New London — Municipal elections are still five months away but preparations already are underway by local political parties vying for seats on the City Council and Board of Education.

Three members of the school board, all Democrats, have announced their plans not to seek re-election. Those members include Margaret Mary “Peg” Curtin, Aracelis Vazquez Haye and Sylvia Potter. Democratic City Councilor Erica Richardson said she will not seek a seat on the council.

Democrats dominated during the last election in 2015. The seven-member City Council comprises all Democrats. The school board’s lone non-Democrat is Mirna Martinez, a member of the Green Party.

The Democratic Town Committee will meet July 25 and Republican Town Committee on July 18 to select nominees. The New London Green Party is likely to be the first to officially announce its candidates.

At 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday the Green Party will hold a nominating convention at the FRESH Community Garden on Mercer Street to announce nominees for Board of Education. The meeting is open to the public and will include endorsement of school board candidates Mirna Martinez and Erick Carrión.

Because state election rules allow for multiple nominating conventions for minor parties, Green Party Town Committee Chairwoman Ronna Stuller said at least one other convention is planned for City Council candidate nominees.

Stuller said potential candidates still are being interviewed and she said she would like to see an entire slate of bilingual candidates, seizing on the success of the campaign that led to the election of state Rep. Chris Soto, D-New London.

“I don’t see the Democrats or Republicans reaching out to many of the voters that came out for Chris Soto,” Stuller said. “I don’t know if we will be successful. It’s an aspirational goal. We’ll see.”

Republican Town Committee Chairwoman Shannon Brenek said Republicans have regrouped since their shutout in the 2015 elections, where they lost the one City Council seat they had when Martin Olson was narrowly defeated.

“We’re hoping to put in names of strong candidates on both slates, including some people who have never run for public office,” Brenek said.

Brenek said while registered Democrats strongly outnumbered Republicans in the city, Republicans intend to capture some of the unaffiliated voters.

Democrats are looking for a sweep, hoping for another all-Democrat City Council and continued dominance on the school board.

Democratic Town Committee Chairman Kevin Cavanagh said the goal is always to seat as many Democrats as possible.

“As a town chairperson, that’s your objective — to find excellent people for the job and win 14 seats,” he said.

The Democratic Town Committee formed a nominating committee in April and has been spending time interviewing potential candidates, including the incumbents.

“We’ve had a good response,” Cavanagh said. “We have more people that have put their name in for candidacy for council than we have seats available. We’ve done quite well.”

Richardson, a two-term council member, former council president and single mother, said she never had planned to seek re-election and instead would like to take some years off. She said she wanted to spend time with her autistic son, Nate, as he transitions into middle school. She has since decided to move to Florida to be closer to family. She said she will move when her house is sold.

Richardson said being a councilor is a time-consuming and stressful but ultimately fulfilling position where she has sought to be a voice for people in the city “who generally don’t have a voice.”

Richardson also has served a member of the Police Community Relations Committee, a way, she said, “to make my hometown better.”

“I feel like I have unfinished business,” she said. “The city is not exactly where it needs to be. Everyone talks about the potential of New London, if it could just get over the hump. We have kind of just started pushing away the fog.”

Curtin has been a staple in city politics for decades, having served on the City Council for 16 years, including terms as the ceremonial mayor, and more recently the school board, where she served several terms as the board's president.

 g.smith@theday.com