Democrats struggle for consensus on council nominee
STRATFORD — With a more than 9-1 registration advantage over Republicans, it would seem as though finding a Democratic candidate for the vacant seat in the Town Council’s 3rd District would be easy.
But filling that spot on the ballot has proven to be surprisingly difficult for party leaders.
Incumbent Paul Tavaras withdrew from the race last month, citing personal and professional reasons. The Democratic Town Committee held a special meeting Wednesday via Zoom to nominate a replacement.
DTC Chairman Steve Taccogna nominated Michael Singh, a former Town Council member who resigned in 2002 amid a controversy about whether or not he was a U.S. citizen.
In the years since, Singh has waged a number of losing primary battles. His most recent loss was against Tavaras in 2019, which he lost by a vote of 198 to 25.
After Taccogna put Singh’s name forward — and no one else was nominated — 3rd District resident Pat Patusky spoke up.
She recounted Singh’s string of electoral defeats and controversies.
“The Third District does not support Michael Singh and does not want him,” Patusky said, adding that Democrats in the district weren’t approached to suggest a candidate.
Taccogna said that Singh had reached out to him, and that others had expressed interest in possibly running in the future, but not this year.
“At the end of it Michael Singh was the lone willing candidate to run for D-3,” he said.
Town Council member Greg Cann, D-5, said he had asked Tavaras if he had any suggestions for a replacement and Tavaras had “answered in the negative.
“There was an effort made to canvass the community to find someone that would replace Paul,” Cann said.
Tavaras said Thursday he had suggested someone, but declined to say who. “I would have to check with the person if they wanted their name out there,” he said.
“It was said I didn’t want to render a name and I did,” Tavaras said. “Whether that person was approached or not, I don’t know.”
Though he did not participate early in the meeting, Singh eventually joined in — and suggested he could take legal action for “false, defamatory” statements made during the meeting.
Singh said he had helped put a playground in the 3rd District and aided with the creation of a farmer’s market.
“I know how to write law,” he said. “I’m the real deal. I know what I’m doing.”
Asked what his occupation was, he described himself as “a business owner and investor,” but was not more specific.
As the back-and-forth during Wednesday’s meeting continued, other party members suggested holding off on nominating Singh.
Registrar of Voters Jim Simon cited a 2002 New York Times brief about a $4,000 fine imposed on Singh by the State Elections Enforcement Commission and recounted his many primary challenges to party-endorsed candidates.
Simon said he looked through local voting records and discovered Singh hadn’t vote in last year’s election, “and to me that’s really telling.”
“I certainly don’t feel positive about this nomination,” said Will Farmer, the party’s Town Council candidate in the 1st District. “When we put our name on someone as an endorsed candidate it says a lot about the organization as well. So I would caution this body about doing that tonight.”
State Rep. Phil Young made a motion to table the nomination, which was approved unanimously.
Taccogna said the party could revisit the issue at their monthly meeting scheduled for Sept. 22, and that they have until three weeks before the Nov. 2 election to come up with a candidate.
Though the 3rd District spot remains vacant, the party did approve one candidate Wednesday night: Ellen Fraint for Board of Zoning Appeals, who is replacing Laura Markis Johnson.
Fraint, a Philadelphia native who works as a pediatric oncologist in the Bronx, said she is excited to get more involved in town politics after moving to Stratford about three and a half years ago.