New Haven Independent

After losing the Democratic endorsement to Erin Sturgis-Pascale, the self-described underdog persisted as a petitioning candiate, and launched a lawsuit to wipe her opponent off the ballot. The two are in a special election to replace former Ward 14 Alderman Joe Jolly, who left mid-term to go to law school.

With local ministers rooting for her in the pews of a fifth-floor courtroom of New Haven Superior Court Monday, DeJesus-Vargas brought her “prayer for relief” against the City of New Haven, the State Election Commission and the Secretary of State.

The lawsuit surrounded whether the Ward 14 Democratic Ward Committee followed party rules when it held a nominating vote in a packed room of the Fair Haven branch of the New Haven Public Library on Sept. 26. DeJesus-Vargas argued meeting rules weren’t followed when the Ward Committee voted 25 to 11 in favor of Sturgis-Pascale.

The hearing Monday morning appeared to be over before it began. Judge William L. Hadden, Jr., a large man peering through thick-framed glasses, was curt with the plaintiff from the get-go. “You’re giving me orders concerning an election tomorrow. Give me your opening statement,” he told attorney Clifford Fritzell.

Fritzell said local Democratic Party rules had been violated. And that’s as far as he got in arguing his case.

City Corporation Cousel Tom Ude quickly filed a motion to dismiss the case. He checked off a list of technical flaws — including that the court summons had no return date.

After a short recess, the judge agreed with Ude to dismiss the case because the summons had no return date, violating state statute Sec. 52-45a. All present — Democratic Town Committee Chair Susie Voigt, Ward 12 Co-Chairs Rafael Ramos and Joan Forte, and the ministers — filed out the door.

Voigt and Ramos came prepared to testify that meeting rules had indeed been followed. Ramos and Forte had disagreed over the location of the meeting, but Ramos says that matter was settled at the meeting — a vote was taken in which at least 20 percent of the committee members agreed to hold the meeting that night.

Though she voted in the meeting and co-signed a statement endorsing Sturgis-Pascale, Forte protested the way the meeting was announced and held. She and DeJesus-Vargas say there should’ve been a petition by 20 percent of the ward committee members, not just a vote.

Leaning against a wall after the hearing, Fritzell voiced frustration he hadn’t even gotten to argue his client’s case.

“The technical failure of this case could’ve been looked past if the court was so willing to do so, but it wasn’t,” said Fritzell.

He said he had intentionally left off the return date because of the time pressure of the election. His client had first taken the matter to a dispute resolution panel at the party’s State Central Committee. They just got a decision two weeks ago — the panel found DeJesus-Vargas’ complaints to be unfounded. Then, with just a week to go before the election, they filed a lawsuit against the city.

Walking out of the courthouse after the suit was dismissed, DeJesus-Vargas appeared unfazed. “The real victory will be won in the streets!”

While DeJesus-Vargas was arguing in court, Sturgis-Pascale said she was phone-banking along with a new campaign ally: Republican Juan Montalvo. Upon being told she wouldn’t be thrown off the ballot after all, she responded: “I think it was the right decision, because it had no merit to begin with.”