Supporters of Mayor John DeStefano’s reelection bid ponied up $150 a person to nosh on antipasto with him at a private club on Whitney Avenue to start building up his campaign coffers.
According to DeStefano staffer Adam Joseph, some 25 people attended the fundraiser, which comes before the official start of the mayor’s campaign to win his 10th term in office this fall.
DeStefano faces no opponents at this point, though three men said they’re considering challenging him in a Democratic primary. (Read about that here.)
Unlike in the past two elections, DeStefano is not participating this time in the public-financing system he created. The system limits how much incumbents, say, can lean on people who do business with the city to amass campaign war chests that scare away potential challengers.
Hence last Thursday night’s closed-door event at the exclusive Quinnipiack Club on Church Street.
While the weather kept some away, numerous DeStefano administration staffers made the two-block walk from City Hall to the club to lend a hand. Just before the official start time of 6 p.m. Thursday, legislative director Joseph and other young members of the administration were on hand as volunteers for the evening (not in their official capacities as city workers).
John Prokop, head of public works, and Andy Rizzo, building inspector, were among the first to arrive to the candlelit, wood-paneled room. The mayor followed closely behind them, entering with Karen DuBois-Walton, head of the housing authority. Other city employees present included city engineer Dick Miller and parks director Bob Levine.
The campaign barred the press from the event itself.
Outside the club, many attendees declined to speak about their support for the mayor. But Curtis Robinson, who came down from Hartford for the event, was forthcoming.
“He’s a great guy,” Robinson (pictured) said of the mayor. “I like what he’s doing. He’s a good man.”
Robinson said the mayor has been very supportive of his Curtis D. Robinson Men’s Health Institute, a Hartford hospital program which targets prostate cancer in African-American men.
“He does a great job,” a man named Tony said of the mayor.
“I don’t want to talk,” said a woman in a fur coat.