DeLauro Helps Kick Off Hamden Dems’ General Election Campaign

​“This opportunity comes by once. If we don’t take advantage of it, it will pass,” U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro told a crowd of Hamden Democrats Tuesday evening.

DeLauro was rallying the faithful gathered on the back porch of Democratic mayoral candidate Lauren Garrett’s home Tuesday afternoon, officially endorsing Garrett and the Democratic Town Committee’s full slate of endorsed candidates for the Nov. 2 general election.

DeLauro’s endorsement effectively kicked off the DTC’s formal campaign to win elected offices spanning from mayor and town clerk to seats on the Legislative Council and Board of Education.

“We’ve got 25 days until the election,” DeLauro stated. ​“The key to elections today is turnout … and elections have consequences.”

The DTC’s slate of candidates (read more about the full slate here) will compete with the town GOP’s endorsed candidates — and a solo Independent candidate, Jay Kaye, who’s vying for an at-large Legislative Council spot — in the election.

The Democrats’ candidates are entering that race fresh off a sweeping primary win against a string of moderate Democrats led by incumbent Mayor Curt Leng and other established town officials.

The primary saw the party’s progressive wing use strong organizing skills to push out an administration that ran on a pro-policing platform. Every DTC candidate beat their Row B opponent by around a 2 – 1 margin.

Now the DTC is rallying in preparation for the general election by bringing Democratic officials from the state and federal levels to Hamden on a weekly basis to convince residents to vote on Nov. 2 in a turning point for the town.

The slate had attempted to launch their general campaign the week earlier with a similar event featuring State Sen. Martin Looney — but a three-car crash in front of their headquarters cut it short. (DTC Campaign Manager Brian Murphy said they plan to reschedule with the senator. Watch the beginning of that event, including words from Looney, here.)

DeLauro noted that Hamden was one of the towns that made up her base in 1990 along with New Haven when she first got elected to the House. She drew a line between the ascension of Hamden’s progressive slate and unprecedented work taking shape at the federal level to invest in universal social and economic services, and, as she put it, invest in ​“Democratic values.”

She pointed to the 10-year ​“Build Back Better” bill as an example of recently unprecedented efforts to expand the nation’s economic safety net, and advocated for the permanent implementation of the child tax credit (a version of which is currently included in the bill). DeLauro led the charge for the passage of the child tax credit, which provides guardians with roughly $250-$300 a month per child, for 18 years, and made history when it finally became law this year as part of the pandemic-relief American Rescue Plan.

“When was the last time that people were so receptive to the government being a part of their lives?” DeLauro asked Tuesday’s crowd of candidates and political volunteers. She said Hamden’s election marks an opportunity to continue the new work happening at the top through to the local level, pointing to Garrett’s focus on education, climate change, affordable housing, and wraparound services for families.

A progressive administration, she said, will mean a changed town infrastructure that will create greater opportunity and well-being for all residents.

Upon accepting the endorsement, Garrett continued DeLauro’s argument.

“We finally have a little bit of money from this tragedy we’re in because of the work Rosa has done,” Garrett said. She stressed the importance of using available funds to finally pay for gutting roads for proper pavement and installing pipes in areas of town, like portions of Whitney Avenue, without sewers.

That baseline engineering overhaul, she said, is a key part to greater economic development throughout Hamden. Garrett’s platform rests on bringing more small businesses to town in order to broaden Hamden’s tax base, grow job opportunities, and build quality of life in order to prevent crime, ​“because policing after the fact just hurts people.”

Garrett also distinguished her slate from this year’s Republican candidates by focusing on the importance of diversity and equity. She envisioned a future in which ​“kids coming to take tours of town office will see a Black woman,” or Town Clerk candidate Karimah Mickens, and a school system reimagined by DTC BOE members fighting for more Black and Brown teachers, culturally responsive curriculum, and restorative disciplinary practices. (At GOP events and during council meetings, new and established Republican candidates have voiced desire for race-neutral schooling.)

Off ​“stage,” Connecticut State Rep. Mike D’Agostino and State Sen. Matt Lesser, who is also currently exploring a statewide run for Connecticut secretary of the state, ate Sally’s pizza and showed their support for Garrett and the full slate.

Lesser described her as a ​“dynamic organizer who will bring a lot of energy to the office.” He recalled meeting her at a fundraiser for his own campaign five years ago, and seeing her ​“everywhere” since, attending events to push progressive policies across the state.

D’Agostino also said he was excited to have ​“a mayor that’s engaged— we haven’t had that in a while quite frankly.”

“This is my candidate,” he stated.