Democrats May Have Primaries for Party Governing Committee in Two Wards

In two of the five wards of the city, Democrats may have primaries for who will serve on the Democratic Party’s governing Town Committee.

The potentially contested wards are Ward 1, which includes the West End, Willow Brook and Mount Pleasant neighborhoods, and Ward 3, located in the center of the city.

Unlike the city’s Republican Party, the Democrats’ local Town Committee is chosen using a direct primary model. In the Democrats’ direct primary system, any registered Democratic voters wishing to be on their party’s Town Committee must gather signatures from at least five percent of registered Democrats in their ward to qualify to run for Town Committee. Candidates collect the five percent of signatures jointly as a slate and the slates must have candidates for at least 25% of the seats to be elected.

If more people qualify by obtaining signatures than there are seats to fill in a ward, a party election, called a primary, is held for registered Democrats to choose their ward’s party Town Committee members. If there are the same or few candidates than there are seats to fill in a ward, no primary election is held and all of the candidates are deemed elected.

New Britain Republicans use a system for choosing their party’s governing Town Committee in which party activists gather in a meeting, called a “caucus” to “endorse” members of their Town Committee. It is also possible for Republicans to challenge the Republican Party’s endorsed candidates for its Town Committee in a primary, as well.

If there is a primary for the party governing committees, that would be held on March 5, 2024.

The upcoming term of the Democratic Party’s local governing committee is the first time that it will be elected from the five City Council districts, commonly called wards. Previously the Democratic Town Committee was elected from voting districts.

The slates for Democratic Town Committee have until Wednesday, January 31st at 4:00pm to file enough signatures to qualify.

Editor’s note (1/28/2024): The article was updated to clarify the number of candidates who must be on slates seeking petition signatures. The article previously, incorrectly, implied that a single candidate could petition. Apologies for the error.