The West Hartford Democratic Town Committee met on Thursday, July 22, 2021, and endorsed a slate of candidates for the municipal election this fall that includes two newcomers.

By Ronni Newton

The Democratic Town Committee met Thursday night to endorse a slate of candidates for Town Council and Board of Education.

Town Council terms are two years, and all seats on the nine-member body are open for election this November. The majority party cannot hold more than six seats.

The slate endorsed by the Democratic Town Committee includes incumbents Carol A. Blanks, Shari Cantor, Leon Davidoff, Liam Sweeney, and Ben Wenograd. Newcomer Adrienne Billings-Smith was also endorsed.

Incumbent Beth Kerrigan announced several weeks ago that she would not seek reelection.

The West Hartford Board of Education has seven members, who serve staggered four-year terms.

A total of four seats are up for reelection this year, and in addition candidates will be elected to finish out the terms of members who they replaced. The complete Democratic party slate includes Dr. Jason Chang, Deb Polun, and Dr. Lorna Thomas-Farquharson – all incumbents – as well as new candidate Clare Taylor Neseralla.

“For the next few months, our Democratic candidates and volunteers will work tirelessly across West Hartford to earn every vote,” DTC Chair John Bailey said in a statement.  “Our Democratic Town Council and Board of Education members showed great leadership throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. I am confident that residents will support our candidates running for re-election.”

“We are excited about our two new candidates, Adrienne Billings-Smith for Town Council and Clare Taylor Neseralla for Board of Education,” Vice Chair Tiffani McGinnis added in a statement. “Both of these candidates bring valuable experience and, if elected, will work hard to deliver results for West Hartford residents.”

The Republican Town Committee met earlier this week and the chairman said Thursday that their slate of endorsed candidates will be announced shortly.

A Connecticut Party, which has been newly revived, has indicated as of Thursday that four individuals, who recently resigned from the Republican party, plan to run as third-party candidates. They include incumbent Town Council member Lee Gold, Mark Merritt, Rick Bush, and Roni Rodman.

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