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September 24, 2024

New Britain Mayor Stewart will not run for reelection; hints at possible run for governor

HBJ PHOTO | STEVE LASCHEVER New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart at a CTfastrak bus station.
By Michael Puffer

New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart announced Tuesday morning she will not run for reelection in November 2025, but acknowledged consideration of a 2026 run for governor.

Stewart was the youngest mayor in the city’s history when she was first elected in 2013, at the age of 26. She has won reelection six times. In a video posted to various social media Tuesday morning, she announced she will not run for a seventh.

“After 12 years it’s time for new leaders to step forward to write the next volume for New Britain and it’s time for me to move on to the next chapter of my life,” Stewart said.

A star in Connecticut’s Republican Party, Stewart said her next chapter could involve a private sector job or a bid for higher office. That decision will have to wait, she said, until her current “chapter” plays out.

Stewart ruled out a run for Congress in an address outside City Hall later Tuesday morning. With young children, she does not want to have to fly back and forth to Washington, D.C. multiple times a week. She did, however, hint strongly at her consideration of a second run for governor.

Stewart said her 2018 gubernatorial campaign taught her the demands of fundraising, which, she said, would require a decision from her -- or anyone running for governor -- in early 2025. 

"I know my clock is ticking," Stewart said.

Stewart’s tenure has seen the blossoming of high-profile, high-impact economic development projects, particularly in multifamily housing construction. Developers have repurposed and redeveloped several vacant downtown buildings into apartments. Developer Avner Krohn alone is putting the finishing touches on a 107-unit building downtown with a neighboring 114-unit building nearing completion.

Stewart, in her social media address, promised there will be no shortage of new announcements and new projects in her remaining 14 months in office.

She also touted rebuilding various city schools, improvements to parks and a turnabout from near bankruptcy to fiscal stability.

“Today, New Britain’s balance sheet is stronger than at any point in my lifetime,” Stewart said. “We have cranes in the sky and shovels in the ground downtown. Our neighborhoods are safer, stronger and more connected than ever before. Our children are learning in a school system that shares my commitment to the fundamentals of reading, writing, math and science; and preparing our kids for success in whatever they do.”

Stewart helped launch projects like the Energy & Innovation Park, extension of the Stanley Loop Trail and development of the city’s new Health Department facility.

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