ANSONIA — Welcome to the 2023 Ansonia Election Guide!

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 7.

For the second time in this publication’s 13-year history, every candidate for local office in Ansonia, Derby and Seymour was given the chance to share information about themselves and their candidacies with the public through The Valley Indy.

This year we posted a Google form, and used email to reach out to every political party leader and top-of-the-ticket candidate to ask them to spread the word about the form.

Those emails were sent in the first week of October, with a deadline of Oct. 24 — though the form was still accepting answers until the morning of Oct. 31.

We posted the info to Valley Indy Facebook for three weeks and mentioned the forms in two livestreams.

With the Ansonia Democrats specifically, the form was sent to the party’s candidate for mayor and to a former party chair. They were asked to distribute the info to the slate.

Candidate and Democratic Town Committee member Lynne Ann Schwarzenberg said on Nov. 2 that the info about the survey should have been sent directly to Ansonia Democratic Party leaders for distribution. She said candidates did not know about the opportunity.

We published all the responses we received below. As you can see, there are many Ansonia candidates missing.

BUT you can go to the following links to get info:

Facebook Ansonia Democrats

AND

Facebook Ansonia Republicans

You can also look at a sample Ansonia ballot, where all candidates are listed.

Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day.

Click here to double check your polling place.

Click here for information from the secretary of state on everything from absentee ballots to Election Day registration information.

CANDIDATES FOR MAYOR

Thomas Egan
– 35
– Office sought: Mayor
– Party: Democrat
– Years in city: Five
– Profession: lawyer
– Prior elected office: none
– Affiliations: Board of Advisors for the Valley Community Foundation

– Why are you running?
“I’m running for mayor because I deeply care about our community. I’ve lived here for many years, seen its highs and lows, and I truly believe we have the potential to be even better. I want to lead our city in a direction that creates opportunities for everyone, prioritizes the well-being of our residents, and ensures that we grow sustainably. I’m not just running for a title or position; I’m running to make a real, lasting difference in the lives of the people here.”

– What do you want to accomplish?
“There are several key areas I want to focus on. First, I want to ensure that our public services are efficient, accessible, and meet the needs of our residents. This includes everything from public transportation to parks and recreation. Secondly, I believe that every resident deserves a safe and secure environment, so I’ll be prioritizing public safety and community policing. Finally, I want to foster an environment where businesses can thrive and create jobs, while also making sure that our growth is sustainable and environmentally-friendly. It’s about balancing our immediate needs with our long-term goals, and I’m committed to making that happen.”

THE OTHER CANDIDATES FOR MAYOR

The Republicans are running incumbent Mayor David Cassetti.

Harry Danley, who is unaffiliated, is running as a petitioning candidate.

CANDIDATES FOR BOARD OF ALDERMEN

WARD 1

Gary Farrar Jr.
– 34
– Office sought: Ward 1 Alderman
– Party: Republican
– Years in town: 8
– Profession: I work for the City of Milford’s Animal Control Office
– Prior elected office: Currently a First Ward Alderman
– Affiliations: Opera House Committee, Charter Revision Commission, Ward Boundaries Commission, Middle School Building Commission, Ansonia & Shelton Fire Departments

– Why are you running?
“I want to continue to give back to my community and be a part of the new generation of leaders stepping up to serve in local government. I also want to make Ansonia a place where I can raise my daughter and feel proud to call home.”

– What do you hope to accomplish?
“I want to continue the amazing progress Ansonia has been seeing over the past ten years during its well-deserved renaissance. Its important to have a Board of Aldermen who have the same vision, along with our City’s Mayor, to move Ansonia forward without bias political mudslinging and deliberate roadblocks. Our community can’t afford to suffer from the same political game that plagues Hartford and Washington. If elected, I will continue to fight for Ansonia’s taxpayers and help provide a prosperous city for future generations to enjoy.”

