Oct. 14—GROTON — City elections will be held for the first time in November, rather than May this year, and will feature an all-Democratic, uncontested slate for mayor, council, and clerk.
City of Groton voters going to the polls on Nov. 7 will receive two ballots, as they vote in both the city and the town elections.
To prepare, the registrars of voters are creating signs for the city's two voting districts. They are District 2 at Thames River Magnet School and District 3 at the City Municipal Building. They will also feature city and town information and explain the two ballots, said Republican Registrar Kristen Venditti.
"We are hiring two ballot clerks in both of those districts to hand out the town ballot and then the city ballot so the voters understand what they are," she said.
City Mayor Keith Hedrick is running for his fourth, 2-year term.
Incumbents Gweneviere Depot, Stephen Sheffield, Paul Norris, and Christine Piazza, and newcomers Erin Artale and Tony Patterson are running for six seats on the City Council. The terms are two years.
City clerk Dani Baycura is running for a four-year term.
Robert Zuliani, chairman of the Groton City Republican Committee, said the committee, like other organizations, has seen a drop in volunteerism over the decades, and in today's world, politics is becoming unpopular for people to engage in. He said Republicans in the city are outnumbered 2-to-1, making city elections extremely difficult, and the committee was not able to find qualified candidates.
City Mayor
Hedrick, 64, a retired naval submarine officer who worked as operations manager for defense contractor AECOM, has been mayor for six years and previously served as deputy mayor and on the Town Council, Representative Town Meeting, and Harbor Management Commission.
Hedrick said his priorities for his next term include keeping taxes low, continuing with the economic development of Thames Street, completing projects slated for American Rescue Plan Act funds, revising human resources policies, potentially adding more electric vehicle chargers, and continuing to work with Electric Boat on parking and traffic issues, as the submarine manufacturer hires more employees. The city is getting ready for a new traffic officer position to address parking and speeding.
Capital projects also are a priority, including the replacement of the Shore Avenue seawall, the installation of docks and improvements at Thames View Park, and the completion of a plan to sell two city parcels to the Groton Estates apartment complex, which will build a business center and a community center on a small part of the acreage, in exchange for an easement for the city to expand the Birch Plain Creek Trail, he said.