Author: nbpoliticus

SEIU Local 1973 Represents Faculty And Staff At Community Colleges

The Congress of Connecticut Community Colleges (4Cs), representing faculty and staff at the state’s 12 community colleges, has endorsed John McNamara for a seat on the New Britain Common Council in the November 7th Election.

The endorsement was made October 14th by the 4Cs union’s Delegate Assembly after the union’s political action committee recommended McNamara citing his “dedication to community colleges and commitment to state employees.”

The union, Local 1973 affiliated with the Service Employees International Union, represents over 4,000 higher education employees in Connecticut at community colleges – now CT State – and the University of Hartford.

In receiving the endorsement McNamara said his priorities for New Britain include providing every child with a high quality education by increasing municipal and state aid to schools and ensuring that economic development and affordable housing initiatives deliver benefits and opportunities for all residents. He favors stronger partnerships between community colleges and municipalities like New Britain for early college opportunities and workforce training.

McNamara said he fully supports Recovery For All, a labor and community coalition working for a more progressive, statewide tax system “to stabilize unsustainable municipal finances and reduce reliance on property taxes that are hitting homeowners and tenants especially hard this year because of new assessments.”

“The 4Cs endorsement is especially meaningful to me knowing that the faculty and staff represented by the union deliver education and training for many first generation college students and make sustainable jobs possible for working families,” said McNamara.

McNamara is running in Ward 4 in neighborhoods near Central Connecticut State University and extending out to the Brittany Farms and Batterson Park area. Voters go to the polls at Saint Francis Church (12), Pulaski Middle School (13) and Holmes Elementary School (14) in Ward 4. This year 15 Common Councilors will be elected from five wards replacing a hybrid Council comprised of five at-large and 10 ward members.

Active in New Britain political and civic life for 35 years, McNamara is a former Democratic Town Chair (1994-2016), recruiting and endorsing candidates at the local, state and national levels. He represented the 6^th State Senate District (2016-2020) on the Democratic State Central Committee.

In New Britain, McNamara was elected to the Board of Assessment Appeals in 2013 and previously chaired the city Building Commission. He is a recipient of the Connie Wilson Collins Service Award for Labor and Industry.

McNamara worked as Institutional advancement director at Capital Community College (now emeritus) for 22 years before retiring in early 2022 and previously held a similar position at the University of Hartford raising funds for scholarships, student services and obtaining federal grants, including an Hispanic Serving Institutions grant for the community college in 2020.  At Capital, McNamara served on the 4Cs Delegate Assembly. 

Previously McNamara was a reporter covering local/ state government in MA and CT.  He holds a B.S. degree in Journalism from Boston University and currently contributes stories to the New Britain Progressive . He created the NBPoliticus blog in 2006. 

The 4Cs endorsement comes after endorsements from other labor organizations including AFT Connecticut and CSEA Local 2001.

McNamara, nominated in July by the Democratic Town Committee,  has also been endorsed by New Britain’s legislative delegation: Reps. Manny Sanchez (24), Bobby Sanchez (25), Peter Tercyak (26), Gary Turco (27) and State Senator Rick Lopes (6). He is supported by the Black Democratic Committee of New Britain.

A 38-year resident of the neighborhoods he wants to represent on the Common Council, McNamara is married to Patricia (Cacace). The McNamara’s have two grown children, Michael and Cara, and two grandchildren. More information is available at https://mcnamara4council.org/contribute

Democrat John McNamara has been endorsed by Connecticut’s American Federation of Teachers (AFT Connecticut) for a seat on New Britain Common Council in the November 7 Municipal Election.

McNamara is a former Democratic Town Chair and previously was elected Chair of the Board of Assessment Appeal and served as the Building Commission Chair in city government.  McNamara is running in Ward 4 in neighborhoods near Central Connecticut State University and extending out to the Brittany Farms and Batterson Park area. This year 15 Common Councilors will be elected from five wards replacing a hybrid Council comprised of five at-large and 10 ward members.

AFT Connecticut, a 30,000-member labor organization, represents teachers, school related personnel including paraprofessionals, state employees, healthcare workers, and higher education faculty and staff in the public and private sector.  Teachers and paraprofessionals in the New Britain School District are represented by Local 871, the New Britain Federation of Teachers (NBFT).

McNamara received AFT Connecticut’s support because of his “commitment to working families and advocating for issues that are important to AFT Connecticut’s members.”

“I am grateful to AFT Connecticut for the endorsement,” said McNamara. “New Britain needs advocates on the Common Council to provide every child with a high quality education and to ensure that education gets a fair share of local and state aid. Funding for public education needs to be equitable regardless of zip code.”

McNamara said the endorsement reflects his support for economic development and housing initiatives that deliver benefits and opportunities for all residents. “We need to make New Britain affordable for working families and retirees,” said McNamara. “That means fighting high property taxes and fees caused by revaluation and curbing excessive tax breaks for out of town interests.”

McNamara has also been endorsed by the Service Employees International Union’s CSEA Local 2001, the Black Democratic Committee of New Britain and New Britain’s legislative delegation including Reps. Manny Sanchez (24), Bobby Sanchez (25), Peter Tercyak (26), Gary Turco (27) and State Senator Rick Lopes (6).

A 38-year resident of the neighborhoods he wants to represent on the Common Council, McNamara is married to Patricia (Cacace). The McNamara’s have two grown children, Michael and Cara, and two grandchildren.