STRATFORD — Democratic challenger Dr. David Chess is hanging tough against incumbent Republican Laura Hoydick in first-quarter fundraising for this November’s mayoral race.
Hoydick leads Chess in funding accumulated from Jan. 1 to March 31 with $31,575 in individual and committee contributions to Chess’ $27,980 in those categories, according to reports filed at the Town Clerk’s office. Chess said this is a good start to a promising campaign, but Republican Town Committee Chairman Louis DeCilio sees it differently.
A commercial property manager and former executive director of the Stratford Chamber of Commerce, the 64-year-old Hoydick is running for her third four-year term as mayor.
Meanwhile, Chess, a 72-year-old geriatrician and businessman, has never run for public office before. However, he has been active in campaigning and has practiced or lived in Stratford his entire life, as has Hoydick.
“I donated about $11,000 of my own money to date, and, but I had about 100 unique donors, and this early on in a campaign, I think is pretty good news,” Chess said Friday. “Particularly when you consider that the Democratic Party doesn’t meet [caucus] until July to officially choose its candidates. … My hope is I’m running on the Democratic ticket because at this point, I’m unopposed.”
Hoydick’s exploratory effort has $28,950 in individual contributions, $2,250 from committee contributions and $375 in “other monetary receipts,” according to her campaign’s paperwork. Chess has raised $15,975 in individual contributions, $1,000 from other committees and $11,005 in “other monetary receipts,” which covers his self-contribution, according to his campaign filings.
“For people to invest [$15,975] at that level, this early on, for a new candidate, I think is remarkable. That’s how I have perceived my reception here,” Chess said.
But the fact that Chess self-financed $11,005 shows that the two candidates are not on-par, DeCilio said. Though she is expected to run for mayor, Hoydick is not yet a declared candidate, which would allow her to collect up to $1,375 in contributions from individuals.
“You can raise a lot more money that way,” DeCilio said.
Chess is running on the idea that his pronounced success as an entrepreneur in medicine and business will allow him as mayor to draw upon different connections to improve Stratford. He said Stratford, as a community, has undersold itself and its resources dramatically and that he can exploit those assets to improve government, lower taxes and better-fund education.
Hoydick is running on her record as mayor, which includes eight years with just a single, 0.26% property tax increase and the progress on revitalizing of several long-neglected business sites, including the ongoing cleanup at the 77-acre former Stratford Army Engine Plant land at 550 Main St., DeCilio said.
“That mill rate increase was due to the council basically trying to work with the Democrats, and they increased the mill rate to give to the Board of Education, and the Board of Education ended up at the end of the year giving us money back,” DeCilio said. “So services haven’t been cut.”
“She’s approachable. She was in a lot of charitable organizations before she was ever in politics,” he added. “There’s a lot to like about Laura.”
The race’s moderate pace will ramp up after Hoydick declares her candidacy and the summer stretches on. Chess said he will begin hosting political gatherings around town next month, featuring music, food, activities for children and, most importantly, the exchange of ideas with residents.
“I’ve been sending out both emails and actual letters to people’s homes, telling them about who I am, my background, and just trying to have people understand that this is not politics as usual. This is not a game,” Chess said. This is trying to make a difference in our community.”