The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Mayoral candidate hopes to disrupt status quo
Democrat vying for top seat in town where GOP is entrenched
CROMWELL — Local attorney Aigné S. Goldsby, a Democrat, hopes to end the stronghold of Republican leadership in town with a win in the upcoming municipal election.
Goldsby is chairwoman of the town’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, and is heavily involved with the Connecticut Bar Association.
This will be her first run for office. “It made sense,” Goldsby said. “I felt like now was the right time.”
The candidate is not only looking to be the first Democratic mayor of Cromwell, she’s also the first Black woman to run for the top leadership position in town.
She acknowledged that fact — but said it’s not important when it comes to being the right person for the job.
“Obviously, I can’t help who I am, but that’s not why I’m running,” said Goldsby, who is ready to move the town forward, but will mean disrupting the status quo.
“We can’t move forward if we are doing things the same way,” Goldsby said.
In April, Mayor Enzo Faienza announced he would not be seeking reelection after nearly eight years in the top seat.
At a Town Council meeting in April, he said it was time to move on to “the next phase of my life,” focusing on his wife and daughter, and family-owned tile company, United Ceramic Tile Distributors.
Faienza announced his endorsement for Republican
mayoral candidate Allan Spotts, a former town councilor and current Board of Finance member, in a video posted by the Cromwell Republican party Aug. 5.
A win for Spotts in November would continue the more than a decade-long trend of Republican leadership in town. A Democrat has not been in charge since 2009, when John M. Flanders was first selectman.
Goldsby said she is not concerned about political affiliations, as long as the right person is chosen for the role. “Although I’m the endorsed Democrat, I don’t care what party you are,” she said. “It’s about who’s the right person for the job.”
Goldsby graduated with a law degree from the University of Connecticut in 2016 and moved to Cromwell soon after. She said that as soon as she arrived in town she got involved.
“I think I’ve always considered myself a leader,” Goldsby said.
After spending several weeks knocking on doors and talking with residents, she said she’s not alone in a desire for new ideas. She’s also heard people calling for improvements to the middle school and Senior Center, and others asking to keep taxes low.
Recent events, such as the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol, and death of George Floyd also pushed Goldsby to pursue change, but it was her recent success in eliminating discrimination and harassment through conduct rule changes for practicing attorneys in the state that inspired her to run for office.
“That experience really showed me one voice can make a difference,” Goldsby said.
She expressed excitement to get more involved overall. “This is the town that I live in and care about,” Goldsby said. “I’m excited for what I can do.”