Latest news with #StacyGould
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Norwich city election is Nov. 4: Key dates, open seats and what you need to know
While Norwich's city election is over six months away, there's a lot that happens between now and then. Up for election this year are the mayor, the city treasurer, all six City Council seats, and all nine Board of Education seats. Due to minority representation rules, at least two seats of the City Council (including the mayor) and three seats of the Board of Education will be held by people not in the majority party. For Democrats, the mayoral candidate is Swarnjit Singh, who announced his candidacy in March. The rest of the candidates will be announced in July, Democratic Town Committee Chair Kevin Saythany said. The Republican mayoral candidate is Stacy Gould, who announced her candidacy April 26. The Republicans have other candidates in mind but have not announced them yet, Town Committee Chair Rob Dempsky said. People can run in the party where they are registered. They will have to make a pitch to their party's committee about why they are suited for the position they want, Saythany said. A Norwich Democrat who would like to run for office should contact Saythany at A Norwich Republican who would like to run for office should contact Dempsky at RJDNorwichRTC@gmail,com. File photo of a Norwich voter in Nov. 2024. Primaries The two major parties in Norwich can only nominate up to one mayoral candidate, one treasurer candidate, six City Council candidates and six Board of Education candidates. If a party makes its nominations and still has empty seats on its ticket, an individual of that party can file a petition with the state and run for that party, Dempsky said. If a party has nominated all the seats for a given office, and someone else from that party would like to run, they can file a petition with the state to trigger a primary. If a primary happens, the vote would take place before September. Voters only vote in a primary held by their political party, Saythany said. Key voting dates This year's general election date is Nov. 4. The last day to register by mail is Oct. 17. While it's preferred that people register to vote in advance, same-day registration is available at City Hall, Norwich Republican Register Diane Slopak said. Currently, there are no ballot questions, though the Norwich City Council could send the decision to fund a new downtown police station to referendum. The City Council will have to make that decision this summer, Norwich Mayor Peter Nystrom said. Absentee ballots are available in Connecticut. This year, anyone can request an absentee ballot if they are registered and fill out an application, Slopak said. Absentee ballots can be brought to the city clerk, or to the drop box outside City Hall. Absentee ballots will be made available on Oct. 3. The last day to issue an absentee ballot is Nov. 3 and it must be submitted by 10 a.m. on Election Day, Slopak said. Early voting is also available in Connecticut, open to everyone. A voter will go to the early voting location, and be checked to see if they're an eligible voter. Next, they receive a ballot to fill out. The vote will be sealed until counting on election night, the Connecticut Secretary of State's website says. Norwich will collect early voting ballots from Oct. 20 to Nov. 2. These ballots will be collected from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Norwich City Hall, with hours on Oct. 28 and Oct. 30 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The early voting must be done in person, Slopak said. On Election Day, the polls around Norwich open at 6 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. After the polls close, the ballots are counted in the Registrar of Voters' Office at Norwich City Hall. The counting usually finishes before midnight, Saythany said. This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Norwich CT city election to decide mayor, treasurer, City Council seats
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Education, Dodd Stadium and jobs: Five takeaways from the May 5 Norwich City Council meeting
Long Norwich City Council Meetings are how you know budget season is in full swing. The council held a regular meeting on Monday, May 5. The chambers were packed with people who wanted to talk about the Board of Education budget and the future of Dodd Stadium, as the city council adopted a preliminary budget. The next public hearing for the budget is on May 12 at 7:30 p.m. The City Council has to adopt a budget by 11:59 p.m. on June 9, or else the City Manager's proposed budget from April 7 will automatically be adopted. Here are five takeaways from this week's City Council Meeting. Board of Education The Norwich City Council had proposed a $956,809 reduction to the Norwich Board of Education's increase as proposed by the draft budget, which would have yielded a no increase year. Superintendent Susan Lessard said the ad-hoc committee did not have the chance to review the work of City Manager John Salomone's 1% budget increase, instead of the 4.5% the Board of Education originally requested. This is at a time when other area districts are requesting around a 5.5% increase, she said. The Ad Hoc Committee would meet the following night on May 6, Lessard said. The Board of Education approached its budget differently this year by involving the city council early in the process, and already included significant reductions, Lessard said. 