Garcia On The Trail: Doors Opened

(Updated) New Haven’s Gerry Garcia didn’t succeed in his quest to become the first Latino endorsed by a major party for statewide office in Connecticut — but he and his campaign ​“opened doors,” he told supporters at a post-election gathering at Christy’s bar on Orange Street.

Garcia lost the Democratic nomination for secretary of the state to State Rep. Denise Merrill. It was an energetic quest.

Read on for a primary day diary of the travels of a secretary of the state candidate looking to make history.

9:15 a.m.: The classic primary day photo-op turned into a chance for Gerry Garcia to highlight one of his top issues.

Garcia, a candidate for secretary of the state in today’s Democratic Primary and the only New Havener running for statewide office this year, came to Wilbur Cross High School to cast his own ballot and shake a few hands. Garcia hopes to make history at the polls today, by becoming the first Latino ever nominated by a major party for a Connecticut Constitutional office.

Garcia’s father, Felix, arrived at the polls around the same time as his son — only to be told there was trouble with his registration.

Felix Garcia, 73, changed his registration from Republican to Democrat in January, his son said. But he was still listed as a Republican when he went
to vote.

Gerry Garcia’s campaign obligations forced him to leave before the problem was fixed, but he said his dad’s problem is indicative of a much larger
issue — one that, if elected to the position of Connecticut’s top elections official, he would have the power to address.

“This is part and parcel of what I’ve been talking about,” said Garcia, who has promised to create a database that would allow real-time tracking of
voter information.

10:30 a.m. Today’s larger focus, however, is getting on the general election ballot. So Garcia is hurtling around the state in a silver Honda CR‑V, accompanied by his wife, Magda, and a box of campaign literature. After a stop in East Haven, Garcia is headed for more politicking in Bridgeport. We’re riding along.

11:30 a.m.: The gray drizzle enveloping the New Haven area yielded to bright, warm weather in Bridgeport, but campaign volunteers still outnumbered voters at Luis Munoz Marin School.

Garcia encountered an additional hurdle here: Campaign workers armed with sample ballots showing only Line A candidates, including Garcia’s opponent, House Majority Leader Denise Merrill. Line A lists the candidates endorsed by the state party convention in May.

Garcia’s name is nowhere to be found, since he’s aligned with the Line B candidates, including gubernatorial hopeful Ned Lamont.

A visibly upset Garcia said he was disappointed in Line A gubernatorial candidate Dan Malloy, who Garcia said had promised not to run a line-only strategy.

“They put up Line A door hangers, with no mention of Line B,” Garcia said. ​“It’s really dirty politics.”

Garcia moved on to other Bridgeport polling places, including one where volunteers called out, ​“Vote Line B!”

Garcia said he has good relationships with both Ned Lamont and Malloy in the gubernatorial primary. Some Garcia supporters statewide had hoped that an informal alliance with Line B candidates would help draw some benefit from Ned Lamont’s largely self-financed $9.1 million campaign chest; New Haven’s Democratic machine is pushing a Line B ticket (read about that here), while in other areas Garcia is on good terms with some Line A candidates.

“A lot of people are voting Line A, and then coming over to Line B to vote for us,” he said. ​“It all comes down to trusting the process. We’re working very hard on getting our message out.”

Now we’re off to Westport.

1 p.m. The low turnout — just 100 people have cast ballots at Saugatuck Elementary in Westport — has Garcia talking about changing the way elections are held in Connecticut. A proponent of early voting, Garcia said he’d push for major changes to make voting easier.
​“We have institutionalized barriers to voting,” he said.

Saugatuck was the most fertile ground for voter meet-and-greets, although it also was the most diverse in terms of party registration.

The Honda is on the road again, headed for Stamford. 

1:30 p.m. Getting off Interstate 95, Magda Garcia whoops at the sight of one of her husband’s signs.

“I like Garcia signs in the wild,” Gerry Garcia said.

The signs keep cropping up as the candidate moves through parts of Stamford, especially in Hispanic areas. Stamford coordinator Eva Padilla has been scattering the signs around, as well as organizing phone banks and other activities.

“I have people making calls, making sure people know there’s a Latino in there,” Padilla said. ​“To me, it’s important to have a Latino in this state. It’s about time, you know.”

Padilla said she believes in Garcia not just because of his heritage, but also because he’s a strong candidate.

“That’s what’s important,” she said.

Garcia is clearly frustrated by the sparse turnout. But he keeps shaking hands and making the pitch, enduring Grateful Dead jokes and asking for votes. Sometimes he mentions how his candidacy can make history. Mostly, though, he’s just trying to close a deal.

“It’s really more the personal contact at this point, ” he said. ​“You don’t start the campaign from scratch. You show the personal touch.”

