Questions About the Endorsement Process

Well, election season is careening to its close. As usual, tensions start running high when that happens.  Wild accusations are slung, battles over yard signs are fought, and attempts are made to win the last few hearts and minds on the fence about how they might fill out their ballot.  You should take anything you hear during this final period with a grain of salt, but I promise that you can always reach out to info@northhavendemocrats.com and we will respond as openly and transparently as possible with whatever your concerns may be.

I would, however, like to address a few things that we’ve heard a few times recently to set the record straight.  Top of mind for some Democrats is why a select few incumbent representatives on our Boards and Commissions were not endorsed to return to their seats back in July when the DTC made its decisions. 

Our nomination process this year established a standard rubric of criteria we assessed all candidates on.  These criteria and expectations of our candidates were shared in advance with all candidates for total transparency’s sake, along with a set of expectations of what we expect out of our candidates and what our candidates can expect from our DTC.  We asked the same exact questions to every candidate for fairness, with built-in time for custom follow-ups based on their responses. A copy of this rubric is included below:

This was not a referendum on past performance, although history and personal record certainly factored into the decision.  Where we had more candidates applying for positions than we had slots available, we had to make difficult decisions.  In one instance, we tried to find flexible spots for a nominee who we were very impressed by but did not get the recommendation of the nominating committee.  Those additional opportunities were declined. 

Another example requires a bit more context.  In January 2024, a host of newly motivated Democrats applied to be members of the Democratic Town Committee (DTC) at the biennial DTC caucus.  A number of former DTC members did not make it back onto the committee.  After this, the DTC’s outgoing leadership made a number of extreme moves to sabotage the incoming group, deleting assets like the website, Facebook page, and general inbox of the email account (along with the corresponding google drive containing all past meeting agendas, financial records, et al.).   Then, without financial approval of the membership, they threw themselves a big party at the Hard Hat Cafe and bought themselves trophies and awards with the remaining money in the bank account, essentially draining the account down to nothing.  

Roughly a year later, with some members still concerned that there had been no accountability for this behavior, the Executive Board of the DTC decided to recommend that “individuals [from the prior DTC] who behaved unethically or acted against the best interests of the org not get nominated for municipal elections”, according to that month’s meeting minutes, which the membership generally agreed with.   The thought was that if you were not a good steward of the North Haven DTC’s resources and funds, we couldn’t prudently recommend you with the town’s resources and funds. Due to this, one incumbent Democrat was not recommended for endorsement, though their name will still appear on the ballot. 

If you are reading this, I hope you will understand why our leadership team is choosing to not exacerbate existing tensions within the Democratic party and instead focusing on the incredible group of capable people running for office this year, leaders who have a strong sense of dedication and service and who are focused on working together rather than tearing each other apart. We understand that some may still not be happy with the decisions made, but we hope they can see past that to grasp why the talented, resourceful, and thoughtful endorsed candidates on Row A are eminently qualified for their positions and still deserve your vote. 

After the nominating committee made its recommendations, candidates had the right to be nominated from the floor at the July caucus, but none of the candidates attended the caucus. As many also know, Selectman Sally Buemi, who was not recommended for endorsement, chose to primary her endorsed Democratic opponent in September.  The results were 72% of registered Democrats voting for David Cohen and 28% voting for Buemi.   Despite the Democrats of North Haven making a clear decision in an election that cost the town hundreds of thousands of dollars and shut down schools, Buemi has petitioned her way onto the ballot.  This is her right, but I will reemphasize what I wrote in my letter to the editor published in September in the Quad Town Advisor:

“I…want to acknowledge and thank Sally Buemi for her years of service on the Board of Selectmen…With that said, the Democrats in North Haven spoke clearly at the polls. Now is the time to work together and line up behind David and the rest of the Democratic candidates on the ballot in November. Think of how much we can accomplish with all of David and Sally's volunteers working together, pulling in the same direction! As a big tent Democratic Party, we won’t always agree 100% on issues. But in this time of social and economic crisis, if we are not acting on the principle of solidarity, we are only sabotaging ourselves. Let’s go out and build new things together. Let’s go out and fully realize what North Haven can be.”

As you head to the polls this year, let’s focus on what’s best for the town.