'We did this in good faith and with trust in the process,' she said. Lessard said that a 1% increase is not sustainable but can be made to work for fiscal year 2025-2026. During the past two years the district already cut and demoted numerous administrators to math and reading specialists and classroom teachers. City Councilmember Stacy Gould was one of the sponsors of the cut. She was encouraged by what Lessard said, and, urging Lessard to stay within the 1% increase figure, she opted to withdraw the agenda item. Norwich Sea Unicorns General Manager Lee Walter, Jr. talks with Norwich City Councilmembers Stacy Gould and Bill Nash after the meeting Monday night. Dodd Stadium While there was an agenda item concerning listing Dodd Stadium for sale, the council decided to postpone any decisions until the fiscal year 2025-2026 budget is completed. Dodd Stadium has been a staple of Norwich for 30 years, and had been home to minor league baseball teams until 2019, when Major League Baseball took away its affiliation from the then Connecticut Tigers and many other teams across the country. The now Norwich Sea Unicorns have been successful in the college ball Futures League, winning the past two championships. Large community events, including the Greater Norwich Area Chamber of Commerce's Healthy Living Festival, use it as event space. However, it costs the city up to $300,000 annually to operate it, and the stadium is due for maintenance. There was vocal support for the city not selling Dodd Stadium from both people who work for the team and community members. One community member who spoke in support was Brandon Hyde, who said the stadium is a place of unity in a currently divided world. 'I understand there are costs and challenges, but the cost of losing this is far greater than the price of preserving it,' he said. The only community member who spoke against the stadium was Joanne Philbrick. She questioned how many of the team's employees are actually Norwich residents and reminded the city council they need to reduce the tax burden for seniors, she said. After the meeting, Sea Unicorns General Manager Lee Walter thought it was smart to postpone the vote. 'We know how much of a burden things are in the city, but I just don't want them to gloss over what Dodd Stadium means and what our organization brings to the city,' he said. 'I want it to be a creative discussion, and this allows time for it to happen.' Walter wants to work on creating more events and activities alongside baseball so Dodd Stadium doesn't have an annual cost to the city, he said. Staples City Council President Pro Tempore Joe DeLucia wanted to know if the Norwich Community Development Corporation or the City of Norwich itself had made any attempt to save the Norwich Staples location, which is expected to close next week. The business provides valuable services and residents will now have to travel to New London, he said. Norwich Mayor Peter Nystrom said he called Staples' corporate office, but nobody returned his call. DeLucia still wants to see if something can be done. With Hartford Healthcare taking over Staples' spot, Nystrom reminded the public that HHC is still a tax-paying entity in the city. Firefighters Firefighting is still a partisan issue in Norwich. One agenda item the city council considered, and eventually failed, was reductions to the police department, public works, and both paid and volunteer fire departments. After the city council decided to vote on the funds for the volunteer fire department separately, it declined to cut funds for the police, paid firefighters, and public works. Gould wanted the volunteer departments to keep their money because it goes directly to firefighting, because the volunteers work for free, she said. DeLucia countered that while volunteer firefighters save Norwich money, they still cost the city $1.5 million a year once you figure in factors like a special tax abatement and the relief fund. Gould responded by saying not every volunteer firefighter in the city benefits from those programs, and she felt it was unfair to cut from volunteers if the police, public works and paid fire department kept its money, she said. The cut to the volunteer fire departments also failed. One job saved At the April 16 Public Hearing, Sally Masse explained to the council the importance of her job as the Rose City Senior Center Receptionist, and advocated to keep her job. After that, Norwich Human Services Director Kate Milde spoke with City Comptroller Josh Pothier, and they decided Masse's job could be saved for at least fiscal year 2025-2026 through being half paid by city money and half paid from the opioid settlement funds. City Councilmember Shiela Hayes wants to see if opioid settlement funds can be used to also save other city jobs, including Jake Dilts' role as an assistant program manager for Norwich Human Services and as the coach of the Norwich Raptors youth rugby team. This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Five takeaways from the May 5 Norwich City Council Meeting
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Stacy Gould announces campaign for Norwich mayor at rally at City Hall
Despite the rain, a crowd gathered at Norwich City Hall on Saturday, April 26 for City Councilmember Stacy Gould's mayoral campaign rally. Gould wants to be mayor of Norwich, so she can continue to work on projects in the city. Projects in the city include turning the site of the Capehart Textile Mill into a waterfront park and updates to Fontaine Field. 'Norwich has a renewed vitality, a new energy, a new momentum, and we're full of possibilities,' Gould said. If elected mayor, Gould wants to incentivize Norwich building owners with vacant storefronts to invest in their buildings. She also wants to work with the Norwich Community Development Corporation to seek federal and state grants that enhance Norwich residents' quality of life. More: "There's so much going on in the City of Norwich," Gould announces her mayoral run A resident of Norwich her entire life, Gould serves on a number of boards in the city, including the city council, recreation advisory board, public works & capital improvements committee as well as the school building committee. 'I served on all of those committees because I needed to find out what was going on in the city, what was happening, what was important,' Gould said. 'And, I wanted to be part of the solution.' Current Norwich Mayor Peter Nystrom has served in that role for 12 years and wants to pass the torch to Gould. 'I know that she's gonna help every citizen in this city because that's what the job is,' Nystrom said. 'A mayor cannot go into office thinking that it's gonna be my way. That's not what it's about.' This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Republican Stacy Gould announces candidacy for Norwich mayor
