“No Permanent Friends And No Permanent Enemies In Politics” – Check Out DTC March Primaries, Foes Barr And Pereira On Same Slate

Four of 10 Democratic Town Committee Districts will host primaries March 3 to determine the configuration of the 90-member body that conducts party business, endorses candidates for public office and selects party officers.

Democratic Town Chair Mario Testa plans to seek another two-year term. Will he have a challenger?

These primaries are not slate takes all. The top nine vote producers among the respective slates gain membership to the DTC. Some candidates will be cut; that’s the scalpel way of city politics.

Veteran town committee members in the Black Rock/ West End 130th District face an insurgent slate that features co-founder of the community group Bridgeport Generation Now, Callie Heilmann.

One key change is the departure of long-time District Leader Danny Roach, a close ally of Mayor Joe Ganim, who has stepped aside for some younger blood.

The North End/Whiskey Hill 135th District will see a slate led by City Council members Mary McBride Lee and Richard Ortiz challenged by veteran operatives such as Steve and Kim Eaton.

 

The East side 137th District poses a matchup of a veteran slate led by City Council members Aidee Nieves and Maria Valle challenged by several activists that supported John Gomes for mayor in 2023.

The Upper East Side 138th District that is significant turf for absentee ballots with large senior citizen housing units has an intriguing wrinkle with long-time foes ex DTC member Tony Barr and City Councilwoman Maria Pereira who’ve banged heads over an assortment of things over the years running on the same slate.

What gives?

“No permanent friends and no permanent enemies in politics,” says Barr. “Pereira came to me, I didn’t come to her.”

Years ago, they both filed competing restraining orders with the state court. They’ve battled plenty, so we’ll see how this shakes out.

They face a veteran slate led by District Leader Kevin Monks who has challenged Pereira for City Council the past two municipal cycles, winning the walk-in vote but losing as a result of her aggressive absentee ballot harvesting. It was Monks who provided information to the state that led to Pereira’s state charges for alleged election law violations that she is challenging.