On July 23, 2018, the Sherman DTC endorsed the candidates that won at the May 2018 CT Dems convention with two exceptions:

• Ned Lamont for Governor
• Eva Bermudez Zimmerman for Lieutenant Governor (the CT Dems convention endorsed Susan Bysiewicz)
• Jahana Hayes for Representative in Congress 5^thDistrict (the CT Dems convention endorsed Mary Glassman)
• Shawn Wooden for Treasurer
• William Tong for Attorney General

Here’s why the DTC endorses them enthusiastically:
Ned Lamont (Governor) is a strong progressive Democrat with the skills and drive to continue the hard work of rebuilding Connecticut’s finances, infrastructure and work force. His entrepreneurial experience will bring a fresh perspective to the challenges our state faces. His name is very familiar state-wide and has the experience of running a CT-campaign.

Eva Bermudez Zimmerman (Lt. Governor) will bring a vibrant diversity to the statehouse in Hartford. She has demonstrated a firm commitment to fighting for families, workers and our communities. Her youthful energy is what Hartford and the Democratic Party needs.

Jahana Hayes’ (U.S. Congress) inspiring personal story, working her way up from a Waterbury housing project to being named National Teacher of the Year in 2016, is what caused her to come forward to serve as advocate for children and disenfranchised communities. Besides heart, she’s shown to have the smarts and stomach for politics, joining late in the game, learning quickly on the campaign trail, and gaining a significant following. If she wins, she won’t just survive, but do amazing things in Washington. See below for more details on Ms. Hayes.

Shawn Wooden is an attorney specializing in advising public pension plans. His strong financial background, deep experience in public policy and high ethical standards will make him a very effective Treasurer.

William Tong has been a State Representative for more than a decade and serves as Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. He has a long record of fighting and winning for Connecticut’s citizens. He will be a pillar of strength protecting the hard-won rights of everyone in Connecticut.

Mary Glassman and Jahana Hayes are competing in the primary election to be the Democratic Party nominee for Congress from the Fifth Congressional District (Sherman, its surrounding towns, New Britain, Waterbury and Torrington).

The 5th C.D. is historically Republican, but has been trending Democratic since 2004. It has an unusually high percentage of voters registered as independents. The seat became vacant when Democratic incumbent Elizabeth Esty decided not to seek reelection after being criticized for her handling of sexual harassment allegations against her former chief of staff. Control of the entire House could turn on the outcome of this race.

Glassman very narrowly won the Party’s nomination at a tempestuous convention in May, but Hayes decided to take the decision to the voters. The winner will run in the November general election against a Republican candidate who will also be selected in August.

Mary Glassman
Mary Glassman was born and raised in the 5^th Congressional District. “I am a public servant. I don’t sit behind a desk, I build relationships,” she told a Washington, CT audience. “That is what we do every day. We are the ones that plow the roads, pick up the garbage.”

Glassman is a graduate of the University of Connecticut and UConn School of Law. She was First Selectwoman of Simsbury from 1991-99 and 2007-14, Special Counsel to the Speaker of the CT House, and Counsel to the Senate President. She has twice run for Lieutenant Governor. She currently works for the Capital Region Education Council. She is married, and has three children.

Jahana Hayes 
Jahana Hayes grew up in the Berkeley Heights housing project in Waterbury. Her family struggled with addiction and relied on public assistance. Hayes got pregnant as a teenager. Despite no means for any upward mobility, she enrolled at Naugatuck Valley Community College and eventually got her four year degree at Southern Connecticut State University and her masters and advanced degrees at the University of Saint Joseph and University of Bridgeport, all the while working to support her young family.“My experience is boots on the ground,” Hayes told one audience. “No job teaches you that experience. Life teaches you that experience.”

A former high school history teacher, Hayes currently serves as the Talent and Professional Development Supervisor for Waterbury Public Schools. She was the 2016 National Teacher of the Year. She is married and has four children.

The Interviews

The SDTCNewsletter interviewed both candidates, Glassman in person on July 2nd, Hayes by telephone on July18.

The interviews explored three inter-related questions:

• Why would you be a strong candidate in the general election?
• What are your positions on a variety of issues?
• Why and how you would be effective in Congress?

A detailed representation of their responses can be found at
Click here.

Impressions of each candidate’s interviews and publications

1. Which candidate would be more effective in the fall election?                                                   Glassman is an extremely strong candidate–in conventional terms. She brings experience, both in government and in running for office. But these are not conventional times.                                                                                                                                       Many might find Hayes, an outsider to politics as usual, compelling. She could especially appeal to young people and people of color.
2. If elected to Congress, Glassman’s experience would let her “hit the ground running.” Hayes would have a steeper learning curve.
3. On most issues, Glassman and Hayes have very similar positions. They differ in their ACA position:  In  Hayes’ written statements, though not in the interview, she supports preserving and improving the ACA while “moving towards” a single payer system. Glassman is more focused on simply improving and extending the ACA.
4. The two candidates bring very different experiences to the race.                                            Glassman brings the perspectives and knowledge from her extensive experience as a public official, a former newspaper reporter, lawyer and child advocate. She believes these experiences, along with her government and private sector connections would make her effective.
5. Hayes brings a very different perspective: rising from poverty, hardship and her direct experiences as a teacher, woman of color and working from within a struggling community. She believes that policy making would benefit from her broader set of perspectives than are conventionally called upon.
6. The two candidates have very different approaches towards the issues.                             Glassman focuses less on the “big picture” of each issue and more on their details and on how to bring people together to get things done.                                                            Hayes sees issues as interconnected, and focuses on the need for a comprehensive approach, linking, for instance, education to housing and health care, and job opportunities with housing.
7. To give a somewhat forced metaphor, if there is a grove of trees in a larger forest, Gassman may focus on the trees more than the grove, while Hayes focuses more on the whole eco system than the grove.

With this unprecedented slate, we hope you are inspired to vote in the Primary!

Every state has different rules for primary voting. CT’s rules stipulate that only registered Democrats and Republicans may vote in the Primary. Therefore, no Unaffiliated’s will be able to weigh in. It’s up to registered Dems to pick our November candidates. Those candidates must have appeal to the Unaffiliated’s in the general election.

Or you can help an Unaffiliated make their voice heard and register as a Dem—they can do so up to noon on August 13. A strong August turnout bodes well for a good outcome in November.

Along the same lines of feeling your influence, consider that your vote counts much more in the Primary than it does in the general election because of fewer overall voters. Statewide, CT has 705,403 registered Democrats and 401,374 registered Republicans. It will be interesting to see how many in each party turn out for the primary, indicating their level of engagement.

On a practical note, Primaries are held in the same place as regular elections in Sherman: in the Fire House. (August 14^th, 6 am – 8 pm at Charter Hall in the Firehouse, enter on the side not facing the road).

Once we are past the primaries and charging forward with the amazing slate that the Sherman DTC has endorsed, please stay tuned to what our candidates will face from the Republicans. Note the ridiculous claim from Mark Boughton that he can save CT’s economy by eliminating the income tax and making up the difference by using “nonprofits” and “cutting government.”  Stay tuned to future SDTC newsletters as we comb through this kind of detritus.

Please commit to voting on August 14th and forward this newsletter along to anyone who may be interested.