Alisha Freelove
– 38
– Office sought: Ward 1 Alderman
– Party: Democrat
– Years in town: 9 years
– Profession: C.N.A
– Prior elected office: none
– Affiliations: Diversity Organization

– Why are you running?
“To make change in community.”

– What do you hope to accomplish?
“More families coming together for the community also helping to see if my ward can get rents lower.”

WARD 2

Steven Adamowski
– 72
– Office sought Ward 2 Alderman
– Party: Republican
– Years in town: I was born and raised in Ansonia; had formative opportunities as an Assumption Church Altar Boy, Boy Scout and working at Gardella’s Grocery Store after school; graduated AHS 68′; moved back from a professional career out of state to renovate my family home 12 years ago.
– Profession: Retired School Superintendent of 40 years; currently teaches data-based decision-making and strategic planning, part-time in the University of Connecticut Executive Leadership Program (ELP), a leadership preparation program for aspiring superintendents, and provides executive coaching to new superintendents who are graduates of this Program.
– Prior elected office: Ansonia 2nd Ward Alderman; elected two years ago
– Affiliations: I am active in several local and state-wide civic and professional organizations including the Board of Directors of the New England Science and Sailing Foundation and the Building Committee for the new Ansonia Middle School.

– Why are you running?
“To ‘give back’ to the community where I grew up by supporting Ansonia’s progress as a member of the Cassetti Team, participating in effective local government, and addressing the needs of Ansonia’s North End.”

– What do you hope to accomplish?
“I will continue to support Mayor Cassetti’s pro-taxpayer and pro-development policies that benefit all parts of the City and have led to Ansonia’s ‘turnaround’. Representing Ward 2 (the city’s oldest area) I will continue to be concerned about quality-of-life issues centered around aging infrastructure (housing, roads, sidewalks) noise reduction, reduction of speeding, home ownership, landlord accountability, and amenities necessary for maintaining a walkable, residential urban environment inclusive of families and seniors.

I strongly support the Ansonia Public Schools, the Ansonia Library, and the Ansonia Senior Center. My family (father and uncles) all spent their entire working lives in the Anaconda American Brass Company.

I believe the demolition, environmental remediation, and redevelopment of the 65-acre, old American Brass, SHW, and Farrel Co. industrial sites and their adjacent riverfront is the single most critical, long-term issue affecting the future of Ansonia, ultimately involving hundreds of millions of federal, state, and local dollars. If re-elected as a member of the Board of Aldermen, I hope to provide support, guidance, and encouragement to our excellent City staff to continue and accelerate the progress of this important undertaking.”

Jaylen Daniels
– 24
– Office sought: Second Ward Alderman
– Party: Democrat
– Years in town: Since fall of 2019
– Profession: Service Desk at Derby Home Depot
– Prior political office: none
– Affiliations: Naugatuck Valley Young Dems, and Ansonia Democratic Town Committee

– Why are you running?
“I’m currently running for office to add diversity of new ideas to the Board of Alders and ensure that renters and homeowners are paying fair prices during these trying economic times. As rent has been rising along with property tax increases, we need a closer inspection of our budget along with added transparency of purchases that the town is making. Along with a careful eye of the budget we should be focusing on improving are public schools and investing in after school programs for our youth.”

– What do you hope to accomplish?
“A policy proposal that I would push to be implemented in Ansonia would be a Fair Rent Commission. The implementation of this office would serve as a “middleman” for renters and landlords to assure that rent is being increased accordingly to prevent many of our residents from being priced out and forced to leave our town.”

William G. Phipps
– 80
– Office sought: Ward 2 Alderman
– Party: Democrat
– Years in town: 80
– Profession: retired
– Prior elected office: Ward 2 Alderman
– Affiliations: Ansonia Fire Dept. Webster Hose Co#3

– Why are you running?
“Give voters a choice.”

– What do you hope to accomplish?
“Bring my knowledge and experience to the decision making process of the city government.”

