Calder and Douglass.
As Dwight Alderwoman Gina Calder left a special budget meeting at City Hall, she was ambushed with a petition signed by 100 constituents — asking her to resign her post sooner rather than later so that they can choose her replacement.
Calder has already announced that she plans to resign her seat before her term ends later this year. If she steps down before July 1, a special election will be held to fill her seat as Ward 2 alderman. If she resigns after July 1, the mayor gets to appoint her replacement by selecting from among three people nominated by the Democratic ward committee.
The petition she received Monday night requests that she resign before July 1 so that the Dwight neighborhood she represents can have an election rather than an appointment.
It was presented to her by Frank Douglass, one of the people with an eye on her seat. He’s a Ward 2 Democratic Party co-chair along with Greg Smith, who he said is also interested in becoming the next alderman.
On Monday evening, Calder left the Board of Aldermen’s special budget meeting at 8 p.m. before the voting was over. As she stepped out of the chamber, Douglass was waiting for her with several members of the press, whom he had alerted to his planned ambush.
Calder immediately said she was in a rush, and hustled toward the door. Douglass kept pace with her. He hurriedly made his pitch for her stepping down.
Outside City Hall, Calder asked Douglass to call her on Tuesday morning so they could set up a time to talk about it further. She gave him a quick hug in the middle of Church Street, and left.
“She’s trying to avoid it,” Douglass said. He said he’s worried Calder’s going to “hang on and leave us hanging.” It’s not right to leave the decision to the mayor, he said. “We don’t want that. It’s not democracy.”
Calder had announced her intention to resign, because of a job promotion at Bridgeport Hospital, at a neighborhood meeting earlier this month. She said at the time that she wanted to stay in the job long enough to vote on the new city budget, according to this report in the Yale Daily News. The budget passed Monday night.
Calder did not respond to calls for comment Tuesday. Douglass said Tuesday afternoon that she had not returned his calls either.