ManchesterDemocratsnominate 2023 candidates with Mayor Jay Moran at top of slate

Journal Inquirer, Manchester, Conn.
Updated ·3 min read

Jul. 23—Republicans are scheduled to make their nominations Monday night.

Moran was elected to the Board of Directors in 2009 and appointed as mayor in 2014 to replace Leo V. Diana, who departed to serve as a Superior Court judge. Previously, the town charter dictated that the Board of Directors elect the highest vote-getter from the majority party as mayor, and Moran was chosen for the seat in the past four elections.

Manchester voters approved a number of revisions to the town's charter by referendum votes held in November 2022, including to have voters directly elect a mayor. Under the new charter, mayoral hopefuls run separately from the Board of Directors, but unsuccessful candidates can have their votes counted for candidacy to the board.

The changes to the mayoral election do not come with any other changes to town government or the duties of the mayor. Manchester currently operates under a "council-manager" form of government, where the Board of Directors dictates policy and hires a town manager, who handles day-to-day municipal business.

The Democratic Town Committee nominated Board of Directors incumbents Pamela Floyd-Cranford, Jessee Muñiz-Poland, Dennis Schain, and Sarah Jones, who currently serves as deputy mayor. Jones and Floyd-Cranford are up for a fifth and fourth term, respectively, while Schain seeks his third and Muñiz-Poland seeks her second.

Secretary Tim Bergin announced earlier this year that he would not be running for re-election, citing a desire and ability to step away from the Board of Directors.

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In Bergin's place, Democrats put forward Jerald Lentini, who is seeking his first term on the Board of Directors. Lentini works as an attorney out of a Bloomfield-based firm, and currently sits on the Redevelopment Agency and Ethics Commission. He served on the most recent Charter Revision Commission, which recommended the direct election of mayor alongside other changes, and as head moderator of the 2021 municipal election.

For the Board of Education, Democrats chose Kwasi Ntem-Mensah and Elizabeth Mix to run for the 2023-26 term, and Heather Doucette and David Eisenthal for the 2024-27 term.

Eisenthal was previously elected in 2021, while Mix, Ntem-Mensah, and Doucette are currently filling out vacancies.

Mix was appointed to the Board of Education in October 2021 in place of Emily Luna, who was elected in 2019 but resigned due to scheduling conflicts with attending law school. Ntem-Mensah was brought on in January 2022 to fill the vacancy of the late Darryl Thames Sr., who served on the board from 2013 until 2022 when he took over as town clerk.

Most recently, Doucette was appointed in May to replace Dean Ott, who resigned from the Board of Education to focus on his family. She will run to complete Ott's term through November 2024 and to serve the following term.

Democrats also nominated Warren Packer, Ed Slegeski, Colin O'Neill, and Michael Barry for constable. State Sen. MD Rahman, D-Manchester, and Kevin Zingler were chosen to run for the Board of Selectmen.