Biggest CT town could have major impact in state Senate election

By Scott Benjamin

NEW MILFORD – In a town that apparently has more boroughs – Gaylordsville, Merryall, Northville – than New York City - who is the greatest male comedian ever to stay there?

Is it Adam Sandler, who filmed part of “Mr. Deeds” in town 23 years ago, or NBC Late Night’s Seth Meyers who has a weekend home?

“Interesting,” says Justin Potter. “I’m not sure.”

However, Potter of Kent says he is sure that New Milford “is very important” in his bid to unseat state Senate Republican Leader Stephen Harding (R-30) of Brookfield, who is seeking a second term after four terms in the state House.

Driving a Subaru Ascent, Potter is canvassing through Gaylordsville in his bid to become the first Democrat to capture the seat in the 30th state Senate District since 1978 – when “Mother Ella” – Democratic Gov. Ella Grasso – won a second term in a landslide over handsome Republican Congressman Ron Sarasin.

Litchfield attorney Joe Ruggiero, who would later seek the Democratic nomination for state attorney general, defeated first-term Republican John Gawrych of Torrington. Ruggiero was defeated in 1980 by Dell Eads of Kent, then a state representative, who served for 20 years including a stint as president pro-tempore of the upper chamber.

Potter emphasizes that New Milford not only has 61.6 square miles of land – the most of any of Connecticut’s 169 municipalities – it also has “25 percent” of the voters in the 18-municipality district, which stretches from Brookfield to North Canaan.

The next largest bloc is Brookfield, where Harding is undefeated since being elected to the local Board of Education in 2013. That town has 15 percent of the voters in the 30th District. A portion of Brookfield is in the 32nd District.

“We don’t have to win New Milford outright,” Potter said to Patch.com during the two-hour door-knocking tour.

“We have to do better than previous candidates have done,” he explains.

Two years ago, CT News Junkie columnist Susan Bigelow put the 30th District on her watch list.

“This district is also in the northwest corner of the state, which has been trending toward Democrats over the past few elections,” she wrote, apparently referring, in part, to the towns in the Northwest Corner of Litchfield County where there are more Democrats than unaffiliated voters.

In 2022 Harding prevailed with 53.8 percent of ballots against Eva Bermudez Zimmerman of New Milford- a child-care advocate and former candidate for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor.

New Milford has been a stumbling block for the Democratic candidates in the 30th District.

CT Mirror put it on its battleground list eight years ago when it was an open seat after New Milford Republican Clark Chapin announced that he was stepping down after two terms. He had been in the state House for six terms before that.

CT Mirror’s Kyle Constable wrote, “One of the reasons Chapin won his reelection bids with relative ease was that he kept his hometown of New Milford out of play.”

He stated that the Democratic nominee in 2012 and 2014 - Bill Riiska, an attorney from the Lakeville section of Salisbury – could not reach 40 percent in New Milford. He garnered just 37 percent of the vote in 2014 when then-U.S. Rep. Elizabeth Esty (D-5) of Cheshire won New Milford with 52 percent of the vote.

Zimmerman lost to Harding two years ago, annexing 46.2 percent of the vote in the district but only about 42 percent in New Milford.

She was preceded by former New Milford Board of Education chairman David Lawson, who was the Democratic nominee against Republican Craig Miner in 2016 and 2018 and former New Milford Mayor David Gronbach, who lost to Miner in 2020.

New Milford Democratic Town Committee Chairman Joe Baker said he is impressed that Potter is “hitting a lot of doors” in town. He added that he has received positive feedback from voters on Potter’s affordable housing proposals.

However, he added, “It is a strong Republican town. Any Republican-endorsed candidate is a formidable opponent.”

Republican Mayor Pete Bass has gotten more than 70 percent of the vote in the last two municipal elections. The Republican nominee for mayor has captured 10 of the last 11 elections in New Milford.

Yet, the most recent Republican and Democratic voter registration figures are similar - with 28.5 percent of voters as registered Republicans and 27.1 percent registered as Democrats. The largest bloc are the unaffiliated voters at 42.95 percent and there are 1.9 percent registered with other parties.

These are not the kind of figures that point toward Republican landslides.

Are a lot of the unaffiliateds in New Milford voting Republican?

Said Potter, “It could be.”

Former New Milford Democratic Town Committee Chairman Peter Mullen said, “I believe that is the case. In New Milford, candidates such as Clark Chapin and Pete Bass have become well-recognized names. It is difficult to defeat an incumbent.”

However, Mullen added that the Republicans’ edge in registration is smaller than it was five years ago.

Potter said there are 1,000 more registered Democrats now than in 2020.

Harding and Potter agree that traffic safety south of the Veterans Bridge in New Milford has become a prime issue.

Harding told Patch.com in August that while canvassing the Willow Springs housing in New Milford residents told him that when they attempt to enter or exit Route 7 “you are taking your life into you own hands.”

In March, Kaitlin Lyle reported in The News-Times of Danbury that Chuck Ballard, the road design engineer for the New Milford Public Works Department, said there had been 15 road fatalities along the widened stretch of Route 7 between 2013 and 2023.

Harding said that along with the urging of New Milford Mayor Pete Bass and state Rep. Bill Buckbee (R-67) of New Milford the state Department of Transportation conducted a traffic audit earlier this year along three miles of Route 7.

