Wikipedia

2021 Stamford mayoral election

The 2021 Stamford mayoral election was held on November 2, 2021. Incumbent Democratic mayor David Martin sought re-election to a third term in office, but lost renomination to state representative Caroline Simmons. Simmons, who was also endorsed by the Independent Party, faced unaffiliated candidate Bobby Valentine.[1]

2021 Stamford mayoral election
← 2017 November 2, 2021 2025 →
Turnout41%
 
Candidate Caroline Simmons Bobby Valentine
Party Democratic Independent
Alliance Independent Party
Popular vote 15,566 14,060
Percentage 52.54% 47.46%
Mayor before election

David Martin
Democratic

Elected Mayor

Caroline Simmons
Democratic

Initial results indicated Simmons had a huge lead over Valentine.[2] Absentee ballots swung heavily in Simmons' favor resulting in a 5-points lead over Valentine.[3] Following her election, Simmons became Stamford's first female mayor.[4]

Democratic primary edit

On July 25, the Stamford City Committee narrowly voted to endorse Simmons over the incumbent Martin, with 21 members voting for Simmons and 19 voting for Martin. Shortly thereafter, Martin declared his intention to continue with his candidacy and force a primary. According to the Connecticut Secretary of State, Martin was required to collect 1,550 signatures, 5 percent of the total number of registered Democrats in the city.[5] Martin collected over 3,000 signatures, guaranteeing a Democratic Primary.[6]

The primary was held on September 14.[7][8] The ballot also included elections for the Stamford Board of Representative District 5, and Stamford Board of Representative District 19.[9] Simmons won in a landslide, earning a majority of support in all of city's 20 voting districts. Martin conceded the night of the primary and endorsed Simmons.[1]

Democrats edit

Nominee edit

Eliminated in Primary edit

Declined edit

Results edit

Democratic primary[16]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Caroline Simmons 4,156 63.28%
Democratic David Martin (incumbent) 2,412 36.72%
Total votes 6,568 100%

Republican endorsement edit

The Republican Stamford City Committee endorsed Joe Corsello as its mayoral candidate. However, he withdrew from the race on September 8 and endorsed Bobby Valentine.[17]

Withdrew edit

  • Joe Corsello, drummer and retired police detective[18]

Independent endorsement edit

The Independent Party of Connecticut endorsed Caroline Simmons for mayor in August 2021.[19]

Endorsed candidate edit

Unaffiliated edit

Declared edit

  • Bobby Valentine, former baseball player and manager and former Stamford Director of Public Safety[20][21][22][23] Valentine's candidacy has increased outside media scrutiny which included coverage of Valentine accidentally uploading a Cameo video that included him not picking up after one of his dogs pooped in a neighbor's yard. Valentine disputed that he recalls ever having failed to pick up after his dog.[24]

Fundraising edit

Democratic primary edit

Campaign finance reports as of July 17, 2021
Quarter 1st quarter (January—March 2021) 2nd quarter (April—June 2021)
Candidate Total raised Contributors % who live
in Stamford 		Total raised Contributors % who live
in Stamford
David Martin $52,800 100 58% $25,600 94 70%
Caroline Simmons $158,000 484 33% $81,600 420 60%
[25]

Caroline Simmons edit

Campaign finance reports as of October 24, 2021
Quarter 1st quarter (2/11/2021—2/31/2021) 2nd quarter (4/1/2021—6/30/2021) 7th day preceding primary (7/1/2021—9/5/2021) 3rd quarter (9/6/2021—9/30/2021) 7th day preceding election (10/1/2021—10/24/2021)
Candidate Total raised Contributors % who live
in Stamford 		Total raised Contributors % who live
in Stamford 		Total raised Contributors % who live
in Stamford 		Total raised Contributors % who live
in Stamford 		Total raised Contributors Total
Caroline Simmons $157,688 484 33% $81,619 420 60% $35,695 67 N/A $148,854 126 54% $247,145 131 $681,751.49
[26]

Bobby Valentine edit

Campaign finance reports as of October 24, 2021
Quarter 1st quarter (January—March 2021) 2nd quarter (4/1/2021—5/30/2021) 3rd quarter (7/1/2021—9/30/2021) 7th day preceding election (10/1/2021—10/24/2021)
Candidate Total raised Contributors % who live
in Stamford 		Total raised Contributors % who live
in Stamford 		Total raised Contributors % who live
in Stamford 		Total raised Contributors Total
Bobby Valentine did not file $303,219 964 50% $208,876 834 66% $44,719 99 $556,814.21
[25][26]

General election edit

Public Debates edit

Date Location Link
October 19, 2021 Ferguson Library Full Debate-Prometheum Foundation

Results edit

General election results[27]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Caroline Simmons 14,886 50.25%
Independent Party Caroline Simmons 680 2.3%
Total Caroline Simmons 15,566 52.54%
Independent Bobby Valentine 14,060 47.46%
Total votes 29,626 100%
Democratic hold
Votes by district
District Caroline Simmons Bobby Valentine
1 881 1054
2 463 405
3 515 365
4 455 359
5 431 86
6 713 493
7 592 425
8 543 567
9 455 236
10 633 404
11 803 646
12 637 497
13 1105 1228
14 935 772
15 897 736
16 1246 1057
17 879 861
18 984 1469
19 1158 1130
20 1241 1270

Notes edit

  1. ^ Simmons is a member of the Democratic Party, but can seek any party's nomination or endorsement because of Connecticut's electoral fusion system.

