Bobby Sanchez Wins Mayoral Election And New Britain Democrats Win Big
New Britain Democrats were celebrating at 5CB on Arch Street on election night as Democrat Bobby Sanchez was elected as Mayor of New Britain by huge margin – what appears to be more than 1,700 votes.
Editor’s note: the cover photo is by Dr Frank Gerratana.
Unofficial vote counts from the Office of the Secretary of the State show Sanchez winning over Republican Sharon Beloin-Saavedra by a margin of 5,540 to 3,823.
| Mayor | Secretary of the State’s |
| Unofficial Total Votes | |
| Democratic Party Robert “Bobby” Sanchez | 5,540 |
| Republican Party Sharon Beloin-Saavedra | 3,823 |
| Petitioning Candidate Tarsha Renee Moore | 78 |
| Petitioning Candidate Alfred P. Mayo | 40 |
| Write In Sebastian Pirola | 0 |
But it was also a big night of wins for Democrats across the board. Democrats won in all five City Council wards, winning the maximum of 10 out of 15 seats on the Council.
In Ward 1, Democrats Jessica Vargas and Nathan “Nate” Simpson, along with Republican Dottie DiLernia were apparent winners.
| Alderperson Ward 1 | Secretary of the State’s |
| Unofficial Total Votes | |
| Democratic Party Jessica Vargas | 1,441 |
| Democratic Party Nathan “Nate” Simpson | 1,429 |
| Republican Party Dottie DiLernia | 1,132 |
| Republican Party Hector Roldan | 1,072 |
| Petitioning Candidate Thomas A. Talalaj | 36 |
In Ward 2, Democrats Yadira Maldonado and Wilma Barbosa, along with Republican Jerrell Hargraves were apparent winners.
| Alderperson Ward 2 | Secretary of the State’s |
| Unofficial Total Votes | |
| Democratic Party Yadira Maldonado | 923 |
| Democratic Party Wilma Barbosa | 902 |
| Republican Party Lauren Gonzalez | 483 |
| Republican Party Jerrell Hargraves | 507 |
In Ward 3, Democrats Iris Noemi Sanchez and Candyce Scott, along with Republican Jason Gibson were apparent winners.
| Alderperson Ward 3 | Secretary of the State’s |
| Unofficial Total Votes | |
| Democratic Party Iris Noemi Sanchez | 789 |
| Democratic Party Candyce Scott | 764 |
| Republican Party Jason Gibson | 275 |
| Republican Party Adrian Elliott | 256 |
In Ward 4, Democrats Luz Ortiz-Luna and John H McNamara, along with Republican Robert Smedley were apparent winners.
| Alderperson Ward 4 | Secretary of the State’s |
| Unofficial Total Votes | |
| Democratic Party Luz Ortiz-Luna | 1,244 |
| Democratic Party John H. McNamara | 1,305 |
| Republican Party Norman Dorval | 926 |
| Republican Party Robert Smedley | 937 |
In Ward 5, Democrats Roy Centeno and Francisco Santiago, along with Republican Matthew Malinowski were apparent winners.
| Alderperson Ward 5 | Secretary of the State’s |
| Unofficial Total Votes | |
| Democratic Party Roy Centeno | 959 |
| Democratic Party Francisco Santiago | 936 |
| Republican Party Willie Pabon | 654 |
| Republican Party Matthew Malinowski | 687 |
Democrats also won three of the five seats for Board of Education, the maximum possible to win, which will put Democrats in the majority on the Board.
| Board of Education | Secretary of the State’s |
| Unofficial Total Votes | |
| Democratic Party Hanna Nowakowski-Petrisko | 5,215 Apparently elected |
| Democratic Party Annie S. Parker | 5,280 Apparently elected |
| Democratic Party Diana Reyes | 5,418 Apparently elected |
| Republican Party Barbara Marino | 3,478 Apparently elected |
| Republican Party Tina Santana | 3,358 Apparently elected |
| Republican Party Anthony “Tony” Cane | 3,325 |
In addition, Democrat William Yanchak defeated Republican Danny Salerno to be the next City Treasurer and the Democrats won two of the three seats of the Board of Assessment Appeals.
| Treasurer | Secretary of the State’s |
| Unofficial Total Votes | |
| Democratic Party William J. Yanchak | 5,209 |
| Republican Party Danny Salerno | 3,854 |
| Board of Assessment Appeals | Secretary of the State’s |
| Unofficial Total Votes | |
| Democratic Party Jessica Angelo-Julien | 5,378 Apparently elected |
| Democratic Party Bryan Sabin | 5,142 Apparently elected |
| Republican Party Sheryl A. Mala | 3,365 |
| Republican Party Maria “Jola” Turczanik | 3,395 Apparently elected |
On election night Sanchez talked about turning around the years of flat funding for education, stressing the need to improve the quality of education and bring hope back for New Britain families. He discussed addressing the infrastructure needs in the city and allocating the funding to complete the Allen Street drainage project.
Sanchez also talked about strengthening partnerships with state leaders to build the local economy and create jobs, and said he would be rolling up his sleeves to work on the city budget to address local priorities.
In an uncontested election, eight people were also chosen as city Constables.
| Democratic Party Jose Rodriguez |
| Democratic Party Teresa Sapieha-Yanchak |
| Democratic Party Suzanne Bielinski |
| Democratic Party Chris Parker |
| Republican Party Jamie B. Vaughan |
| Republican Party Andrew Starczewski |
| Republican Party Alan F. Zaniewski |
| Republican Party Sean F. Steele |
Sanchez and the other officials elected today are to take office at noon next Wednesday, November 12th at 12:00pm in the New Britain High School auditorium.
Editor’s note (11/5/2025): The article was updated, based on unofficial vote totals reported by the Office of the Secretary of the State. This included a correction that it is Jerrell Hargraves rather than Lauren Gonzalez who appears to have been elected to the Council in Ward 2 and that it is Robert Smedley rather than Norman Dorval who appears to have been elected to the Council in Ward 4.
Editor’s note (11/6/2025): The article was corrected to note the correct inauguration date as November 12th and provide other information about it.
