By mid-afternoon on Wednesday, we began hearing that Bronin had won the primary election. What began as hopeful speculation by some, weeks in advance, morphed into declarations of emphatic conviction hours before the polls closed.
Throughout the day, the Segarra campaign sent several messages to the press, providing a changing schedule for which polls the incumbent would be standing at. It was said that in lieu of campaign mailers, Segarra’s efforts would be entirely focused on primary day campaigning.
On Tuesday it was said that his schedule for primary day was supposed to be:
6:00-6:45 a.m. Poll standing at Grace Lutheran at 46 Woodland Street
7:00-7:30 a.m.: Vote at 7:00 a.m., poll standing at Hartford Seminary
8:10-8:45 a.m.: Poll standing at Liberty Christian at 23 Vine Street
9:00-9:45 a.m.: Breakfast at Mo’s Midtown Restaurant at 25 Whitney Street. This is a cash-only restaurant.
10:00-10:30 a.m.: Poll standing at the House of Restoration at 1665 Main Street
10:45-11:15 a.m.: Poll standing at Annie Fisher Montessori Magnet School, 280 Plainfield Street
11:20-11:50 a.m.: Poll standing at the North End Senior Center 80 Coventry Street
12:00-12:30 p.m.: Poll standing at the Rawson School on Holcomb Street
12:40-1:15 p.m.: Lunch at Dunn’s River Jamaican Restaurant, 2996 Main Street
1:30-2:00 p.m.: A “stop-by” visit to El Comerio with State Reps. Minnie Gonzalez and Edwin Vargas at 158 Park Street
2:15-2:45 p.m.: A visit to the Parkville Senior Center 11 New Park Avenue
3:00-3:30 p.m.: Poll standing at Mary Hooker Magnet School at 440 Broadview Terrace
3:40-4:10 p.m.: Poll standing at Bulkeley High School at 300 Wethersfield Avenue
4:20-4:50 p.m.: Poll standing at the Dutch Point Community Center 137 Wyllys Street
5:00-5:20 p.m.: Poll standing at Burns Elementary School at 195 Putnam Street
5:30-6:00 p.m.: Poll standing at Learning Corridor 15 Vernon Street
6:20-6:50 p.m.: Poll standing at South End Senior Center 830 Maple Avenue
7:10-7:30 p.m.: Poll standing at Anderson Parker Recreation Center at 2621 Main Street
8:30-9:00 p.m.: Arrival at Nixs Place at 40 Front Street
But just after 1 on Wednesday, another message was sent out, saying that as of “1:11 p.m., the Mayor will be at the North End Community Center at 80 Coventry Street for the next hour. He will then be moving onto Rawson School on Holcomb Street. A more detailed list will be sent out soon.”
And then again:
2:50-3:30 p.m.: Poll standing at Burns Elementary School at 195 Putnam Street
3:40-4:20 p.m.: Poll standing at Mary Hooker Magnet School at 440 Broadview Terrace
4:30-5:10 p.m.: Poll standing at Bulkeley High School at 300 Wethersfield Avenue
5:20-5:50 p.m.: Poll standing at the Dutch Point Community Room at 15 Patsie Williams Way
6:15-6:40 p.m.: Poll standing at the Learning Corridor at 15 Vernon Street
7:00-7:30 p.m.: Poll standing at Anderson Parker Recreation Center at 2621 Main Street
8:30-9:00 p.m.: Arrival at Nixs Place at 40 Front Street
The last minute scramble from the Segarra campaign included filing some kind of complaint against Luke Bronin’s wife for using her work email to send out a message to an unofficial listserv asking for poll monitors.
This primary day drama followed the Real Hartford exposure of what appears to be either a zoning code violation or address fraud: we requested an explanation from the Segarra campaign and never received it, though the initial comment did indicate that the mayor was known to rent out an apartment on his property.
Following months of fighting, inflammatory propaganda from those aligned with a campaign, and at least one public tantrum, hundreds of people gathered at the Polish National Home for Luke Bronin‘s election night party.
Moments after walking in the door, the whispers and phone messages began– Segarra was conceding the primary election.
A few hours later this news was released officially by his campaign after 10 p.m., adding to the ongoing uncertainty of whether or not the incumbent would continue running: “While I am disappointed in tonight’s results, this does not change my commitment to this campaign nor the people of Hartford,” he said.
The campaign claimed that Segarra received 46% of the vote. Unofficial results from other sources put the number at 45%.
Segarra’s campaign added: “The Mayor had petitioned his way onto both the September and November ballot. The Mayor appears as an Independent candidate on the November ballot. The Mayor has previously asserted that if he lost the primary, he would continue to campaign onto the general election. However, as of Wednesday night he had not yet made a decision as to the direction of his campaign.”
All of the endorsed Democrats also won the votes needed in the primary. Let the countdown to November 4th begin!
Justin
Machine politics made me do it! I’ve been tricked.
Rest up buddy. Rest up.
Richard
It is even more important that folks put their votes behind the Working Family Party in November. Let’s elect all five so we can have truth, honesty and folks that we known as comrades bringing us to the day as the old saying goes, from the ashes of the old world a better world is in birth. Go WFP!!