UConn Students Get on Ballot For Mansfield Council

MANSFIELD, CT — Two University of Connecticut students are running for spots on the Mansfield Town Council. On Tuesday, the Secretary of the State's office confirmed the receipt of the write-in candidate registration for Haley Hinton and Colin Mortimer, both 20-year-old juniors at UConn. Both will be running for Town Council in Mansfield.

Hinton is from Ledyard and is currently a student in the accelerated pre-law program. She said she plans to stay around Mansfield and Storrs for a while as a full-time law student. She is a senator in the UConn Undergraduate Student Government and a part of its executive board as the external affairs chairwoman.

Mortimer is originally from Long Island but has been in the state, Storrs and Mansfield full-time for the past couple of years as an economics and mathematics major who works in Stamford in the summer. He is currently a liaison between the Undergraduate Student Government and the Town of Mansfield.

They said they attend council meetings in those roles.

They plan to formally announce their candidacy on the steps on the Student Union Mall on Thursday in a program slated to begin at at 3:30 p.m. Their Facebook page is live.

Hinton said that just a smattering of people knew about the intentions to run before it became official and some thought it might be a goof.

She said on Wednesday that is is no joke and is not meant to be a shot at the current council.

"If nothing else, it will be very interesting to see the reaction to this, she said Wednesday. "There can be very strong reactions to the students being in town and will residents see this as an attack or us trying to improve the lines of communication? One of the things we see now is no communication."

Mortimer said he a "a big fan" of both the Mansfield Town Council and Mayor Paul Shapiro. He has also discouraged students from checking off local ballot question boxes when they go to town hall to vote in national elections.

But he also said he thinks students should have a say in matter affecting them and the town like zoning and housing.

"A multi-million dollar middle school improvement project is none of our business," he said. "But we feel that the outcomes of students and permanent residents with some issues are intricately intertwined, and thus both must be represented."

Both will be on the Nov. 7 ballot as petitioning, unaffiliated write-in candidates.

"We are ready and we are knowledgeable enough to to this and, it;s about time someone does this," Mortimer said.

Photo Credit: Hinton/Mortimer Campaigns