Brackeen Drops Secretary Of The State Bid

Kimberly Wipfler Photo

Darryl Brackeen Jr. with campaign supporters at an April 2 candidates' forum in New Haven.

The enthusiasm and agenda were there. The money wasn’t.

Darryl Brackeen Jr. offered that explanation Tuesday for why he has decided to drop his bid for the Democratic nomination for secretary of the state.

Brackeen, an Upper Westville alder, discussed his decision on WNHH FM’s Dateline New Haven.”

Money was the big hurdle,” he said.

The campaign aimed to raise $86,000 to start fielding a full operation as well as to qualify for matching funds under the state’s Citizens’ Election Program, he said. His most recent quarterly haul brought the total to date to $27,000.

That wasn’t enough.

So that leaves five Democrats still seeking support to run for the seat at an upcoming May party convention: Stephanie Thomas, Martiza Bond, Hilda Santiago, Matt Lesser and Josh Elliott. On the Republican side, Dominic Rapini and Terrie Wood, and Brock Weber are seeking the office. Cynthia Jennings is seeking the Independent Party nomination. Incumbent Democrat Denise Merrill is retiring this year.

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.

Brackeen was one of the first Democrats to begin publicly exploring” a race for the seat last year. He drew on his background helping to organize voting rights and voter education campaigns as a basis for the run, and crafted a voting-rights campaign agenda that included supporting early voting and excuse-free absentee ballots.

He said he has not yet decided whom to endorse for the position. He praised the Democratic field and predicted the party will be in good shape in the November general election.

Meanwhile, Brackeen plans to be busy with his work as an alder. In the near term, he said, that means continuing to push a proposal to spend $18 million of the federal pandemic-relief dollars coming to New Haven on a pilot Universal Basic Income program; and to use some of the money to fund the $5 million budget increase the Board of Education is seeking from the city. 

Some, including in City Hall, have argued against using the relief dollars on short-term, rather than sustainable” longer-term projects.

Brackeen argued on Dateline” that the pandemic relief money was intended to help people recover from harm caused by the Covid-19 pandemic — and school setbacks and working-class family financial setbacks qualify as the kind of harm needing relief.

We’re at a crossroads with the public system” because of behavior and learning problems arising from the pandemic, he argued.

Also in the interview, Brackeen called on the Democrats to focus their message nationally in advance of challenging upcoming midterm elections.

We overtalk ourselves to death without getting to the punchline,” he said.

Upon request, he provided a punchline: We saved the economy. We provided families an opportunity to get out of poverty and level up.”

Click on the video to watch the full interview with Alder Darryl Brackeen Jr. on WNHH FM's "Dateline New Haven."

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