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NEW BRITAIN – New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart – who is seeking her sixth two-year term – has a 6-1 edge on the amount of campaign funds raised against her Democratic opponent, Chris Anderson, as the campaign heads into its final weeks.
The two candidates, by state law, released their campaign finance disclosure statement by close of business on Oct. 10. Those statements show that for the most recent filing report – from July 1 to Sept. 30 – Stewart brought in $19,735 from 135 campaign contributors. She has raised a total of $159,773 for her 2023 run. Her campaign has $81,791 on hand.
In comparison, Anderson, a 34-year-old real estate accountant, raised $23,135 from 111 contributors during the same July 1 to Sept. 30 period. Anderson, however, announced his intention to run for mayor late in the game – in July – and therefore has much smaller campaign coffers than the mayor. In total, Anderson has raised a total of $26,135. Anderson’s campaign has $20,820 on hand.
The two candidates offer different visions for the city: Stewart has focused on economic development, job growth and fiscal stability, while Anderson, a relative newcomer to the city, has been laser focused on Stewart’s 10-plus years in office. He claims the city is becoming increasingly unaffordable and that much of the city’s growth has come due to luxury apartments and developments built by wealthy out-of-town developers pricing out many residents.
Anderson had more $1,000 contributions – which is the most allowed under state law. His campaign received $1,000 contributions from 12 individuals, most of whom are involved in politics. Meanwhile, the Stewart campaign received $1,000 contributions from just two individuals: Michael Tomasso, a top executive at New Britain-based Tomasso Group, a construction company and Joseph Yousefzadeh of New Britain, property manager for JY Management Services, LLC.
Stewart and Anderson have many different donors – with Anderson having more New Britain residents giving to his campaign; many of those are current and former Democratic candidates and officials. Stewart, on the other hand, has a variety of friends, many retired individuals and numerous lobbyists and several people who work for the city giving to her campaign.
Seventy of the 135 contributors – or 52 percent – who gave to the Stewart campaign are from outside of New Britain. That compares to 36 of the 111 contributors – or 32 percent – who gave to the Anderson campaign that live outside of the city’s limits.
In a press release this week, Stewart, a 36-year-old city native and daughter of former four-term city Mayor Timothy Stewart, wrote that: “With only four weeks to go until Election Day, the Re-Elect Erin campaign has strong financial resources to continue to effectively deliver Mayor Stewart’s positive message of building, caring, and leading to the voters of New Britain… My team and I will continue to work hard to earn your vote and deliver our positive results-driven message around New Britain.”
In a statement to CT Examiner Friday, Anderson said his message is getting out to the voters despite the mayor’s financial edge.
“Mayor Stewart and her Republican council raised taxes and rents while giving 26-year tax breaks to rich out-of-town developers; it doesn’t take much money to get that message across and I hear it at every door. Enough is enough and it’s time for a change,” Anderson said.
Below are some of the notable donations to the two candidates.
Mayor Erin Stewart:
- Lobbyists from New Britain-based Gaffney, Bennett & Associates, Inc., the city’s lobbying firm, totaling $1,260: Jay Malcynsky, President, $460; Richard Conway, $250; Stephen Kinney, $250; Michael Doyle, $100; Paula Clarke, $100; and Kevin Spinella, $100
- William Tomasso, a top executive at Tomasso Group, $900
- Dominic Perno, Senior Vice President, PMA Insurance, $250
- John Diakun, a city attorney, $250
- Carolina Cavalcante, President, Tilcon Connecticut, a construction company, $175
- Jonathan Perugini, New Britain Finance Director, $175
- Mary Pokorski, a city attorney, $175
- Lobbyist Patrick Shortell, Hillside Strategies, $100
- Lobbyist Armando Paolino, Paolino Public Affairs Consulting, $100
- Paul Salina, longtime school district administrator and current Director, City & School Relations & Business, $100
- Stratford Mayor Laura Hoydick, $100
- John Souza, Souza & Son management, real estate company, $100
- Cheryl Blogoslawski, New Britain Tax Collector, $100
- Dennis Morrell, Perkins Travel Vice President, $100
- James Wardwell, Former New Britain Police Chief and current head of security, Travelers, $100
- Rachel Zaniewski, a top communications aide to Stewart, $75
- Plymouth Mayor Joseph Kilduff, $50
- Cheryl Thibeault, New Britain Housing Authority Director of Finance, $40
- Chris Healy, Executive Director, CT Catholic Conference, $30
Chris Anderson:
- Peter Tercyak, New Britain State Representative, $1,000
- Bobby Sanchez, New Britain State Representative, $1,000
- Rick Lopes, New Britain State Senator, $1,000
- Greg Gerratana, Nutmeg Strategies consultant, $1,000
- Bill Shortell, former Democratic Town Committee Chairman, $1,000
- John Carey, Owner/President, Carey Manufacturing Co., Inc., $1,000
- Nancy Sarra, former New Britain Board of Education superintendent, $500
- John McNamara, former longtime Democratic Town Committee Chairman, $350
- Donald DeFronzo, former city mayor, state senator and treasurer of the Anderson campaign, $300
- Manny Sanchez, New Britain State Representative, $250
- Tonilynn Collins, city employee and former alderman, $250
- Gary Turco, Newington State Representative, $200
- Terry Gerratana, former New Britain State Senator, $150
- Suzanne Bielinski, former alderman, $100
- Merrill Gay, Executive Director, CT Early Childhood Alliance and former city Board of Education member, $100
- Jennine Lupo, District Director, U.S House of Representatives, $50
- Rosemary Klotz, Chief of Staff under Former Mayor Tim O’Brien, $50
- Carlo Carlozzi, former city alderman, $50
- Michael Foran, former New Britain High School principal, $50