New London – A hearing in New London Superior Court on Tuesday could lead to a shakeup in the status quo of the New London Democratic Committee in the form of a primary for committee members in District 2.

Jason Morris, who helped gather signatures for a slate of six candidates seeking to force a primary for committee members in District 2, has asked a judge to force Democratic Registrar William Giesing to verify the signatures he gathered. Morris is not among the candidates.

Morris had gathered 37 signatures, which combined with others were likely enough to force a primary, but was informed just hours before a Jan. 27 deadline he was not eligible to gather the signatures, according to attorney Daryl Justin Finizio, who is representing Morris.  

Morris, a former Green Party member when he ran for a spot on the Board of Education during the last election, registered as a Democrat shortly after the election. When he decided to join the effort to gather signatures for new Democratic Town Committee members, Finizio said Morris was unaware of a state rule that dictates petition circulators cannot have changed their party affiliation within 90 days preceding the petition drive.

He was informed of the rule, Finizio said, only after the signatures were submitted and certified by the registrar.

“He did register as a Democrat. He operated in good faith, unaware of this particular technicality. Consider the First Amendment rights of the 37 people who signed that petition. Whether we get an election or not will be decided by whether or not we count these people’s votes,” Finizio said.

Finzio said after consultation with the Secretary of the State’s office, the court action was the only available option available. He has asked the judge for an injunction, an order that the signatures be counted “and for the democratic process to proceed …”

At the heart of the case is the slate of committee candidates, headed by New London resident Tim Sparen, who said he was just a few votes shy at the caucus of being an endorsed candidate.

“I lost to a person that doesn’t live in town and another that may be deceased,” Sparen said. “I wanted to go see if I could get a voice in the process, I found the process was tricky to get into.”

He said the caucus was an abrupt introduction to local politics and decided it was worth gathering a slate and petitioning a primary.

“We support his decision,” he said of Morris’ decision to take the case to court. “All of us felt wronged.”

A New London resident since 1999, Sparen is an artist, father of three and a self-proclaimed “progressive.”

Finizio said petitioning candidates needed signatures from 5 percent of registered Democrats in District 2, or 127 signatures. He said the registrar certified 111 signatures. Morris gathered 37 signatures.

At caucus, the Democratic Town Committee picks committee members with votes from registered Democrats in each of the applicable districts who appear in person. While the committee chose a slate of 20 committee members on Jan. 12, three of the nominees never signed forms required by state law. Endorsed candidates State Rep. Ernest Hewett, D-New London, William Morse and William Giustini were not certified, Town Clerk Jonathan Ayala confirmed.

Margaret Mary “Peg” Curtin, head of the Democratic Town Committee’s District 2, said she knows that Hewett was out of the country at the time of the caucus but is still interested in his position on the committee.

She expects most of the endorsed candidates to become committee members at its next meeting in March unless there is a primary. A primary would be held on March 1 with voting to take place at the Harbor School.

Curtin said endorsed candidates who were not certified and are still eligible will appear on the ballot alongside the petitioning candidates in the case of a primary.

“We haven’t had a primary in many years,” she said

Finizio said his argument is backed by a recent federal court decision, the ACLU and the Libertarian Party vs. The Secretary of the State, in which Chief District Judge Janet Hall ruled that state law restricting who can circulate nominating petitions placed a “severe burden,” on the federal free speech and voting rights of the plaintiffs.

“The very constitutionality of the State’s petitioning laws are at issue in that case,” Finizio said.

g.smith@theday.com

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