Stratford Democrats, Republicans prepare for Tuesday’s election
STRATFORD — Election Day is right around the corner with a lengthy slate of candidates vying for seats on the Board of Education, Town Council and for the town’s top job.
Residents have 54 candidates in total to vote for, from incumbents to challengers.
Mayor Laura Hoydick is running for reelection, campaigning on her years of experience as mayor, against Democratic challenger Immacula Cann, who is running for increased community input over town decision-making, among other positions.
Both parties are seeking to dominate the town council, fielding candidates for all 10 seats representing 10 districts. Republicans currently control the council with a slim majority, holding six of the 10 seats.
In District 1, Republican incumbent and council chair Christopher Pia will face off against Democratic challenger Willie Farmer Jr.
District 2’s Democratic incumbent, Kaitlyn Shake, will go against Republican Ronald Tichy, who was previously defeated in a reelection bid during the 2019 elections and is running again to reclaim his old seat.
District 3’s Democratic council member Paul Tavaras isn’t running for reelection due to personal and professional reasons. In his stead will run Lesette Franceshi, who will face off against Republican Victor Ayala who previously ran for a council seat in the 3rd district in 2017 and 2019.
In District 4, outgoing Democratic incumbent David Harden has been succeeded by candidate Kim Rice. She is opposed by Republican Edward Scinto.
In District 5, Democratic incumbent Gregory Cann is running against Republican Kerry Whitham.
District 6 will have Democrat Jennifer Budai who previously led efforts opposing the sale of Stratford’s water treatment plant, oppose Republican incumbent Ken Poisson who defeated a previous Democratic challenger in 2019.
District 7 is a matchup between Timothy Bristol, who previously ran for the seat in 2019, against Republican Jean-Marie Sutton.
In District 8, Republican incumbent James Connor is facing a different opponent this time around. Democratic candidate Dianne Nolan is opposing
Connor and was previously a well regarded women’s basketball coach at Fairfield University.
District 9’s Republican incumbent William O’Brien, who ran unopposed in 2019, is facing off against Democratic candidate Linda Chaffin, who was previously known for her environmental activism.
District 10 will see Republican incumbent Laura Dancho opposed by Democratic candidate Kathleen Callahan who is a social worker.
Democrats and Republicans are also fielding candidates for the Board of Education. Democrats have a slim majority, having four members on the board and fielding three candidates while Republicans have four candidates in an attempt to wrestle control away from the Democrats. Republican candidates are: Kristen Bedell, Teresa Sheehy, Sean Kennedy and Michael Henrick.
Democratic candidates are Christopher Cormier, Lisa Fabian and Matthew Schlager.
There are also races for planning and zoning commissions, the Zoning Board of Appeals and constables.