Kydes explores run for mayor
Rilling announces 2021 reelection plans
NORWALK — There may be a primary battle ahead in next year’s mayoral race, with both Mayor Harry Rilling and Common Council member John Kydes announcing on the same day plans to explore runs for the city’s top seat.
But party leadership and others say it’s too soon to tell what the 2021 election will look like.
“There are a lot of factors that will decide if I begin a mayoral campaign this election, the next or not at all,” Kydes said Tuesday. “I’m hopeful this exploratory committee will help me with that decision.”
Rilling’s campaign team announced he would be seeking a fifth term on Tuesday, the same day
Kydes revealed the formation of an exploratory committee for a potential mayoral run. The campaign team said Rilling filed the necessary paperwork to run for reelection on Nov. 12.
Kydes, serving his fourth term on the council, said the committee is primarily to gauge interest and support for the future.
With the committee, Kydes and his team will begin raising funds and public input, he said.
Previously, Rilling announced his bids for reelection in January of the election year, Democratic Town Committee Chairwoman Eloisa Melendez said. Prior to Kydes’ announcement Tuesday, Rilling had made no public statement regarding his plans to run again.
Melendez emphasized that an exploratory committee does not equate a run for office and could be used as the foundation for a mayoral run for years in the future.
“This all very well may be that it’s just John (Kydes) preparing years in advance,” Melendez said. “There’s so many different possibilities because it’s exploratory, but that doesn’t take away that he has a lot of support from the committee and the party.”
Melendez said she was slightly
surprised by the timing of Kydes announcement due to the mayor’s popularity and support from the Democratic Party.
Since the exploratory committee is testing public interest and no formal decisions have been made, Kydes said he has no concerns over
the timing of his committee formation. One year from the election is the customary time to begin gauging interest and raising funds for an election, he said.
“I felt it was the right time,” he added.
In his time on the common council, Kydes, a Norwalk native, has served as council president, chairman of the Planning Committee, Energy and Environmental Task force, on the Nathan Hale Middle School Governance Council and currently as majority leader of the council.
Republican Town Committee Chairman Carl Dickens said he is interested in how next year’s election will play out should Kydes decide to run for mayor in 2021.
“Councilman Kydes has proven to be a good servant of the city,” Dickens said. “I think it’ll be interesting to watch the race and watch him run for mayor.”
Rilling’s campaign spokesman Adam Wood said Rilling has revitalized Norwalk’s downtown, grown its tax base and elevated its public schools since being elected in 2013. Most recently, Rilling has steered Norwalk throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Wood said.
“Norwalk is on the right track because of Mayor Harry Rilling’s leadership,” Wood said. “Early in the pandemic the mayor made tough decisions to help keep the community safe and expanded resources to public safety and public health personnel. Many of these actions were later implemented across the state.”