In an interview with Patch.com in August, Harding said, “My hope is that they come back with recommendations of more traffic lights. That is one of the things that a lot of the residents think is necessary to slow down the traffic there. Trying to make a left-hand turn out of Willow Springs is almost impossible.”

Potter praised Harding’s efforts, but said that as a Democrat, part of the majority party at the State Capitol, he would be able to get even more done on traffic safety. He said he has received similar concerns about traffic safety while canvassing at Willow Springs.

Potter said that Harding voted against the bipartisan Vision Zero Bill, which had the support of state Reps. Bill Buckbee (R-67) and Patrick Callahan (R-108), who both represent parts of New Milford.

Potter said that, among other things, the law would, allow prosecutorial officials to require people who contest infractions and certain violations to attend an approved driving safety course as a condition of resolving their ticket before a hearing.

It also provides municipalities with “the permissive option of using speed and red-light cameras in high-risk areas,” according to news release from state Sen. Tony Hwang (R-28) of Fairfield, who praised the bill

In an e-mail statement, Harding wrote that he “supported many aspects of this bill. However, myself and a bipartisan coalition of legislators opposed the measure, based upon protection and procedural concerns with the implementation and legalization of red-light cameras.”

Potter said that while canvassing he visits almost exclusively with Republican and unaffiliated voters.

He said that Democrats – who are more inclined to vote for him - are contacted by phone and text messages.

Potter said that by engaging in conversations, many of the Republican and unaffiliated voters can be persuaded into supporting him.

“Those conversations are essential,” he said.

“The voters that tell me that they don’t vote according to party but according to the person," Potter explained. “People who can be persuadable voters based on conversation.”

Marge Francis of Gaylordsville said that through the years she has voted “almost exclusively” for Republicans. She said that there have been exceptions. For example, she voted 48 years ago for Democrat Jimmy Carter for president.

“She is voting for [Republican presidential candidate Donald] Trump but she said that she might be voting for me,” Potter said. At the state and the local level it is so much more who that person is. What they stand for.”

Potter, who is president of Kent Affordable Housing, speaks with her about his proposal for state funding to generate more accessory dwelling units.

Potter has said that too often, residents in the district struggle to pay for their homes or for rent, which, among other things, has resulted in a lack of volunteers in the smaller towns.

Francis said that she used to have an accessory dwelling unit and might be interested in activating it again.

Potter has a similar dialogue about accessory dwelling units with a younger couple as part of a 25-minute conversation that largely focuses on “the cost of living.”

The younger couple said that the state reduced income tax rates for middle-income and low-income taxpayers last year but that has been offset by a surge in electricity costs in recent months.

Francis said, “Gasoline has come down some in price. But it is the high cost for electricity, food prices, living costs.”

Harding has been a prime proponent of holding a special session to address the recent surge in electric rates.

The Republican legislators have unanimously supported that proposal, saying that the state should eliminate the public benefits charges in the electric bills and also use some of the unspent federal funding from the pandemic to pay down some of the costs associated with the electric bills that weren’t paid during the pandemic when Gov. Ned Lamont (D-Greenwich) imposed a moratorium for some needy users.

Potter said he opposes holding a special session.

“The call for a special session is a political ploy,” he declared. “There is only so much that can be done, and the Republicans acknowledge that.”

Potter said the agreement initially negotiated in 2017 with the Millstone system owned by Dominion should be “reopened.” It is scheduled to continue until 2029.

Harding voted against the agreement with Dominion.

Said Potter, “It needs to be renegotiated. Millstone provides very stable, clean energy to all of New England. But somehow Connecticut ratepayers end up paying the bill to subsidize Millstone.”

Regarding the campaign, Mullen said that Potter is “a phenomenal candidate. He is well-educated. He is insightful.”

Potter said that he doesn’t mention any other candidate by name, but many voters, including Republicans and unaffiliated voters, speak favorably of Lamont, who was easily elected to a second term in 2022.

He said that there has been much more enthusiasm among Democrats since President Joe Biden announced he would not be seeking a second term and tossed his support to Vice President Kamala Harris, who faces Trump.

“There was a sense that getting Biden elected was problematic,” Potter explained. “Harris immediately did a very good job at consolidating support.”

Resources:

Canvassing and interview with Justin Potter, Patch.com, Tuesday, September 24, 2024.

Phone interview with Joe Baker, Patch.com, Wednesday, September 25, 2024.

Phone interview with Justin Potter, Patch.com, Saturday, September 28, 2024.

E-mail statement from Stephen Harding, Patch.com, Thursday, September 26, 2024.

Phone interview with Peter Mullen, Patch.com, Sunday, September 29, 2024.

https://ctmirror.org/2016/08/15/control-of-the-ct-senate-at-stake-in-battleground-districts/

https://ctnewsjunkie.com/2022/10/18/analysis-legislative-races-to-watch-state-senate/

https://ctsenaterepublicans.com/2023/06/sen-hwang-vision-zero-ct-road-safety-legislation-passes-senate-heads-to-govs-desk/

https://patch.com/connecticut/brookfield/too-few-traffic-lights-too-much-high-density-housing

https://patch.com/connecticut/brookfield/going-town-city

New Milford voter registration figures provided by Chris Ludwig, Democratic registrar.