Advocate-lawyer prepares for Hartford City Council
HARTFORD — Tiana Hercules never saw herself as a politician.
In a way, she still doesn’t even after outgoing Hartford City Council member Wildaliz Bermudez tapped her to take the two-term councilor’s place on the capital city’s governing body.
Bermudez, who was elected in 2015 and reelected in 2020, signaled her intent to resign from city council in November as her family prepares to move to New Haven by the summer. She named Hercules as her replacement, and the Working Families Party followed up with an endorsement. It will the first time Hercules held public office, should she be confirmed by a council vote.
The Hartford-based advocate and lawyer is eager to forge her own path with a data- and evidence-based approach.
“I see so much promise here, so much richness in the culture, the diversity,” Hercules said. “We’re seeing a lot of great things happen downtown and in certain neighborhoods, and I think part of my role on council is to figure out strategic ways to identify opportunities for resources to be placed in a manner that benefits residents.”
Hercules, 39, works as a criminal defense lawyer with Hartford-based Sills Law Firm. Originally from a large family in New London (she’s the oldest of nine kids), Hercules graduated from Connecticut College and moved to Hartford in 2004 to begin her studies at the Uconn School of Law.
Hercules has lived in Hartford’s Asylum Hill neighborhood for the last 11 years. Her home is one of the properties constructed by
Northside Institutions Neighborhood Alliance, a nonprofit community development corporation for which she later served on the board.
Hercules has raised her three children, 17- and 14-yearold sons and a 4-year-old daughter there, all of whom went to or will go to Hartford schools.
After receiving her law degree and a master’s degree from the Uconn School of Business, Hercules worked in the administration of former Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra. She was invited to manage Hartford’s Project Longevity, a program in partnership with Bridgeport and New Haven aimed at understanding and reducing gun violence, and did so for several years before joining with the Office of the Chief Public Defender.
Hercules has also served on the Board of Deacons at Asylum Hill Congregational Church and was previously board chair for Girls for Technology, a tech education nonprofit she helped to start. She currently serves on the Connecticut Commission for Children, Women, Seniors, Equality and Opportunity.
In 2019, Hercules made an unsuccessful bid for city council after encouragement from state Rep. Brandon Mcgee, who challenged Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin the same year.
Between her experience in criminal defense, and her nonprofit and advocacy work, Hercules “embodies all the qualities that we stand for,” Bermudez said.
“Professionally, she has the skill set, the knowledge, the background,” Bermudez said. “And her heart is in the right place because she gives back in these different ways. We believe that she will be a great addition to the Hartford City Council.”
“I think [Hercules] has a lot of really good insight about what the most marginalized among us need from government,” said Josh Michtom, who represents the Working Families Party on Hartford City Council.
Hercules said she falls in line with Bermudez on several key Working Families Party issues: She supports livable wages, strong union labor representation and universal basic income.
But she also stresses the importance of economic development and takes a social justice-oriented approach to wealth building.
“I know sometimes people in the Working Families Party may say ‘Oh, we don’t want to hear about wealth,’” Hercules said, “but I think it’s important for families to be able to prosper, and for people to be able to build wealth for their families, especially for people of color.”
In discussing the current issues facing Hartford, Hercules often referred to her time managing Project Longevity as a touchstone. The data-informed initiative is an approach she wants to take to the council.
She referenced a recent survey by the Working Families Party, which studied parks and recreation in order to help inform where future resources are invested. In a city where the budget is so tight, she said that level of discernment is critical.
Bermudez has not yet formally resigned but indicated that she plans to do so some time in 2022. The council next meets Jan. 10.