Local elections are being held across Connecticut Tuesday. The contests include races for mayor, first selectman, city council and local school board.
The highest-profile race is the mayor’s contest in Stamford, where Democratic state Rep. Caroline Simmons is facing off against former Mets and Red Sox manager Bobby Valentine.
The race has been heated, with Valentine calling Simmons a 35-year-old girl and Simmons criticizing Valentine for his actions when he was public safety director a decade ago. Valentine was out of state to broadcast a baseball game during Tropical Storm Irene.
In New Britain, mayoral challenger Bobby Sanchez says the city’s school system has been underfunded during the terms of Mayor Erin Stewart.
But Stewart argues the schools have enough resources — they just need to do a better job with what they already have, she says.
Meanwhile, in some suburbs, Republican candidates have emphasized an increase in car thefts during the pandemic.
On the state level, the GOP says its party will address the issue by cracking down on young people stealing vehicles.
A school board race in Guilford has turned into a proxy fight over what to teach young people about racial discrimination.
In Danbury, voters will choose a new mayor with the end of the Mark Boughton era. After almost two decades leading the city, the Republican municipal leader departed the job last December to become state tax commissioner.
The acting mayor is not running, but his chief of staff, Republican candidate Dean Esposito, is on the ballot. The Democratic candidate for mayor, Roberto Alves, serves on the city council.
Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
