There are many elections happening in town this year. The mayoral election will have three candidates appearing on the ballot: current mayor, Mayor Laura Hoydick (Republican), David Chess (endorsed Democratic candidate), and Linda Manos. In the next few months, these three candidates will connect with voters, supporters, and funders to make the case for why they should be voted in as the next Mayor of Stratford (or re-elected in the case of Mayor Hoydick).
Another partisan decision which needs to be made this November, is who will sit on the Board of Education. This important group of people are responsible for ensuring a healthy educational system that works for all students, teachers, and staff alike. In total, the Stratford Board of Education has seven seats open to elected leaders, seats that are each held for a term of four years.
Connecticut exists as one of five states within the United States that still makes education a partisan issue. Along with Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Alabama, and Indiana, state law currently requires candidates list their party affiliation on the ballot cards in November.
The Board of Education elections will take place this November for seats vacated by Lisa Carroll-Fabian (D), Kristen Bedell (R), Sean Kennedy (R), and Michael Henrick (R), whose terms end this year. Four Democratic candidates have been nominated to fill seats, however within the by-laws, no one party can hold more than five seats of the total seven seats on the Stratford Board of Education, and currently, Republicans hold the majority on the Board.
There are three Stratford Board of Education members whose terms are not up until 2027: Jill DeAngelo Powers (D), Chris Cormier (D), and Bill O’Brien (R). This means, that come November, the Board could flip and the majority will be in the hands of the Democratic Party, or it could remain the same, the Republican Party will maintain majority. The candidates on the Republican slate will be announced this.
On the Democratic ticket this year are Kenneth Pugh, Yvonne Temple, and Michael Fiorello. The fourth, Blake Powers, was nominated during the Democratic Town Committee meeting on Thursday, July 17th, which was held at the Unitarian Universalist Church on Huntington Road.
I sat down with Ken, Yvonne, and Michael the week before they were endorsed by the DTC, to get to know more about them as members of our community, and their collective vision to give back to the students and community they love here in Stratford. They shared their stories of how and why Stratford became the place they chose to buy their homes, raise families, establish careers, and serve the community that, for various reasons, has given so much to them.
Two questions I hoped to better understand during our conversation were these: Should the education system, in Stratford, or even in the state of Connecticut, be a political, hot-button topic? Should decisions about the academic, emotional, and psychological safety of our students, be weighed at the ballot box, and across party lines?
In our conversation, the candidates were honest and vulnerable as we discussed the state of education and politics in Stratford.
Ken said, “I believe politics will play a big part in the election for the Board of Education. But this should be about the kids. This should be about what’s best for the kids. Politics should play no part in it. It really should be about what’s your vision that’s going to make this town that we all love great, and our school district great, so that we can attract more people to come here. [Candidates should] have a vision, a real vision, and not a budget that we have to piece meal together, or patchwork together, and just scrape by. This is too great a town, and our kids are worth every dime we can give them. We just have to find where we get that money from.”
Michael spent his professional career as a teacher in Bridgeport and Stratford. For over 35 years he supported students as a teacher, and supported teachers as president of the Stratford Education Association (SEA) for 11 years. He retired from teaching at Stratford High School this past June, and knew that he had more to give to the students and teachers in his beloved community. He decided to run for the Board of Education.
“My nephew is very involved in the marching band at Bunnell High School,” Michael said. “Here is a young man who likes school ok, but he is passionate about music, and that brings him to school. That’s what brings him to school, why he cares about his attendance, and that’s why he wants to keep his grades up. I know every student has that, or should have that, or can have that. I am going to look at it with that lens, and the arts generally and access to sports generally–what gets kids coming to school in high school, and even down to middle school,”
He continued, “I don’t think there is any disconnect between advocating for what teachers need and what students need. Excellent teachers and retention of good teachers is what students need, and I think those two go hand and hand.”
Yvonne Temple raised her kids in the Stratford Public Schools system, and recently celebrated the graduation of her son from Bunnell High School. For five years, Yvonne served as a staff member within the Board of Education, working for the district, helping expand the office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Engagement, for which she was the supervisor between 2019-2024. Yvonne’s passion for equity for all students remains her guiding light, and fuels her intentions to serve on the Board of Education.
“As a mom, someone working for the district, as a person who consulted with the district, I have always kept the same mold. I will always advocate for children. I am always going to advocate for children. It’s something I learned in middle school, and I will always be an advocate for our children, whether I am a board member or not. Service to all is something I continue to do, it’s what I pour into my children. I want to make sure other people see that it’s not hard to treat other children well, and to give them access to things they may not be exposed to,” she says.
I asked the candidates one final question, towards the end of our time together. My final question for them was this: if elected, what will you be most proud of having accomplished on your last day in office, after four years of serving our school district. The answer Ken left us with was this: “I will be proud if we can bring closer the diversity of our town, and mirror that within our educational system and districts. I feel like our kids need that. I feel like that’s one of the paths that will help to elevate this school system is for our children, all of them, to see themselves in the people that are educating them. If I can do that, I’ll feel like I have done my job,” Ken says.
You can join the slate of endorsed Democratic candidates on Thursday, July 24th for the Campaign Kick-off Party at DTC Headquarters located at 2318 Main Street at 6pm.
Nikkya Hargrove is a mom, wife, author, and owner of Stratford’s only bookstore. She enjoys cooking dinner for her family, binge watching (any) television show with her wife, and spending time experiencing life with her family and dogs.
