Bronin elected to lead state Conference of Municipalities
HARTFORD — Next year’s president of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities will be Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, who has frequently used his platform to evangelize about regionalism.
Bronin, who served as first vice president of the conference this year, was elected the group’s top board officer for 2021 at CCM’s virtual, statewide convention earlier this month. He follows outgoing CCMPresident Michael J. Freda, first selectman of North Haven, and is the first Hartford mayor elected to the yearlong president position since the nonpartisan organization was founded 54 years ago.
“CCMhas become a powerful advocate not only for municipalities, but for a stronger, more equitable Connecticut, and I’m looking forward to working with municipal leaders from across our state during this pivotal time,” Bronin said in a prepared statement Monday. “If we’re going to recover from this unprecedented public health crisis and the economic pain that has come with it, we need to work together — cities, suburbs, and small towns alike — and CCM has an important role to play in fostering that partnership.”
Throughout the pandemic, Bronin has helped assess the effects of Gov. Ned Lamont’s executive orders on cities and towns and served on CCM’s task force to prevent homelessness, according to the conference. He also helped organize a series of public forums on racial equity in October, and participated in statewide efforts to expand students’ access to technology.
During his six years as mayor of Hartford, Bronin has continually espoused regional solutions to the fiscal and social problems facing Connecticut’s largest cities.
He even floated the idea of a regional tax when Hartford was flirting with bankruptcy in 2016, with Bronin — like others before him — arguing the capital city is too small and poor to rely so heavily on property taxes.
CCM’s member municipalities also elected Jayme Stevenson, first selectman of Darien, as first vice president is and Thomas Dunn, mayor of Wolcott, as second vice president.