November match-up: Lemar, Zola.
New Haven Republicans have endorsed businesswoman Andrea Zola to run against incumbent Roland Lemar for the east side 96th state General Assembly District seat.
Zola, the great-niece of former Mayor Biagio DiLieto, previously ran for Ward 8 alder, arguing that New Haven’s reigning Democrats need competition and fresh ideas. The party endorsed her this week for the state legislative run.
“I’m extremely excited,” Zola told the Independent Friday. “I’m running because I feel the same way I did before — there needs to be more women leaders in politics.”
She said her campaign has already raised half of the $6,000 it needs to qualify for the state’s public-financing Citizens’ Election Program.
Zola, who has started several businesses, serves as Ward 8 Republican co-chair and on the Wooster Square Monument Committee. Her focus, according to her campaign website, is on “creating a safer community for all residents. She has a background in cybersecurity and would like to tackle homeland security issues that are currently on the rise.”
Democrat Lemar, who co-chairs the legislature’s Transportation Committee, is seeking an eighth two-year term. He welcomed Zola to the race.
“I’m excited for a robust conversation,” he said Friday. “I think my record speaks for itself — delivering for New Haven, whether it’s millions of dollars for Wilbur Cross athletic fields; redesigning our major thoroughfares throughout New Haven, including Foxon Boulevard, Whitney Avenue and State Street, and the Boulevard; and bus rapid-transit coming to Grand Avenue, Whalley Avenue.”