Stratford Special Election Canceled; 1 Candidate Quits, 1 Removed

STRATFORD, CT — A special election scheduled for Tuesday in Stratford is canceled after the Democrat candidate was removed from the ballot and the Republican candidate withdrew, leaving petitioning candidate and incumbent Zoning Board of Appeals member Lorenzo Elder as the automatic winner.

“I’m glad that everything went so well that the town isn’t going to have to spend thousands of dollars for a special election that wasn’t necessary,” Elder said. “As I go forward on the ZBA I’m just going to be someone who’s willing to work for the betterment of the Stratford communities.”

Elder, a Democrat, was appointed in January to represent the appeals board's second district, filling a position vacated by Paul Tavaras after Tavaras was voted onto the Town Council. A month after Elder's appointment, Tavaras, also a Democrat, called for the special election, accusing Elder of reneging on an agreement to support certain candidates for the roles of appeals board chair and vice chair.

Elder chose not to seek the Democratic Town Committee's endorsement for the seat and instead planned to petition for a primary. When the petitioning window fell in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak, he was unable to get enough signatures to force a primary election. However, Elder did gather the smaller number of signatures needed to appear on the special election ballot as a petitioning candidate.

The Democratic committee endorsed former councilwoman Emma Brooks, but when town attorney Bryan LeClerc found in May that the endorsement violated state statute by occurring outside the designated window, she was removed from the race. Democratic Town Committee Chair Steve Taccogna said at the time that the coronavirus affected the committee's ability to endorse Brooks within the window of March 10 to March 17. The Stratford Republican Town Committee on March 16 endorsed Casimir Mizera for the appeals board seat.

After Mizera withdrew June 16 from the race in an effort to save taxpayers from the full cost of an election and prevent exposure to the coronavirus, LeClerc determined that the race could be canceled. Republican committee Chair Lou DeCilio noted the election process will still result in some costs to taxpayers.

Elder will take the oath of office Tuesday at town hall for a term expiring in 2022.

“It’s all behind us now,” Elder said. “I just look forward to moving forward.”