Community Corner
Meet Alma Sarelli
A Mom, Business Owner and Neighbor Running to Be Your Voice in Hartford
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Who Is Alma Sarelli? Her Plan to Make Connecticut Affordable Again
Alma Sarelli is a mother of four, a small business owner and an elected member of Westport's Representative Town Meeting. This November, as a moderate running on the Republican and Independent Party lines, she is asking voters in the 26th State Senate District to send her to Hartford. Whether on the RTM or in her community, Alma has a track record of working across party lines and bringing people together.
"Every election, Connecticut voters are promised affordability. Every year, life here gets more expensive. I'm running to break that cycle," she says.
An immigrant's American story
Alma grew up in Albania under communism. "I remember standing in line as a little girl to get a loaf of bread for my family, and sometimes going home without one," she says. "I remember what it felt like to be afraid to speak. In Albania, I was born with no voice. Today, I am running for State Senate."
When she immigrated to the United States, she found "a country where you could think for yourself and say what you believe." While raising her four children, she earned a degree in business management from Berkeley. She has lived in Connecticut for 18 years and calls Westport home.
All four of her children thrived in Westport's public schools. Her two daughters are college graduates, one working at a law firm while studying for the LSAT and the other in health care, and her two sons are in college. That is why Alma wants to carry the same excellence in education across District 26.
Her belief in bringing people together comes from her father, a peacemaker in Albania who helped reconcile families torn apart by blood feuds. Following his example, Alma believes real leadership means listening, building trust and finding common ground.
A business owner who knows what things cost
Alma and her husband, Nick, own and run a national event entertainment production company serving over 100 cities. Running a business means meeting payroll, balancing a budget and living with the consequences of every dollar spent.
That is the lens she brings to state government. "Small businesses are struggling to stay open under the weight of red tape, and monthly paperwork required by the state," she says.
A neighbor who shows up
Alma has been active in Westport's civic life for more than nine years. She has served for four years as president of a 60-year-old Westport nonprofit, sits on several nonprofit boards, chairs events for major local charities and was previously active in Westport's schools.
She serves as a Westport Justice of the Peace, and she is active in her faith as a lector and Eucharistic minister at her church.
Serving on Westport's RTM
Alma was elected to Westport's Representative Town Meeting in 2024, and voters re-elected her in 2025. She serves on four RTM committees: Public Protection, Education, Parks and Recreation, and Planning and Zoning.
As an RTM member, Alma was responsible for voting on Westport's 2026–2027 budgets, totaling $266 million. She also voted to fund the new Long Lots Elementary School, one of the largest capital projects in Westport's history. "It was necessary for the safety of our children," she says. "But it showed me how much of the cost falls on local property taxpayers, including seniors who no longer have children in the schools."
Why she's running
"Families are squeezed by high electric bills and high taxes, including the income tax," Alma says.
What pushed Alma to run is a pattern many voters know too well: since 2021, the same leadership has held a veto-proof supermajority in the State Senate.
"For almost 30 years, it's been the same party leadership making the decisions in Hartford," Alma says. "Now they want to run on affordability. But after all this time, families are still waiting for results."
"People are tired of struggling and living paycheck to paycheck, only to see their living expenses go up," she says. "This has to change."
After knocking on doors in all eight towns across the district, Alma hears the same concerns everywhere: rising property taxes, high utility bills and housing costs that keep climbing.
She also hears frustration with a state government that keeps reaching into local decisions. "Connecticut has 169 towns, and no single bill written in Hartford can fit every one of them," she says. For Alma, affordability and local control "come hand in hand."
On September 13, a storm flooded towns across Fairfield County, including Westport, and residents tell her about aging infrastructure that failed when they needed it most. Alma will fight for real construction dollars, not more studies, so District 26 can prevent future flooding. "My loyalty is to this district, not to party leaders in Hartford," she says.
What Alma believes, and what she'll fight for
- Property tax relief. Cap annual property tax increases at the greater of inflation or 2 percent, so seniors can stay in their homes and young families can afford to live here.
- Lower electric bills, and protect families who need help. Take the public benefits charge off electric bills for good, while making sure struggling families still get help paying their bills through the state budget, where taxpayers can see what it costs.
- Lower taxes and smarter spending. Reduce the income tax, end political earmarks, rein in state spending and make sure taxpayers can see exactly where their tax dollars go.
- End unfunded mandates. Stop Hartford from passing costs down to towns, where they end up on local property tax bills.
- Restore local control. Reform one-size-fits-all housing mandates, including 8-30g and HB 8002, so towns have a real say, and require public hearings so residents have a voice before major projects reshape their neighborhoods.
- Fund schools fairly. Tie Education Cost Sharing funding to inflation and push for fair state funding of special education.
- Partner with parents and teachers. Schools should set age-appropriate standards and listen to families.
- Keep communities safe. Support public safety and the people who protect our towns.
- Stand up for small businesses. Cut the red tape and paperwork that make it harder to run a business in Connecticut.
A voice for people, not a party
Alma is a moderate Republican who has also been cross-endorsed by the Independent Party. In June, she stepped down from the Westport Republican Town Committee's executive committee to focus on talking with voters of every party. "I want to hear from everyone, whether they agree with me or not," she says.
"My opponent calls herself the CEO of her town," Alma says. "Yet for years she didn't give residents a standing public comment period at Board of Selectmen meetings. When a fellow selectwoman asked for one again and again this year, my opponent wouldn't even second the motion. If she is the CEO of her town, she should do what good CEOs do: listen to the people they work for." (Source: Weston Board of Selectmen meeting agendas, minutes and recordings, January 15, May 7 and September 3, 2026.)
"This November, don't vote a party line," she says. "Vote for the person you feel will help you and your family. I will bring integrity, character, and accountability to the State Senate."
The 26th District includes Westport, Weston, Wilton and Redding, along with parts of Ridgefield, New Canaan, Darien and Stamford. Early voting runs October 19 through November 1, and Election Day is Tuesday, November 3.
Paid for by Alma 2026. Approved by Alma Sarelli.
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