Bond Resumes In-Person Fundraisers, Nears Official Decision On Sec’y Of State Run

Before Women’s History Month ends, Maritza Bond plans to announce whether she’ll pursue her own bid for history by running for secretary of the state. 

Bond shared this news during an exploratory committee fundraising event in a conference room at mActivity Fitness Center on Nicoll Street in Goatville on Wednesday evening.

The appearance was the first in-person event Bond’s team has held since the emergence of the Covid-19 omicron variant in December. As New Haven’s health director, Bond temporarily paused in-person events to focus on the surge.

Bond is one of a host of Democrats either officially seeking or ​“exploring” the party’s nomination for secretary of the state, to succeed incumbent Denise Merrill, who is retiring after three terms.

Launching an exploratory committee meant that Bond could ​“start raising money, talking to voters, and gauging statewide interest in her potential candidacy before actually committing to an official campaign for the state’s top elections and business-records oversight position.”

So far, the only Democratic candidates to have formally announced campaigns and formed candidate committees are State Rep. Stephanie Thomas of Norwalk and Meriden State Rep. Hilda Santiago, while Hamden State Rep Joshua Elliott, New Haven Alder Darryl Brackeen, Middletown State Sen Matt Lesser, and Bond have only made rounds of the state as ​“exploratory” candidates.

That will change by the time March is over, Bond said, eight days before that date arrives. If nominated, Bond would be the first Hispanic candidate on a statewide Democratic ballot, and if elected, the first Hispanic statewide constitutional officer.

“I want everything to have a meaning. Why not Women’s History Month? I have the potential to make history in Connecticut. I don’t define my ethnicity as a skill set — I have different skills that I can bring — but if I can serve as the first Latina secretary of the state, I would be truly honored,” Bond said.

On the Republican side, Dominic Rapini and Brock Weber have formed candidate committees to seek the office.

The secretary of the state is Connecticut’s top elections official. Besides overseeing elections, the secretary of the state is in charge of business filings and maintaining the commercial registry.

In remarks to the gathering, Bond said helming New Haven’s health department during the worst pandemic in a century inspired her run, as she took on tasks that she characterized as transferable to the secretary of the state job: She helped ensure that people could vote. She helped businesses ​“like this gym” navigate government rules in order to reopen. She worked to get solid information to the public: ​“I demonstrated that government could still work in the midst of a pandemic. I will be able to do that at the state level.”

She also said that her work addressing health inequities translates to the work of enabling more people to access the vote.

Thirty people turned out for the fundraiser, including Capt. Tony Frost, who will be honored as a New Haven Firefighter of the Year this Saturday at the Elm City Cup and Chief’s Cup series this Friday and Saturday at Ralph Walker Rink.

Bond’s friends and family from New Haven turned out as well, including her 19-year-old son Markel Bond, who introduced his mother to the crowd: ​“I’ve grown up seeing my mom work hard at anything she’s done. I’m really proud to say that I think that she’s going to be able to serve the state and push to that next level.”

Jessica Muñiz, a childhood friend of Bond’s who attended Wilbur Cross High School with her, said they share a similar identity and background: We don’t have many faces looking like us over there, woman or minority.” She spoke of the importance of Bond’s ​“integrity”: ​“When we’ve lost so much faith in politics and the people that lead us.”

Other supporters present included Meredith Gaffney of Branford and Brian Avallone, who grew up in New Haven and now resides in Fairfield.

Avallone, who comes from a politically active family, said he’s supporting Bond because ​“she represents a voice that Connecticut could use. Her voice is fresh. The ideas that she has, her interest in surrounding herself with the smartest people to make the right decisions is a cornerstone of what she’s trying to do.”

Mark Negralle, a member of the Connecticut Employee Union Independent, came from East Hampton. ​“The reason why I got involved in this campaign was because I want to have elected officials being held to the same standard as other state employees. State municipal employees have to have to meet a minimum qualification of general experience, knowledge, skills and ability, just to get an interview. 

“But with an elected official, you can win on a popularity contest …There’s only one candidate that could get an interview, and that’s Maritza Bond.”

Bond plans to host two more campaign events this month: Saturday in Milford and next Thursday in New Britain.

Watch a clip of Bond’s speech from Wednesday below.