3 Meet-&-Greets Reflect Campaigns Of 3 Would-Be Hamden Democratic Mayors

Standing on the stairs of attorney Charles Reed’s Santa Fe Avenue porch, Lauren Garrett laid out plans for next steps as a crowd of fundraiser guests managed to applaud while holding Truly’s, Polar Seltzers, and pizza slices.

Two days later, Peter Cyr seared burgers on the grill outside the East Gate Condos and chatted with family, community members, and hopeful high school supporters about his politics and his parents’ new puppy.

Meanwhile, Brad Macdowall moved between his treasurer’s living room, where community organizers consumed plates of chipotle mac and cheese, and the backyard, where he discussed the ins and outs of issues facing Hamden with familiar faces munching hot dogs and barbecued snacks.

Those three different meet-and-greets took place over the past week to promote the mayoral candidacies of three Democrats associated with the party’s progressive wing — events that symbolized the status and strategy of their campaigns.

Garrett, who launched her campaign months before Cyr and Macdowall, was the only one to throw a formal fundraiser last week. The event was made up primarily of community leaders investing a total of almost $4,000 to back her request to become Hamden’s next mayor.

Cyr’s cook-out was perhaps the most informal, strictly focused on encouraging community members to come out and meet him. He said he also wanted to provide a space for interns and campaign volunteers to relax and ​“have a good time.”

Macdowall’s event was somewhere in between those two: a casual chance to talk about improving Hamden with acquaintances and progressive allies — including many local organizers and activists. The event brought in over $1,000 via a ​“suggested contribution” system.

The events marked the beginning of a lead-up period preceding the Hamden Democratic Town Committee convention. On July 27, the DTC will endorse a single candidate to support moving forward in the race. That means their name will be listed first on the primary ballot and they’ll have access to campaign resources like cash, canvassers, and additional social platforms. The other two candidates will have to decide whether or not to petition to compete against that candidate in a September primary.

Garrett ​“Does Her Homework”

Last Wednesday, Hamden State Rep. Josh Elliott arrived at the home of Hamden Attorney Charles Reed to assure a group of campaign donors of the following: ​“Lauren Garrett is in an exceptional position to win ​‘Line A,’ to win a primary, and to win the election.”

Elliott joined DTC Vice Chair Elaine Dove, DTC member Katie Kiely, Legislative Council member Kristin Dolan and husband Michael Dolan, and Charlie Reed in hosting Garrett’s fundraiser. At the event, those six spoke about why they are supporting Garrett, and encouraged the captive crowd to back her as the Democratic choice for mayor.

Elliott argued that Garrett is the most connected candidate who could best negotiate with both state and local leaders.

Given that this is her second time running for mayor, he said, people around town will be more likely to vote for her, because they recognize her name and face.

“She is the most experienced and the most knowledgeable,” he asserted. ​“She might be working harder than she needs to, but it’s set her up to win.”

Off the ​“stage,” he added to this reporter, ​“I’m supporting her not because I’m not supporting the others, but because I’m supporting her,” referring to Cyr and Macdowall.

Other supporters had pinpointed Garrett as having the best chance to beat incumbent Mayor Curt Leng, who told the Independent he is currently ​“leaning towards running” for reelection (though it’s unclear whether he would do so as a Democrat or unaffiliated third-party candidate).

Elaine Dove said that she has known Leng for 25 years, and has found him consistently inaccessible. ​“I had to go to his house and hound him because he didn’t follow through,” she said. ​“Lauren will show up for work during the day.”

“The big difference between Lauren and the other candidates is not that Lauren wants the job, a lot of people want the job… It’s that she wants to DO the job. She wants to do the work, and she’s done the work. If you wanna know about any issue, ask Lauren,” Kristin Dolan added.

Katie Kiely, a second grade teacher at Ridge Hill, said she wouldn’t put herself in the ​“category” of ​“people who are upset with Curt” Leng, but would rather put Leng in the ​“category of people who care a lot about the town.”

“It’s good when you have multiple people vying for a position,” she reflected, asserting her belief that each candidate wants the best for Hamden.

Kiely said Garrett has earned her vote by consistently impressing her over the years by showing up to meetings, taking notes, and ​“really caring.”

