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Mayor Elicker: "Honored" to accept WFP's endorsement, again.
Incumbent Democratic Mayor Justin Elicker and Republican challenger Steve Orosco are both slated to appear on two lines apiece on November’s general election ballot — now that Elicker has been cross-endorsed by the Working Families Party.
Elicker, who was endorsed by the local Democratic Party in July, filed that Working Families Party nomination with the City Clerk’s office on Tuesday.
The form states that Elicker has accepted the nomination of the Working Families Party to appear on the Nov. 4 ballot for the office of mayor on the Working Families Party line.
The Working Families Party is a left-leaning political organization that cross-endorses Democrats who are aligned with the values of “fighting to reduce inequality and striving to achieve a multi-ethnic, multi-racial, multi-faith, egalitarian society,” as the CT Working Families Party website puts it.
The nomination means that Elicker will appear on the Nov. 4 general election ballot as the Democratic candidate for mayor as well as the Working Families Party candidate for mayor.
Elicker told the Independent on Tuesday that he’s “honored” to accept the Working Families endorsement, which he also received in 2023. He said he and the Working Families Party are aligned on goals to expand access to affordable housing, expand revenue for the state, and increase protections for immigrant communities. “It’s time for us to have a unified and coherent strategy to confront Donald Trump,” he said.
Orosco, a mixed-martial artist and frequent candidate for local office, will also appear on two separate lines on the Nov. 4 ballot.
He has been endorsed by the local Republican Party as well as by a newly formed local chapter of the Independent Party, which often serves as a center-right / libertarian-leaning mirror to the Working Families Party in statewide politics.
On Aug. 27, Independent Party New Haven Town Committee Chair Nickelle Cooper filed a letter with the city clerk’s office, addressed to Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas, that states that the committee held a caucus on Friday, Aug. 22, and endorsed Orosco for mayor. Also on Aug. 27, Orosco filed a separate letter with the clerk’s office indicating that he accepts the Independent Party New Haven Town Committee’s endorsement for mayor, and requesting that he be listed on the Nov. 4 ballot as the Independent Party’s mayoral candidate.
Neither Elicker nor Orosco is facing a primary challenge on Sept. 9, meaning that they have already locked up the Democratic and Republican nominations, respectively, for the November general election.