Democratic Town Committee Chooses Mayoral Candidate Tuesday

Both the Democratic Town Committee and Republican Town Committee will convene tomorrow at the to choose their slate of candidates for the November election.

Members from the committees will vote on their party’s candidates for mayor, City Council, and the Board of Education. The Democratic Town Committee will convene at 6 p.m., the Republican Town Committee an hour later.

On the Republican side, no one is contesting for mayor of New London. Pero has been on the City Council since 1995, and has worked for 12 years as a fraud investigator with the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection.

On the Democratic side, the field is more crowded. Vying for the nomination are , , and . , a registered Democrat who has also taken out papers to run for mayor, said she is not seeking the endorsement of the Democratic Town Committee.

Bill Satti, chairman of the Democratic Town Committee, said approximately 80 members of the committee will cast a vote to choose a nominee. Registrar of Voters Barbara Major said that if five percent of the registered Democrats in the city, or about 250 to 275 people, petition for a primary, such an election will be scheduled to determine the Democratic candidate.

The process virtually guarantees that such a runoff will take place. Buscetto and Finzio both say they will not pursue an independent run if they are not nominated, but will seek the Democratic nomination via primary if they do not receive the nod from the committee. Passero is asking for the Democratic nomination from the committee, but said he expects he will be chosen to fill a City Council seat if he is not nominated and will not pursue the mayor’s seat in a primary or as an independent candidate.

All three candidates have taken part in a at , a second debate on The Renshaw Report with Murray Renshaw, and a meet the candidates event put on by the Democratic Town Committee. Buscetto, a real estate developer who has been on the City Council since 2007, has said his business experience has prepared him to convert New London from the “city of potential” into the “city of prosperity.” He said he has held several fundraisers, worked to support youth sports, and sponsored events such as the fireworks at .

“I’d be honored to receive the nomination,” he said. “I’m just continuing to be active in the community. I’ve done nothing different than I’ve done my entire life.”

Finizio, an attorney who moved to New London last year, served on the Westerly City Council in Rhode Island from 2006 to 2008. He has been holding a series of public forums to discuss the aspects of a plan he put in place for various aspects of city government, campaigning door to door, and talking with Democratic Town Committee members. Finizio said he intends to go to primary if necessary because it opens up the voting to thousands rather than the dozens on the committee.

“I’ve said all along that I wasn’t campaigning merely for the endorsement,” he said.

Passero, an attorney and firefighter, began serving on the City Council in 2009. He has not launched a “full-fledged campaign” and said he would not do so unless he is nominated.

“I don’t know whether I’m running for mayor or not, and I won’t know that until July 19,” he said.

The meetings are open to members of the respective parties. Besides the candidates mentioned, current appointed mayor and realtor have entered the mayoral race.