Democratic secretary of the state hopeful Maritza Bond at the Hartford convention on Friday.
On Friday night, Eddie Garcia made up his mind.
After just one short conversation with Maritza Bond, he agreed to support her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for secretary of the state.
Eddie Garcia, Maritza Bond, and Nicole Cruz-Glacken
Bond and Garcia chatted in front of her campaign table on the floor of the Democratic State Convention at the Xfinity Theatre in Hartford.
A retired public school teacher from Bloomfield, Garcia said he walked into the convention unsure of whom he’d be backing for the Democratic nod for secretary of the state.
He said Bond’s tenure as New Haven’s health director during the pandemic won him over, and convinced him to support her during Saturday’s endorsement vote.
“Throughout the pandemic, this woman has been on the front lines,” Garcia told the Independent, “fighting Covid-19 and protecting the lives of citizens. That is the best, most sacred work anyone can do.”
That promise of support was exactly what Bond — and many other Democratic candidates for statewide office — hoped to achieve by showing up on Friday to the Hartford convention.
That’s where candidates will seek their party’s official endorsement or the votes of at least 15 percent of delegates in order to secure a spot on the Democratic primary ballot in August.
The two-day event began on Friday at 5 p.m., with opening remarks and a unanimous endorsement vote for Richard Blumenthal’s bid for a third term in the U.S. Senate. On Saturday, the 2,000-plus Democratic Party delegates will cast their votes for a host of statewide offices, including the contested open seats of secretary of the state and treasurer.
There are three New Haveners vying for those latter two elected offices: Bond for secretary of the state, and Karen DuBois-Walton and Erick Russell for treasurer.
All three were present in Hartford on Friday to talk to delegates and try to win over votes and support before Saturday’s showdown.
Jessica Muñiz and Corinne Colón, both Bond volunteers
Fellow Democratic secretary of the state hopefuls State Rep. Stephanie Thomas of Norwalk, Meriden State Rep. Hilda Santiago, Hamden State Rep Joshua Elliott, and Middletown State Sen Matt Lesser were also in attendance to promote their campaigns and win over delegates.
On the Republican side, Dominic Rapini, Terrie Wood, and Brock Weber are seeking the office. Cynthia Jennings is seeking the Independent Party nomination.
Besides overseeing elections, the secretary of the state is in charge of business filings and maintaining the commercial registry. The secretary of the state also proposes and lobbies for new election laws while promoting voting and participation in elections — serving as the state’s top“civics” official.
Melissa Osborne, an attorney from Simsbury and a fellow state party convention delegate, said she too will be supporting Bond on Saturday. She also said she recently declared her own candidacy for state office. Osborne called Bond “whip smart,” and a “fresh new face,” who would not engage in any “insider baseball.”
Osborne praised Bond for having experience in an executive position, and said Bond has more energy than anyone else.
Matt Hutvagner and Bond
At the Bond campaign’s Friday night day-one after-party at Agave Grill on Allyn Street, the campaign for delegates continued. Over drinks and small bites, Bond celebrated with her supporters and chatted with some delegates who had yet to settle on a candidate, just 12 hours before the second day of the convention was set to start.
Farmington delegates Riju Das and Matt Hutvagner were among the undecided. Das said in the remaining hours before the vote, he planned to review candidates’ platforms, listen to their speeches, talk with their supporters, and see what other delegates had to say.
The two spoke high praises of the Democratic candidates running for statewide office: “They’re not making it easy for us to make up our minds,” Hutvagner said.
Markel Bond, Frank Douglass, Maritza Bond, Tyisha Walker-Myers, Brian Wingate, and Shafiq Abdussabur.
Also at Friday night’s Bond after-party were delegates from West Hartford, Cheshire, Farmington, Wolcott, Easton, Bridgeport, East Haddam, Hartford, Vernon, and more. One individual said they were “party-hopping,” among the various candidates’ post-convention events.
Bond has attracted support from a veteran of statewide political campaigns, said Roy Occhiogrosso, who played a key role in Dan Malloy’s two successful gubernatorial campaigns. Occhiogrosso has said he’s offering his advice to Bond on a volunteer, not a paid, basis.
On Friday, Occhiogrosso called Bond “a force of nature,” and said she has “more political ability than anyone else.” He contrasted this year to conventions prior, remarking that this year, delegates’ decisions are not predetermined.
Instead, conversations between delegates and candidates — like the one between Garcia and Bond — will have a true influence on Saturday’s results.
