it easy, play elder statesman and perhaps travel with Mrs. (Pamela) Coleman,” he said upon announcing his campaign. “I guess I’m just different, particularly when out-of-control gun violence and other challenges are confronting Hartford. I am neither content nor comfortable with merely spectating.”

Contributors to multiple candidates

Some mayoral supporters gave to multiple candidates, such as retired health care executive Robert Patricelli of Simsbury, a Republican who gave to both Fonfara and Arulampalam. Patricelli is a civic-minded philanthropist who also co-chaired a special committee that made sweeping recommendations in 2018 regarding the state budget, including tax cuts. Some of the ideas, such as establishing electronic highway tolls and repealing the estate tax that applies only to multimillionaires, were passed by the commission but later ignored by the legislature. But some ideas, such as raising the minimum wage to $15 per hour and cutting the personal income tax, were adopted years later.

Some contributors have given to all three candidates, including Democratic fundraiser Alan Lazowski, the influential chairman of LAZ Parking, a major company that controls numerous lots in Hartford and nationwide. Longtime Hartford Democratic political operative Matthew Hennessy, who is running for city treasurer, also gave to all three major candidates.

Beyond the three most prominent candidates, city council member Nick Lebron, longtime candidate J. Stan McCauley, Tracy Funnye, pastor Renardo Dunn, Jr., and U.S. Army veteran Giselle Jacobs are all running in the competitive race.

Getting out the vote, insiders said, will be the key in a low-turnout, three-way primary.

“It’s possible that any of them could win,” Droney said. “It’s going to be decided by who has the best organization and who does the most work. And we don’t know what’s going to happen yet with that.”

This is one in a series of stories on the Hartford mayor’s race.

Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com.