As a teacher, Kiely attends Board of Education meetings to stay up to date. She said that for years, Garrett has shown up to take extensive notes at every meeting. Kiely would frequently ​“borrow them.”

In her own speech, Garrett said that since moving to Hamden in her 20s for a job ​“building boats,” she has become invested in ​“finding equitable solutions” to educational, environmental, and financial concerns.

As a ​“small business owner” (Garrett works in real estate), she highlighted her abilities to lead negotiations, pay down debt, and make smart investments.

Only a small portion of Wednesday’s crowd was new to Garrett. Ian and Jeanne Bjorkman, an attorney and an artist, came out to the fundraiser due to their friendship with Charlie Reed. Ian Bjorkman said that he found Garrett ​“dynamic and very impressive,” but he still only being introduced to her and would need to do more research.

Emmanuel Logiadis, a physician in Trumbull who came out because his friend, Amy Farber, was bartending, shared a similar story. His kids went to school with Mayor Leng’s, and he voted in the past based on baseline familiarity with candidates. ​“Local politics has not been my top issue the past five years,” he said, adding that he’s now trying to focus on ​“digesting” the current mayoral race.

Farber said that she’d vote for Garrett if she still lived in Hamden, as Logiadis does. She moved her kids to Orange because she found the Hamden school system unsatisfactory.

Both Farber and Logiadis have children with ADHD. Logiadis noted that he had to pay $3,000 for a specialist to assist his son with studying because Hamden did not provide him with enough support. ​“It worked,” he said. But, he noted, others don’t have that option. For those two, funding equitable education is one of their top concerns that they hope to see candidates focus on.

One of Charlie Reed’s favorite elements of Garrett’s campaign was her plan to enforce a maintenance calendar as a systematic method for keeping roads in check and spaces clean.

He said practical measures of progress should include ​“how our communities look and how our roads ride,” adding that the Hartford Turnpike ​“rumble strip” reminds him of a ​“third world country.”

Cyr: ​“The Record Breaker”

On Friday, Peter Cyr gathered with friends, family, and campaign-curious Hamden residents on the pavilion of the East Gate Condos for a laidback cook-out. This was his second event of the sort; Cyr’s treasurer, fellow Hamden High alumnus and friend Abraham Schwimmer, said that they recently held another dinner at ​“Peter’s mom’s house.”

For Cyr, the night was a chance to draw new folks into his campaign while building a greater sense of community within his ​“team”. The team includes family members and close friends, as well as young interns and students who Cyr calls the ​“little giants.”

Cyr, like Macdowall, spent his childhood in Hamden. After high school, however, he moved to California to study political science and economics at UC Berkeley. Unlike Garrett and Macdowall, who have both served on the Legislative Council, Cyr comes to the local race with professional experience primarily in state and federal-level politics.

His first job after graduating college was working as a field organizer for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign. After that, he worked in the Boston state house, as the Regional Organizing Director for the Connecticut Democratic Party, and as Senator Chris Murphy’s lead organizer on his #FightBackCT campaign.

Malorie Bogart, the best friend of Cyr’s older sister and reportedly a ​“distant relative of Humphrey Bogart,” said that ​“Peter has had a lot of enriching experiences that not all of us have the privilege to have,” asserting that she believes he has ​“grown and matured and done a lot of great work” over the years.

Attendee Micah Fleischman, who just graduated from high school this year, said he knew Peter Cyr’s name from the record board in the school pool, where he spent time as a member of the swim team.

Fleischman looked Cyr up when he found out he was running and saw that his cell phone number was listed in his Twitter bio. ​“That’s a cool thing,” he said. He sent Cyr a text. They started talking.

“He’s fresh, he’s younger and more receptive,” Fleischman said of Cyr. Fleischman is planning to study neurobiology at UCONN in the fall, and said he doesn’t ​“really like politics.” But he’s gotten more involved specifically because of his interest in Cyr’s campaign. (Cyr is 26, Macdowall 28, and Garrett 40.)

He invited his friends Blake Bezerra and Ezekiel Daye to the event so they could learn more about Cyr as well.

Bezerra, who graduated in 2020, confessed that ​“aside from the presidential campaign, I don’t vote.” But, he said, he cares about the environment and traffic control. He may need extra convincing to cast a ballot this November, but if he were to vote, he said, he’d probably vote for Cyr.