References edit

  1. ^ a b Gurciullo, Brianna; Valle, Verónica Del (September 15, 2021). "State Rep. Caroline Simmons defeats Mayor David Martin in Stamford Democratic mayoral primary". StamfordAdvocate. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  2. ^ Dixon, Ken (November 3, 2021). "Valentine concedes Stamford race but GOP claims widespread wins". Stamford Advocate. Hearst Communications. Archived from the original on November 3, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  3. ^ Gurciullo, Brianna (November 3, 2021). "A 1,500 vote difference put Caroline Simmons over Bobby Valentine to become Stamford's next mayor". Stamford Advocate. Hearst Communications. Archived from the original on November 3, 2021. Retrieved November 16, 2021.
  4. ^ Gurciullo, Brianna (November 3, 2021). "Caroline Simmons wins Stamford mayoral election as Bobby Valentine concedes". Stamford Advocate. Hearst Communications. Archived from the original on November 3, 2021. Retrieved November 13, 2021.
  5. ^ Gurciullo, Brianna (July 25, 2021). "Simmons narrowly wins Stamford's Democratic endorsement for mayor; Martin looks to force primary". StamfordAdvocate. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  6. ^ Gurciullo, Brianna (August 12, 2021). "Martin hands in signatures to force primary against Simmons". StamfordAdvocate. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Simmons narrowly wins Stamford's Democratic endorsement for mayor; Martin looks to force primary". July 25, 2021.
  8. ^ "Who will Democrats choose for Stamford mayor? Simmons, Martin to face off in Sept. 14 primary". August 13, 2021.
  9. ^ Ruijter, Lyda. "Notice of Primary". Archived from the original on September 10, 2021.
  10. ^ a b c "State. Rep. Caroline Simmons to challenge incumbent David Martin in Stamford mayoral race". News 12 - The Bronx. February 10, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  11. ^ a b c d Laguarda, Ignacio (February 14, 2021). "'I truly love it': Martin seeks reelection as Simmons challenges him for Stamford mayor". StamfordAdvocate. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  12. ^ Keating, Christopher (September 15, 2021). "State Rep. Caroline Simmons upsets two-term incumbent mayor in Stamford primary; Sanchez wins in New Britain". Hartford Courant. Tribune Publishing. Archived from the original on October 3, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  13. ^ Gurciullo, Brianna (September 15, 2021). "Democrats unite after primary: Simmons and Martin take aim at November election - and Valentine". Stamford Advocate. Hearst Communications. Archived from the original on September 16, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  14. ^ Carella, Angela (December 26, 2020). "At least 2 Stamford Dems weighing 2021 runs for mayor". StamfordAdvocate. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  15. ^ "Simmons outraises Martin by $100,000 as field for Stamford mayoral election could still change". April 20, 2021.
  16. ^ "Public Reporting". ctemspublic.pcctg.net. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  17. ^ Gurciullo, Brianna (September 8, 2021). "Joe Corsello, Republican candidate for Stamford mayor, drops out of race and endorses Bobby Valentine". StamfordAdvocate. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  18. ^ "Republican Joe Corsello - a vet, former cop and drummer - gets GOP endorsement for Stamford mayor". July 27, 2021.
  19. ^ a b Gurciullo, Brianna (August 20, 2021). "Independent Party endorses Simmons for Stamford mayor". StamfordAdvocate. Retrieved August 24, 2021.
  20. ^ "Home run: Ex-manager Bobby V. in mayoral race". ESPN.com. May 7, 2021. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  21. ^ "Bobby Valentine Running For Mayor of Stamford". NBC Connecticut. May 7, 2021. Retrieved May 7, 2021.
  22. ^ "Stamford mayoral hopeful Bobby Valentine seals position on November ballot". August 2, 2021.
  23. ^ "OP-ED | Local Primaries Are Shaping up. But What do Voters Want?". August 3, 2021.
  24. ^ "Hometown legend vs. State rep. Who beat Stamford's mayor. Valentine, Simmons: Not your average race". September 25, 2021.
  25. ^ a b "George Bush, Linda McMahon among donors: Valentine outraises Simmons and Martin in Stamford mayoral campaign". July 17, 2021.
  26. ^ a b "SEEC Campaign Filing | Stamford, CT". www.stamfordct.gov. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  27. ^ "Candidate list". stamfordct.gov. Retrieved March 21, 2023.
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