By Michael Puffer, Republican-American
Tuesday’s presidential primary might not offer much choice when it comes to the Oval Office, but there is a local contest for the Democratic nomination in the 17th State Senate District.
No matter how Connecticut Republicans vote, incumbent President Donald Trump is a shoe-in as the party nominee and has little to fear from California businessman Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente.
Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders have already dropped out and endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee.
But in the 17th State Senate District, which includes Beacon Falls and a part of Naugatuck, Democrats Jorge Cabrera and Justin Farmer are vying for the party nomination to challenge incumbent state Sen. George Logan, R-Ansonia. Cabrera lost to Logan narrowly in 2018 in a race that came down to a recount.
Cabrera, 46, of Hamden, has been a business representative for United Food and Commercial Worker’s Union Local 919, which represents 7,000 Stop & Shop workers, for 25 years.
Although he didn’t receive the party’s endorsement to run, Farmer, 25, gained enough support during the Democratic caucus to earn a spot on the primary ballot.
Farmer, who has Tourette’s syndrome and wears headphones because he’s sensitive to noise, is in his second term on the Hamden Legislative Council. He works with his mother, who owns a rental property, and is a part-time student at Southern Connecticut State University.
Gov. Ned Lamont, on Monday, extended by executive order the deadline for submitting absentee ballots. Ballots were originally due in Town Clerks’ offices, or in newly install drop-off boxes outside those offices, by 8 p.m. Tuesday. Now, those ballots will be counted as long as they were postmarked by Tuesday and arrive by Thursday, according to Gabe Rosenberg, the chief spokesman for Secretary of the State Denise Merrill.
As of Monday evening, power that had been lost due to last week’s storm had been restored to almost all of the state’s roughly 750 polling locations, Rosenberg said. Eversource was working to restore power to seven others, but all of these are equipped with generators and will not suffer for lack of electricity on Tuesday, Rosenberg said.
The polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Local polling locations are:
Beacon Falls
Laurel Ledge School, 30 Highland Ave.
Naugatuck
Cross Street School, 120 Cross St.
Andrew Avenue School, 164 Andrew Ave.
Central Avenue School, 28 Central Ave.
Maple Hill School, 641 Maple Hill Road
Oak Terrace, 53 Conrad St.
City Hill Middle School, 441 City Hill St.
Western Elementary School, 108 Pine St.
Prospect
Volunteer Fire Department of Prospect, 26 New Haven Road
Community School, 12 Center St.
Elio Gugliotti contributed to this report.
