WATERFORD — The soon-to-be former vice chair of the Democratic Town Committee said he was not endorsed by local Democrats because of his role in the Yankee National Party — a self-described social-democratic and center-left third party — and for being “too aligned with the term socialist.”
He now says that he plans to run as a third-party candidate.
The Waterford DTC voted to withhold an endorsement of their own vice chair Joshua Steele Kelly as a candidate for the Board of Finance on Tuesday.
Kelly’s resignation from the committee will be effective by the end of Wednesday.
In an interview with CT Examiner, Kelly said he felt a “sense of betrayal” by the local Democratic Party.
Kelly said he initially believed he would be running on the Democratic ticket for a second term on the Board of Finance in the upcoming election. It wasn’t until Kelly met with members of the party nomination committee on Monday that he said he was informed he would not be endorsed.
The main reason Kelly said he didn’t receive an endorsement was due to his leadership position since the spring with the Yankee National Party. Kelly said he considered this hypocritical because Democrats had been cross-endorsed by the Working Families Party in Connecticut for prior elections.
“My participation in the Yankee National Party was the primary reason,” Kelly said. “But the term ‘socialist’ was certainly thrown around as another reason why some weren’t supporting me. And the word ‘secessionist’ was thrown around too.”
Kelly said he was not a socialist and denied supporting secession, but rather believed in regional autonomy and promoting a higher level of state rights.
Kelly also accused the DTC of intentionally holding Tuesday’s meeting on a day that he could not attend.
Kelly said he now intends to run as a member of the Yankee National Party and believes he can win.
“It’s unfortunate. I didn’t want it to be against the Democrats. I wanted to be on that team. But if they choose not to draft me into that team, the only way I can engage is to stand against them. It’s not my choice,” Kelly said. “I will never stop hoping that the Democratic Party leans to the left and adopts the values and ethics-driven mentality that I’m trying to bring to politics.”
Asked if he still considers himself a Democrat after Tuesday, Kelly said he was proud to be a Democrat when Zohran Mamdani won the 2025 New York City Democratic mayoral primary earlier this month, but now is unsure.
Prior to his experience on the Board and Finance and the DTC, Kelly served on the town Zoning Board of Appeals in 2015. He was then cross-endorsed by the Green Party and the Democratic Party to serve on the Representative Town Meeting from 2017 to 2019. Kelly later served as the town administrator for Bolton and town manager for Winchester before returning to Waterford. He is the CEO of the nonprofit Thames Valley Council for Community Action.
James Angelopoulos, a Waterford Democrat who has known Kelly for over 10 years, said the notion that Kelly was a socialist is “ridiculous” and hopes the party will reconsider its decision.
“I’m a Democrat. First and foremost, I will support Democrats no matter what on the ballot. I’m just largely disappointed in how things have shaken out for Josh, and I hope there’s a reconsideration or something that can be done so that he can secure the endorsement of the Democrats,” Angelopoulos said. “He is an excellent individual and an excellent candidate.”
State Rep. Nick Gauthier, D-Waterford, who also serves as a member of the DTC, told CT Examiner he voted to endorse Kelly on Tuesday.
While many on the DTC said they respected Kelly’s dedication and public service to Waterford, according to Gauthier, many were unsure how to feel about Kelly’s role in the Yankee National Party.
Waterford DTC Chair Erin McBride declined to answer questions about the committee’s decision or about the Yankee National Party, but provided CT Examiner with a statement:
“Last night, the Waterford Democratic Town Committee held a caucus open to all registered Democrats in town and nominated a slate of candidates we are proud to support this November. We feel the endorsed candidates best represent our platform, and we look forward to working as a team in this upcoming election.”
Gauthier said he believed the current Democratic slate would prevail in the upcoming elections.
Kelly, on the other hand, said a third party has become more of an important option given the current political climate.
“I think people are ready for a third party,” Kelly said. “It’s just a matter of how you get enough people to work and organize themselves in a single direction to be able to overcome the huge legal and logistical obstacles that the two parties have put in place.”