Ezekiel Daye, who was the valedictorian and senior president of his and Fleischman’s class, also came out at Fleischman’s suggestion.

He said he was intrigued to see a ​“younger candidate who went to college and then came back” to Hamden.

Daye, who is headed to MIT to study electrical engineering and computer science in the fall, said that some issues, like taxes and pension debt, are confusing and irrelevant to him as an 18-year-old voter. One issue does impact his daily life, he said: Roads. ​“Just driving out of my house is so difficult,” he said.

Fleischman added, ​“my mom does complain about the mill rate a lot.”

Daye and Fleischman said their civics teacher, Mr. Coss, has brought Legislative Council members and local politicians into the classroom over the years to introduce them to students.

Daye and Fleischman remembered when Lauren Garrett visited their AP Government class. They said when they ​“grilled her” with questions about the 3R initiative, ​“she didn’t have the answers.” That memory has stuck with them for years.

Charlton Daye, Ezekiel’s dad, followed his son out to the event because of Ezekiel’s enthusiasm.

“Older people have more experience,” Charlton Daye said, ​“but it’s all these promises, not end results.” He said he wants a final fix for Hamden’s potholes. ​“All I can see is potholes,” he said with a sigh. ​“It’s ridiculous. It’s a problem that can be solved.”

Sean Melvin, a junior at Guilford High School, won’t be able to vote like Daye and Fleischman. But he is one of the ​“little giants” who has been working on Cyr’s campaign this summer through a ​“Democracy Summer” program. Friday was the first day that he actually met Cyr in person.

Through Democracy Summer, Connecticut youth volunteer five hours a day, five days a week for their candidate of choice. Melvin chose Hamden because he said it was the ​“most interesting race,” as three candidates were running within the Democratic Party. ​“Guilford’s boring,” he said.

He said that he picked Cyr because ​“I’m younger, and he’s younger,” adding that it has been inspiring to see folks ​“just getting involved in politics fighting an established incumbent.”

Schwimmer, Cyr’s treasurer, also said that he thinks Cyr’s campaign has set an important example for youth within Hamden and in neighboring towns. He pointed out that older candidates typically have more personal funds to expend on campaigning than politicians who have recently graduated from college with student debt and loans. But, he said, Cyr has been successful in raising over $8,000 within a matter of months.

Macdowall: ​“Has Good Ethics.”

Despite thunderstorms Friday night, the backyard of Daniel Dunn, who is the treasurer for Brad Macdowall, was packed with people spilling out of the house’s kitchen and living room.

Jennifer Sacco, a DTC member and professor of political science at Quinnipiac University, followed her two daughters, Lily and Elyse, around the yard while they chased one another and enjoyed playing in the grass.

As with other parents at the event, one of her top concerns was ​“equitable allocation of resources towards education.” She added that she wants ​“teachers to be respected and acknowledged.”

Her support for Macdowall goes back to college, when he was her student in a class she taught on American political movements.

“He talked a lot!” she remembered.

She added that Macdowall was the person who actually prompted her to seek out a DTC seat. Years ago, he sent her a message on Facebook saying that he had seen her at town meetings and that he thought she should get involved with the DTC.

“He’s got a very good compass of understanding issues and the diversity of the town,” she said. ​“He’s got good ethics.”

As a DTC member, she is familiar with Cyr and knows Garrett well. ​“They’re both wonderful candidates,” she said. But, she clarified, ​“Brad” is the best.

Others came out to Macdowall’s event to support him even though they won’t be able to vote in Hamden.

Aili McKeen and husband Bruce Conroy, Democratic Party organizers, beekeepers, and dragonship fanatics, drove from Wallingford to say hello and donate to Macdowall.

Conroy is a member of Carpenters Local 326, which was established in 2018. He said Macdowall is on the ​“right side of the labor fence” and is more ​“in touch with working class voters than Lauren.”

Conroy and McKeen met Macdowall along with Council member Justin Farmer a few years ago while working to build a statewide coalition of Democratic representatives. ​“He is the most genuine,” Conroy said of Macdowall. ​“When you know Brad Macdowall, you know exactly what you’re getting.”

Like Cyr, Macdowall also had plenty of family members present at his event. His uncle, Glenn Zacarelli, came out for dinner with his two sons Nick and Ben. Glenn and Ben live in Hamden while Nick resides in Wallingford.

