Top Hamden Pols Endorse Stephanie Thomas For Secretary Of The State

The Hamden political establishment has thrown its weight behind one of the two Democratic candidates for secretary of the state: Stephanie Thomas.

Mayor Lauren Garrett, State Sen. Jorge Cabrera, and State Rep. Joshua Elliott were among the town elected officials who endorsed Thomas Wednesday and accompanied her on a tour of small businesses and summer camps. 

Thomas, a Norwalk state representative, won the state party’s endorsement for the position at a May convention. She faces a challenge in an Aug. 9 Democratic primary from New Haven Health Director Maritza Bond. Bond this week picked up an endorsement as well, from the Connecticut Employees Union Independent, following an earlier endorsement from the state AFL-CIO.

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.

Dominic Rapini and Brock Weber are facing each other in a Republican primary for secretary of the state.

“Stephanie is a small business owner like me, so she understands the secretary of state’s office and can do a great deal to help the thousands to make it in our state,” Hamden Mayor Garrett said at Wednesday’s event for Thomas. ​“Stephanie is a collaborator and someone who is willing to study and consider all sides of the issue.”

She and Cabrera and Elliott all cited her experience running non-profits as well as her time in the state House as reasons for their endorsement of her. 

“We need a secretary of state who will fight to safeguard our elections during a time of unprecedented attacks on our democracy, and she is a strong leader in Hartford and will dedicate herself to expanding the ballot as Secretary of State,” said Cabrera. 

Wednesday morning, Thomas toured The Village youth program on Putnam Avenue, meeting with organization leader Melissa Atterberry-Jones and viewing kids’ artwork.

Atterberry-Jones told Thomas about a closet the organization runs to give children in need clothes and school supplies. Thomas also asked Atterberry-Jones about difficulties that The Village may be facing as a small business and heard about the need for a better centralization of available resources.

Thomas is running on a business platform of better consolidating and centralizing data.

“There are all sorts of resources and government assistance available on the internet, but it’s scattered across dozens of websites. Business owners don’t have hours to spend googling all of this information. So one of the most important changes I will make as Secretary is sending out email blasts every month with all the relevant resources and information small business owners might need.”

After The Village, Thomas visited Tavern By The Hall and Freskos, a Greek restaurant, on Whitney Avenue.

Thomas spoke with Peter Vouras, the owner of Freskos, who told her about his experience with the secretary of state’s online filing system. He said that while it has improved significantly, the filing process can still use streamlining. Thomas said she hopes to further centralize information and educate business owners on how to quickly file different information on the website.

Vouras and Thomas also spoke on the divisiveness of politics in the United States. Vouras asked ​“how all of you do this in such a nasty environment.” Thomas told him that she hopes through one-on-one conversations with voters, she will be able to avoid divisiveness and actually hear about issues people are facing.

At Tavern By The Hall, Thomas heard owner Steven Boddie’s story about how his business had opened three weeks ago after community members had come together to convert the space into a tavern.

Thomas asked him about his own experience with filing incorporation papers. He said that the system had worked perfectly for him.

Thomas also spoke about some of her election-side platform ideas, including the creation of toolkits for voters with fact sheets on important parts of the election process, including how to register to vote, get early ballots, and run for office.

She also spoke on how her experience as a nonprofit agency director has prepare her to improvise ​“to get the job done” with limited resources.

“The issue I’m most passionate about is civic education, because I really want my office to hopefully be a real face for people where I am on the ground meeting people and also showing them the importance of being involved in the electoral process,” said Thomas.