6 Alder Primaries On Tap; Zola, Christmas Petitions Rejected

Seven petitioning alder candidates in six different wards have qualified to make it onto September’s Democratic primary election ballot, while two — Dixwell’s Fred Christmas and Wooster Square’s Andrea Zola — didn’t make the cut.

After candidates completed a two-week sprint gathering signatures from at least 5 percent of registered Democrats in their respective wards, six wards will have an alder contest in the Sept. 12 Democratic primary elections:

• In Fair Haven’s Ward 15, both incumbent Ernie Santiago and challenger Frank Redente Jr. have petitioned onto the primary ballot. Each needed to submit at least 36 valid signatures because neither won the local Democratic Party’s endorsement at the July 25 convention. Redente submitted 56 signatures, Santiago 37.

• In the Annex’ Ward 17, Camille Ansley will challenge incumbent Sal Punzo in the primary. Ansley submitted 52 valid signatures, and needed 45.

• In Morris Cove’s Ward 18, Susan Campion will challenge incumbent Sal DeCola. Campion submitted 172 valid signatures, and needed 63.

• In Newhallville’s Ward 20, Addie Kimbrough will challenge party-endorsed newcomer Brittiany Mabery-Niblack. Kimbrough submitted 74 valid signatures, and needed 67.

• In Dixwell’s Ward 22, Anthony Geritano Jr. will challenge incumbent Jeanette Morrison. Geritano submitted 44 valid signatures, and needed 40.

• And in Westville’s Ward 25, Dennis Serfilippi will challenge incumbent Adam Marchand. Serfilippi submitted 105 valid signatures, and needed 91.

Meanwhile, Andrea Zola (of Ward 8, encompassing Wooster Square, the Mill River, and parts of Fair Haven and the Annex) and Fred Christmas (of Ward 22, covering much of Dixwell and parts of Yale) did not successfully petition onto the primary ballot to run against incumbents Ellen Cupo and Troy Streater, respectively.

After checking each candidate’s ballot petition, the Registrar of Voters’ office found that neither Zola nor Christmas had compiled enough legible signatures from registered Democrats residing in the ward. The registrar’s office validated 44 of the 57 required signatures for Christmas’ campaign and 42 of the 61 required signatures for Zola’s.

In a follow-up interview with the Independent, Zola disputed this finding. She said she had submitted 77 signatures, including a number from residents whom she helped register to vote on the spot. 

“I put in a lot of hard work. It seems like they made it almost impossible to get onto the ballot,” Zola said. She said she no longer trusts the petition validation process and ​“didn’t want to be involved.” 

Zola has been endorsed by the Republican Party and has a guaranteed place on the November general election ballot as a result. She remains a registered Democrat for now. ​“I will be working together with both parties or whoever wants to do the right thing,” she said.

Christmas did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Thomas Breen contributed to this report.