Voters, volunteers and candidates gathered at polling stations today for Hamden’s municipal elections.
“I’m encouraging everybody to come out and be a part of the system,” said Jeron Alston, Democratic candidate for 2nd District of Legislative Council. “Really, we’re not trying to be Democrats and Republicans today, we’re actually just pushing for everybody to come out and (to) better Hamden today.”
The candidates are generally split up into “Row A” and “Row B” based on which mayoral candidate they support. Although some independent candidates made up “Row C.”
Hamden has the most debt per capita ($19,021) in Connecticut, according to a state report. Residents in Hamden believe that reducing the debt is the main goal after the next elected officials take office.
Lena Cofrancesco, a Hamden resident and pollstander, said she has lived in Hamden since 1984 and decided to volunteer on Election Day this year because the town’s debt has grown too large.
“I love my town, but it’s been mismanaged for a long time,” Cofrancesco said. “I’d like to see it be more fiscally responsibly managed, so that’s why I sort of have to stop complaining and get involved.”
Republican mayoral candidate Ron Gambardella, who is part of Row B, said his experience in finance will help him solve Hamden’s financial problems.
“We have $1.3 billion in long term obligations… so people are angry, angry that the town has been faltering in terms of their ability to manage the financial situation,” Gambardella said.
Laurent Garrett, Democratic mayoral candidate, who is part of Row A, said it was “time for a 21st century economy,” in the final mayoral debate on Oct. 28. She said if she was elected, she would prioritize reducing taxes.
Another volunteer and member of the Democratic Town Committee for District 2, Cassi Meyerhoffer, said Hamden needs to redistribute funds to improve the quality of town services.
“A lot of our taxing goes to the police department rather than the communities that need changes like health care, infrastructure, schools, mental health, so hoping to see some of that money be redistributed to the community,” Meyerhoffer said.
Many of the candidates said they were inspired to run due to the financial state of the town and hoped they could help develop the economy.
“We have tons and tons of long term liability and debt that we really need to get a handle of before things really spiral on in a worse direction than they have already started to head,” said Abdul Osmanu, Democratic 3rd District legislative council candidate.
A Row A candidate for council-at-large, Laurie Sweet, said passing legislation will be easier with the political parties collaborating in Hamden.
“It’s gonna be a lot of budgeting. And that’s basically what the council does, right?” Sweet said. “We’re the fiscal authority for the town. I think what’s going to be different about us this year is that we have a wonderful team that really wants to work together.”
Karen Person, a Hamden resident, said she votes in local elections regularly.
“We have a choice of what’s going on in our community, and we’re all equal in government,” Person said.