List of Norwalk Dems seeking election swells by nine

Updated, 2:36 p.m., three new candidates; 2 a.m. Dec. 31, headline changed to reflect that

NORWALK, Conn. – Joe Perella, who ran in November as an unaffiliated candidate on the Republican ticket  to represent Norwalk’s District A on the Board of Education, has thrown his hat into the ring to be a Democratic Town Committee member.

So have Beth Siegelbaum, John Metsopolous and Lisa Nuzzo in District C, as well as Robert Hard and Tony Ditrio in District D.

So now, four of five districts have more candidates than positions available in the January caucuses, but DTC Chairman Ed Camacho said he is hoping to avoid primaries this spring.

The DTC voted last year to expand its membership from seven members per district to 11 per district, meaning a total of 55 instead of 35.

“I think that there are people that wanted to get onto the DTC that weren’t able in District A and other places,” Camacho said, explaining that move. “I think expanding the DTC and getting other people involved is only good for the party and the process.”

As of Tuesday, there were 12 candidates in District A, 16 in District B, 12 in District C and District D, and 10 in District E.

DTC member Nora King said current DTC member Mike Barbis would be running for re-election, although he has not yet notified Democratic registrar Stuart Wells. Barbis has not replied to an email inquiry.

Ditrio is principal of Kendall Elementary School and president of the Norwalk Association of School Administrators. Metsopoulos, a former state representative and selectman in Fairfield, failed in his bid to represent District C on the Common Council, and Hard fell short as a District D Council candidate.

Perella had originally sought the Democratic endorsement for BoE but dropped out as District A roiled in turmoil, explaining later that he did the math and realized that the district vote would have split evenly if he stayed in, allowing Chairman David Watts to say that the endorsement vote had been close. By dropping out, Dr. Yvel Crevecoeur was the clear winner, and went on the win an August primary against Nicol Ayers.

Perella was then endorsed by the Republicans. Crevecoeur won the election.

Perella did not respond to a Tuesday email. Nuzzo, who ran unsuccessfully for the Board of Education in District C, did.

“I want to see Norwalk, the City, its educational system, and everything in between, continue to move forward, and this can only be done with the right people in place,” Nuzzo wrote. “I want to assist District C in choosing the best candidates for each election, as well as making District C a positive example of people working together to make Norwalk a better City for everyone!”

The District C race was close. Nuzzo took 1,417 votes in November, compared to 1,483 for Republican BoE Chairman Mike Lyons. Does she plan to run again?

“I cannot firmly say yes or no,” Nuzzo said. “… I recently took a Board position with Babe Ruth Baseball.  Another one of my passions – youth sports. I am director of fundraising and marketing. I look forward to a productive year of helping to raise funds for Babe Ruth and keep our youth active and safe on and off the field!”

The list of candidates, provided by Wells on Tuesday:

District A

1. Nicol Ayers
2. Julie Corbett
3. Andy Garfunkel
4. Laoise King
5. Eloisa Melendez
6. Rosa Murray
7. Elsa Peterson Obuchowski
8. Juanita Olguin
9. Joe Perella
10. Broderick Sawyer
11. Jalin Sead
12. Steve Serasis

District B

1. Erik Anderson
2. Phaedrel “Faye” Bowman
3. Edwin Camacho (Current DTC chairman)
4. Ernest Dumas
5. Raymond Dunlap
6. Maria Fernanda Flores
7. Michael Geake
8. Mary Geake
9. Manny Langella
10. Mike Mushak
11. Travis Simms
12. Sharon Stewart
13. David Westmoreland
14. Howard White
15. Michael Witherspoon
16. Martha Dumas

District C:

1. Adonis Filpo
2. Taber Hamilton
3. John Hauter
4. John Kydes
5. John Metsopoulos
6. Lisa Nuzzo
7. Pam Parkington
8. Brenda Penn-Williams
9. Kevin Poruban
10. Beth Siegelbaum
11. Doug Stern
12. Johnnie Mae Weldon

District D

1. Kay Anderson
2. Tony Ditrio
3. Bob Hard
4. Bruce Kimmel
5. Diane Lauricella
6. Patricia Marshock
7. Lynne Moore
8. Warren Pena
9. Marilyn Robinson
10. Nick Sacchinelli
11. Crystal Santiago
12. Joseph Tamburri

District E

1. John Igneri
2. Nora King
3. Ronald Kowalski
4. Tom Livingston
5. Frank Nash
6. Naomi Oppmann
7. Lucia Rilling
8. Kate Tepper
9. Patricia Tinto
10. Galen Wells

Sead, then 23, won the Democratic endorsement to be a Common Council candidate in District B but lost the primary.

“I am very excited to serve the city in any capacity that I can, I love Norwalk, and specifically District A,” Sead said in an email. “I look to bring positive energy, and a team player attitude to the DTC, and District A. The district needs a diverse group of leadership that will represent the wonderfully diverse district, that is District A. We need to work on the healing process to move forward. That does not mean pushing out people that you disagree with, but finding ways to utilize everyone’s opinions and ideas, and working towards compromises for the best outcomes. I look forward to learning, growing, and influencing positive changes in this great city. I think that we have a lot of great people looking to get involved, and I’m excited, it is time that we move forward, and work towards true Unity in the Democratic Party.”

Might he run for Council again?

“I haven’t decided yet, however I will ALWAYS be involved. I love Norwalk,” Sead said.

Among the 16 District B candidates is newcomer Witherspoon, an attorney.

Although Witherspoon’s middle initial is “L,” he said he is not the frequent NoN commenter “LWitherspoon.”

“I want to bring a different perspective to help keep Norwalk productive,” Witherspoon wrote in an email. “I believe the city needs people who will keep it moving forward currently and in the future.”

The 16 District B candidates include four couples.

“I wouldn’t want to legislate this, nor could I, but my hope is that when you have married couples that they would agree that one of the couple would run this year and the other would run perhaps in two years, and they could alternate that way,” Camacho said. “That includes the couples who are not married but are obviously couples, like Mike (Mushak) and David (Westmoreland). So we could whittle the list down that way.”

Maria Flores and Manny Langella also fall into this category.

“My hope is districts can perhaps work it out amongst themselves, come up with 11 people so there won’t be a primary,” Camacho said. “Or at a minimum, just accept the result, that we can avoid primaries if possible. But once again, that’s part of the process.”

On Wednesday, Wells said three additional candidates had filed letters of intent: Carolyn Fuller, Linda Langston and Peter Thor.