Town Committee Challengers Win Bloomfield Democratic Primary.

Challengers to the Bloomfield Democratic Town Committee won the court-ordered primary Tuesday. All 17 Democrats on the challenge slate were elected, defeating 17 of the 65 members of the endorsed slate. The helpful town clerk posted results here.

Bloomfield Democrats have engaged in fractious contests in recent years. Last September, a primary for town council resulted in a split decision, three challengers and three endorsed candidates won spots on the six-candidate general election slate. The 2017 Democratic town council primary saw the outs defeat the ins in a sweep. The decisive win did not extinguish intra-party strife.

The town committee contest took an unusual turn when the town’s Democratic registrar of voters, Troy Mitchell, declined to certify the challenge slate’s petitions. Mitchell agreed in February to a settlement of a court action brought by the challengers. He reversed his decision the next day. A trial followed and Judge Matthew J. Budnick found in favor of the challengers, ruling Mitchell had rejected petition signatures “out of pure speculation.,” according to the Hartford Courant.

The 17 winning challengers may shift the balance of power on the local Democratic committee. Ten percent of the town’s more than 9,000 registered Democrats voted in Tuesday’s primary in what may be seen as a rebuke of Mitchell’s heavy-handed wielding of authority.

Published April 20, 2022.