Brazi’s Birthday Bash Boosts Bond; Reports List Initial Secretary of State Campaign Donors

With Alicia Keyes’ ​“Girl on Fire” playing in the background, city Health Director Maritza Bond sashayed into a room packed with partygoers at her 45th birthday bash — seeking to ignite momentum in her quest to become Connecticut’s next secretary of the state.

The party on Wednesday night — held at Brazi’s Italian Restaurant in Long Wharf — raised money for Bond’s ongoing exploratory committee as she charts a path towards a top state job. She has made clear that the secretary of the state is the job in question.

Over 70 showed up to chow down on chicken wings and calamari, an overflow crowd that required opening a different section of the restaurant to accommodate everyone.

Bond is one of two city Democrats officially exploring runs for a state office identified as secretary of the state, (Technically, ​“exploratory” committees can’t name the office). The position is Connecticut’s chief elections and business-records oversight position. Others in the crowded field for the seat being vacated by three-term incumbent Denise Merrill include Westville Alder Darryl Brackeen, Jr. as well as Hamden State Rep. Joshua Elliott, State Sen. Matt Lesser of Middletown, and Meriden State Rep. Hilda Santiago.

This is Bond’s first foray into elected politics — part of the ​“outsider” status she has stressed multiple times while trying to win over supporters.

“We all know that the Connecticut Democratic Party has had a rich history of embracing first-time candidates and new ideas, such as our current Gov. Ned Lamont, and our [U.S.] Congresswoman Johanna Hayes,” she said during her speech to the Brazi’s crowd Wednesday night.

“So why not me?” Bond posed, throwing her hands in the air as attendees whooped.

It was her second local fundraiser in three weeks in New Haven. She held a Hartford fundraiser in between those two events.

Only one of those fundraisers took place right before the deadline for filing her first campaign finance report, which showed her raising $5,915 for the quarter ending Sept. 30. Read the report here. Donors listed in the report include Fair Haven/Chatham Square organizer Eliezer Cruz, New Haven Park Authority Executive Director Doug Hausladen, ex-City Controller Daryl Jones, city labor relations chief Cathleen Simpson, former Mayor Toni Harp, former mayoral candidate and labor relations chief Marcus Paca, and alder candidate and retired police Sgt. Shafiq Abdussabur. Brackeen’s committee reported raising $11,392, including from fellow New Haven Alders Richard Furlow, Sal DeCola, Mayor Justin Elicker, Board of Ed member Edward Joyner, city social services official Carlos Sosa-Lombardo, city Corporation Counsel Patricia King, parking authority chief Hausladen, former Alder Steven Mednick, Revs. Steven Cousin and Kelcey Steele, labor leader and City Plan commissioner Ernest Pagan, and Hamden social-justice activist Rhonda Caldwell. Hilda Santiago’s report showed her exploratory committee raising $8,735, including from New Haven Democracy Fund Chair Sergio Rodriguez, New Haven parks and recreation deputy Bill Dixon, Middletown Mayor Ben Florsheim, and numerous Latino activists and leaders throughout the state. Elliott reported raising $2,658. Lesser led the emerging field by far, reporting $27,299 in contributions to his committee; his contributors included New Haven State Rep. Roland Lemar, former Secretary of the State Miles Rapoport, Middletown Mayor Florsheim, and Lindsay Farrell of the statewide Working Families Party.

Many, Martiza Bond admitted at Wednesday’s event, have questioned why she is exploring statewide office in the midst of a pandemic. The pandemic, she said, is the reason she is considering the job, having witnessed firsthand the intersection between public health and voting. She and her supporters continued to stress that her decades of administrative experience and focus on community are transferable from job to job.

Bond also announced her ​“wholehearted” support for no-excuse absentee balloting in state elections, which the governor and current secretary of the state Denise Merrill stressed at a Tuesday press conference in Hartford.

A host of familiar faces came out to support her on Thursday: former New Haven Mayor Toni Harp, former city spokesperson Gage Frank, Board of Education President Yesenia Rivera, and Bridgeport Democratic Town Committee Vice-Chair Anthony Paoletto.

“She’s someone who will come in, roll up her sleeves, and get the job done,” Paoletto said. ​“She may be short, but her impact is tall.”

“And she does it all in heels!” Rivera said.

Meanwhile, Brackeen said of his financial report: ​“We’re very humbled and proud of the early showing of support we’ve received from so many individuals from across the state of Connecticut. Our message of building a stronger, fairer, and more inclusive democracy and economy for all is resonating with voters everywhere we go, and we’re excited to build on this momentum and continue the conversation.”