Hayes: 'I will continue with the advocacy work'

NORWICH — Currently, Norwich has only six city council members. A race to fill the seventh seat has started, and the Democrats made a longtime advocate a first-time candidate.

On Thursday, the Norwich Democratic Town Committee nominated Shiela Hayes to run for the vacant council seat left by Derell Wilson (D) when he became a state representative. The special election will take place on May 24.

Hayes has a long history of nonprofit work in and around Norwich, but is best known for her work with the NAACP Norwich Branch, of which she is the current president.

Norwich Democratic Town Committee Candidate Vetting Committee, consisting of Wilson (ex-officio), Joann Merolla-Martin, council President Pro-Tempore Joe DeLucia, and councilmembers Swaranjit Singh Khalsa and Tracey Burto, recognized her “decades of service to the community and her experience in political matters, both large and small,”  including as a Democratic Town Committee secretary, the group said in a press release.

From regularly attending city meetings for years, whoever is on the city council needs to be familiar with the budgeting process and the vote they’re faced with, Hayes said.

Looking to revitalize downtown

Hayes wants to run for city council because she has this familiarity, and wants to be involved in the revitalization of downtown Norwich, which, in turn, increases the tax base.

“You have to do that through businesses and home ownership,” she said.

Supporting the arts and tourism is also important for the city to make it an economic driver, Hayes said.

Hayes said she’s someone who wants to keep projects moving, but said you have to listen to concerns to communicate and collaborate, and be someone who represents the whole city.

“It’s not about what my affiliation is,” she said. “It’s looking at what is good for our neighborhoods, what is good for our education system, what is good to move the economic development in the city forward.”

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Hayes’ Republican opponent is former councilmember Bill Nash. She said they’ve been friends since the 1990s, and at times, they’ll agree to disagree.

“I believe that Bill will agree that we’ll focus on the issues,” she said. “This is not a race against Bill or me.”

Even though this is Hayes’ first time running for an elected office, she doesn’t see that things are too different than her advocacy work now, as you have to know that somebody is listening, even if they won’t agree with you.

“I will be in a reverse role, in some instances, where I have to listen to the constituents, but I will continue with the advocacy work,” she said.

This continuation of Hayes’ work includes dealing with state and federal entities in finding what is best for the city, she said.

The Norwich Democratic Town Committee is confident in Hayes’ chances at winning, stating in the press release her record and reputation makes her “likely to emerge victorious over any challenger or recycled Republican.”

Hayes wants to be seen as a positive addition to the city council, having worked with all the sitting members except Grant Neuendorf (R), who she is still getting acquainted with.

“I believe they know me well enough based on what I’ve done and accomplished,” she said.

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Norwich Democrats run local NAACP President Hayes to for City Council