WARD 3

Thomas Finnucan
– 66
– Office sought: Third Ward Alderman
– Party: Democrat
– Years in town: 66
– Profession: I work for Community Solutions Inc a non profit that provides services to clients involved in the Criminal Justice system also retired from the Department of Correction
– Prior elected office: none

– Why are you running for office?
“Bring fiscal responsibility back to Ansonia.”

– What do you hope to accomplish?
“Return integrity and transparency to city hall.”

WARD 4

Rohan Brown
– 33
– Office sought: Ward 4 Alderman
– Party: Democrat
– Years in town: 8
– Profession: social worker
– Prior elected office: none

– Why are you running for office?
“I am running for office so that I may actively participate in the actions and the decision of what takes place in my town pertaining to matters of financing taxes, educational expenses and other items.”

– What do you hope to accomplish?
“If I am elected I would like to bring better clarity and better transparency to the process of running the city. I would hope to give residents an overall view of the process and the general public to make them aware of what funds are available and efficiently allocate those resources.”

WARD 5

Rosemarie Huggins
– 37
– Office sought: Ward 5 Alderman
– Party Democrat
– How long in town: Five years
– Profession: My job title is Nursing recruiter
– Prior elected office: none
– Affiliations: I belong to the following organizations, Love on Wheels movement, Universal Community Resource INC. Masters Table, Moms demand Action CT chapter, Emerge CT, and Food For the Hungry. I am also the co- chair for the ADTC Committee.

– Why are you running?
“There are many reasons as to why I am running for office. Here are a few… AS a resident of Ansonia, I’m tired of feeling left in the dark about decisions made in this town which affect all residents. Also, I do not feel the Alderman in the fifth ward are representing us residents at city hall with the best interests of the residents. I have been to city hall many times and speaking out about concerns regarding new development coming into town, and how it could affect us residents, and also speaking out about our budget being 90 days late, and I was met with a face that looked like they had a lemon in their mouths and hostility. The representation in Ansonia needs to include all people. I know, if elected I would make a great Alderman, I have never been afraid to standing up for what’s right and my decision will be based on the better of the community, and the people who live in it.”

– What do you hope to accomplish?
“If elected, I plan on working with the mayor and other members to work on bring fiscal reform back to Ansonia. Providing better funding for the education system. Bringing inclusion into Ansonia which would represent all people no matter what side of town you live on. Provide more community resources for the youth in the community.”

WARD 6

Daniel Stahl
– 66
– Office sought: Ward 6 Alderman
– Party: Democrat
– Years in town: 1.5 years
– Profession: Retired, now podcasting
– Prior elected office: none

– Why are you running?
“Ansonia has begun to recover from questionable decisions of earlier administrations. Current leadership is now making questionable long-term spending decisions that may return the town to its earlier financial peril. Without questioning dissent on the Board of Aldermen, unwise decisions may jeopardize the town and affect the financial buden of our taxpayers. Even though I am relatively new to Ansonia, I am compelled to provide my knowledge and insight and provide guidance to our town.”

– What do you hope to accomplish?
“I expect to provide an independent perspective to the operations, administration and decisions made by Ansonia. It is time to return to open, honest and competent leadership.”

Richard Tylinski
– 67
– Party: Democrat
– Years in town: 67
– Profession: Retired, 40 plus years in financial management.
– Prior elected office: none

– Why are you running?
“To bring more balance and diversity to city government.”

– What do you hope to accomplish?
“Improve city financial reporting and transparency. Reduce wasteful spending.”

WARD 7

Steven Erlingheuser
– 33
– Office sought: Ansonia Ward 7 Alderman
– Party: Democrat
– Years in town: 33
– Profession: Most recently, fulfillment associate at Amazon
– Prior elected office: none

– Why are you running?
“I am running on the principles of fair taxation, an improved educational system, and increased public safety.”

– What do you hope to accomplish?
“I want the city of Ansonia to become prosperous enough so that everyone is more comfortable living-wise, and to become welcoming enough so that everyone gets along and no one’s concerns are ignored.”

** Editor’s Note: the initial version of this story had Erlingheuser’s answers in the wrong ward**