BUMGARDNER ANNOUNCES HE WILL RUN FOR 41ST HOUSE DISTRICT SEAT AS DEMOCRAT

Groton — Town Councilor Aundré Bumgardner announced he will again run for the state House seat he won at age 20 as a Republican — the youngest person elected to the General Assembly — but this time as a Democrat.

He said he is seeking the Democratic nomination in the 41st District, a seat currently held by Democratic state Rep. Joe de la Cruz, who won it in 2016 but is not seeking reelection. The nomination convention will be held this spring, Bumgardner said.

With redistricting, the House district now will cover part of Groton and now part of Stonington.

In a news release Friday, Bumgardner said he was the first Black or Latino Groton state legislator. While in the House, he was on the Finance, Revenue and Bonding, Transportation, and Education committees. He is serving his third term on the Groton Town Council and also is a member of the Groton City Planning and Zoning Commission; if elected to the House again, he said he would resign from the Town Council.

He said in the news release that he will focus on what he calls the “5 Es”: “economic recovery, environmental quality, energy affordability, educational excellence, and ethics reform.”

“We have a lot of work to do to address the rising cost of living, tackle climate change and support our small businesses while attracting new ones to this beautiful and diverse area that I am proud to have called home my entire life,” he said.

Bumgardner was elected to the 41st District seat as a Republican in 2014. He left the Republican Party over disillusionment with President Donald Trump, and in 2018 became de la Cruz’s campaign treasurer. He went on to win the City of Groton Democratic mayoral primary last year, but lost in the general election to incumbent Democratic Mayor Keith Hedrick, who ran as a write-in candidate.

“I am prepared and eager to roll up my sleeves and again work to ensure that our vibrant communities across the district feel heard and respected,” Bumgardner said in Friday’s news release.

He praised de la Cruz “for his dedicated service to our district over the last six years” and wished “him and his family health and happiness as they enter the next chapter in their lives.”