Magda breaks in, ebullient at having secured another voter’s support. Magda is Polish, and she’s quick to pitch in across languages.

“I got a Russian person to vote for you!” she exclaims. ​“I spoke in Polish because she said in English she didn’t understand.”

3 p.m. Outside Columbus Magnet School in Norwalk, Beatriz Ruiz, Luz Ramirez and Aleyda Gonzalez are wearing tie-dyed Garcia T‑shirts and handing out campaign literature in Spanish. They’ve been out since 8 a.m.; this is their third stop. Garcia’s visit is clearly the highlight of the day, and they chatter excitedly with him.

“We need representation for the Latino community,” Ruiz said.

4 p.m. At any other time, Gerry Garcia would have been working this union-heavy crowd in Norwalk, looking for votes. But this was Brian Petronella’s wake at the Magner Funeral Home, a politics-free zone on the most important political day of Garcia’s life.

Garcia wiped away tears as he offered condolences to the family of Petronella, a longtime president of the UFCW Local 371 and the brother of Garcia’s campaign treasurer. Garcia has a long history with the union: his father was a fixture, and Garcia got a college scholarship from the organization.

“It really does bring you back down to Earth,” Garcia said of Brian Petronella’s sudden death.

Many in the crowd were sporting ​“I Voted” stickers. Garcia said he heard plenty of encouragement from his fellow mourners.

It’s back to campaigning now for the final hours before the polls close, and Garcia is heading for Waterbury feeling optimistic.

6 p.m. Gerry Garcia is tired. It’s been a long day, and there are still two hours to go before the polls close. As Garcia leaves his car at Maloney Magnet School in Waterbury, his once-crisp blue button-down shirt and khakis are rumpled, clear victims of the long drives and the day’s sticky heat.

Then Garcia sees the supporters and the signs lined up at the school. He darts across a street so quickly, he’s nearly hit by a car.

Jose Santos of Waterbury (pictured at the top of the story.) is wearing two Garcia yard signs taped together to make a hat. He said he wore a similar getup for a winning candidate a couple years back.

“I hope it’s good luck this time,” Santos said.

Santos said a Garcia win would send a message to state Latinos about possibilities, just as Barack Obama’s election did.

Ronnie Vazquez, a major supporter, said the diversity in Garcia’s own life is his greatest strength. Garcia’s dad is Hispanic; his mom is Jewish.

“A variety of people can identify with him, and that’s his selling point, ” Vazquez said. ​“Even if they’re not Hispanic, they can identify with that culture, and with someone who hasn’t had all the opportunities.”

Rushing to the finish — with stops in Hartford before a New Haven homecoming — Garcia has regained his energy. The low turnout, he thinks, might have put victory within reach.

“Waterbury, you guys are awesome!” Garcia said as he drove past one more sign on the way out of town.

7:45 p.m. Garcia is closing out the day in Hartford, racing between precincts to thank the volunteers who have spent hours cajoling voters. There are hugs, handshakes and lots of bilingual thank-yous.

“You can’t buy this,” Garcia mused. ​“I tell you, if we lose, I’m going to miss this, that’s for sure.”

Everyone he met said they thought he got lots of votes in their precinct. He’ll find out soon enough.

After 12 hours and 15 stops, there’s nothing to do but wait.

9 p.m.A few less-than-encouraging results began trickling in on the drive back from Hartford. A phone call reported the especially disappointing news that Garcia lost Hamden, part of his home turf.

He and his wife headed to their East Rock home to decompress and wait for complete results. Garcia said he wasn’t sure when he would appear at his campaign’s victory party at Christy’s in downtown New Haven.

10:20 p.m. Garcia joined roughly 100 supporters enjoying buffalo wings, baked ziti and cocktails to tell them that he had called Denise Merrill to concede, and pledged to work for Democrats in November.

Entering to chants of ​“Gerry! Gerry!” and a Garcia-themed song, the candidate told his disappointed boosters that, while they fell short of the ultimate goal of putting a Latino on a statewide ballot, they had succeeded in opening doors.

“Together we have shown that we matter, that we count, that we deserve that seat at that table,” Garcia told the crowd. ​“Let this be a part of the next step in our journey.”

After the speech, Garcia said that he plans to be at Wednesday’s unity rally for Democrats, and that he will work hard to see that the state elects a Democratic governor in November.

He said he wouldn’t have done anything differently in his campaign, but added that he was distressed by some of the tactics.

“I was disappointed by the Line A strategy,” Garcia said. ​“I thought that was really cheap.”

Garcia said he’s not certain of his next political step, but that there certainly will be one.

“This is not the end,” he said.