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Playing nice: Mutually complimentary 94th District office-seekers Abdul Osmanu & Steve Winter.
A next-generation primary contest is shaping up as a second candidate has emerged seeking the Democratic nomination for a New Haven-Hamden legislative district.
That seat — representing the 94th General Assembly District — is currently held by State Rep. Robyn Porter, who is not seeking reelection.
Hamden Legislative Council member Abdul Osmanu announced Monday he will seek to petition his way onto a Democratic primary ballot for that seat. Former New Haven Alder Steve Winter won the official Democratic Party endorsement at a convention last week.
“I’m ready to run,” Osmanu told the Independent Monday, with plans to start petitioning “in the next hour and a half.” He said he needs 321 signatures of registered 94th District Democrats to qualify for the Aug. 13 primary ballot. As field director for Liam Brennan’s 2023 Democratic mayoral campaign, Osmanu oversaw an effort that collected 3,000 petition signatures and won the candidate a ballot slot.
Porter Monday endorsed Osmanu’s candidacy. “He knows the district. He does the work. He’s doing the work. We’ve worked together for years. I think he’s the best qualified,” Porter told the Independent.
This is the first time in eight years that a New Haven state legislative seat is open. The Republicans currently have no candidate lined up, according to Town Chair John Carlson. Osmanu is 22 years old, Winter, 35: If either wins the general election in November, New Haven will have its first Gen Z or millennial state legislator.
Osmanu, who is active with Democratic Socialists of America, is in his second two-year term on the Hamden Council. He said that if elected to the legislature, he would work toward advancing affordable housing and protecting renters from “predatory landlords,” including helping to pass proposals requiring rent caps and just-cause evictions. He also spoke of working on issues related to safe streets/pedestrian-safety and climate change, among other issues.
The 94th District includes New Haven’s Newhallville neighborhood as well as portions of the Dixwell and Prospect Hill neighborhoods and southern Hamden. Osmanu spoke of “picking up the torch” and continuing to “fight in the spirit” of “great strong Black leaders” who have held the 94th District seat in the past: Porter, Gary Winfield (now a state senator), and Bill Dyson. He also spoke of strengthening relationships he developed with New Haven voters during the Brennan campaign.
The two Democrats, both of whom identify as progressives, had only nice words to say about each other’s quest. Both candidates have won contested races in the past for their municipal seats.
“A lot of the work that I’ve seen from Steve has really been great, especially as it pertains to things with the environment,” Osmanu said of Winter, who currently serves as the city’s chief of climate and sustainability, riding to work by e‑bike. “We’re going to have a really great, interesting campaign and talk about the issues and set the bar higher as it pertains to the desire and appetite for real progressive positions and policies.”
“I welcome Abdul to the race,” Winter said Monday. He described his opponent as someone who “has a strong sense of social justice” and “seems eager to get out to talk to people” about issues that affect their lives.
Osmanu has taken and maintained a leadership role both in Hamden and statewide on the war in Gaza, sponsoring a ceasefire resolution before the Hamden Legislative Council and organizing voters to cast “undecided” ballots in the Democratic presidential primary across Connecticut. Separately, he teamed up with a Hamden rabbi on the other side of the issue to create a Hamden working group seeking common ground on different potentially controversial local matters.
Even though state legislative elections take place every two years, New Haven rarely has contested races. The seats in New Haven tend to be for life until an incumbent decides to step down: After 10 years, Porter was among the more junior members of the delegation. Only State Rep. Al Paolillo Jr. was first elected more recently (in 2016). State Rep. Pat Dillon has been in office since 1985, for instance; State Rep. Roland Lemar since 2010, Juan Candelaria since 2002. State Sen. Martin Looney has been a senator since 1993 (a state rep before that since 1981). New Haven’s other state senator, Gary Winfield, was elected in 2014; before that he had served as a state representative since 2009.