For the oldest Zacarelli, fixing ​“finances” is the most important part of the Hamden progress puzzle. ​“Crime is huge,” he added, and rising taxes ​“never changes, no matter who gets in office.”

He said he plans to cast his vote for his nephew — who’s ​“better than what we’ve had” — before moving ​“out east” to a more affordable town, like Madison or Killingworth.

Ben Zacarelli said that ​“social issues” are the most ​“emotional part” of Macdowall’s campaign. His family discussed how at every family gathering, Macdowall talks endlessly about the need for greater social equity in Hamden.

“He’s organized a bunch of rallies around those issues,” Ben noted.

Macdowall’s parents, Bobby and Scott Macdowall, said becoming the mayor of Hamden has always been his ​“dream.” Macdowall attended Bear Path elementary, then transferred to the arts magnet school Betsy Ross in New Haven to study percussion. He served as the vice president of his freshman class at Hamden High before being elected the president of his sophomore, junior, and senior classes each year after. He then chose to study at Quinnipiac.

His parents said that they thought Macdowall’s exposure to students from New Haven through to Derby at Betsy Ross informed his understanding of diversity within Hamden and neighboring towns early on. ​“I think he was able to win the office at school because he was not seen as one dimensional,” his father said.

Macdowall’s parents recently moved to Guilford, where Scott now works as the science department chair at Guilford High. Macdowall’s mother, Bobby, works at Hamden’s Helen Street elementary. ​“It’s at the southernmost end of town,” she said. ​“I see that everyday, kids come in hungry.”

“I grew up below middle class,” she said. Her dad worked at Yale and was ​“always on strike. We learned how to get by on less — there was not always food on the table.”

She said she is confident that food security and equity in education will be major focal points for her son should he win the mayoral office.

Inside the Hawthorne house, two couples familiar with one another from last year’s rallies against police brutality were getting the opportunity to catch up.

Andy Schaefer and Teresa Sandobal, physical therapists and wellness workers living in Hamden, sat in the living room chatting with Kirill Staklo and Eliot Olson, social justice organizers and transgender rights professionals who are located in New Haven.

They all remembered when Brad Macdowall, who was then serving his third year on the Legislative Council, was pepper-sprayed by an officer during a protest at the New Haven police department. ​“He was actually putting his body in front of Black organizers,” Staklo said.

“I was like, ​‘Wow … you’re here,’” Olson recalled.

“It’s rare to see anything but lip service from politicians,” Staklo added. ​“He’s actually out there supporting people in the struggle.”

Staklo said that when Macdowall saw them at Friday’s fundraiser, the first thing he did was take them aside and say, ​“I want to know exactly what the trans community needs.”

“He’s not making assumptions,” Staklo concluded. ​“He’s deferring to us.”

Sandobal said that she and Schaefer met Macdowall through Justin Farmer, one of their close friends. She also recalled seeing Macdowall at a police brutality rally in Bridgeport as well.

Daniel Dunn, the host of the event and Macdowall’s treasurer, met Macdowall through Facebook. Dunn serves on the town’s Technology Commission, and has been vocal about the town’s inability to communicate with residents and volunteers, many of whom do significant labor for Hamden free of charge. He said Macdowall was the only Legislative Council member to follow up with him when he was working to solve a series of IT issues plaguing Hamden.

Since then, Dunn and Macdowall have bonded over their consensus that ​“we have a responsibility to the most vulnerable.”

“That needs to be clear,” Dunn said. ​“Right now, the town’s priorities and responsibilities aren’t clear to me.”

Intra-Party Competition: Healthy Or Harmful?

On July 13th, after candidates filed fundraising reports and started planning campaigning events, Lauren Garrett posted on Facebook that a ​“3‑way primary would be very messy and could give us an outcome that is antithetical to a key motivation for the current contenders for mayor (i.e., removing the current administration from power and beginning to right the ship on behalf of all of Hamden’s residents).”

In that post, she committed not to primary should she not win the endorsement of the DTC on July 27.

All three candidates have expressed their confidence that they will win the DTC vote. However, in response to Garrett’s post, Peter Cyr asserted that in the case that he does not win the convention, he still plans to petition.

Brad Macdowall also said that ​“everything’s on the table.”

“The issues are gonna get talked about one way or another,” he asserted.