New London — With just three of the seven city councilors elected in 2015 up for re-election this year, voters will choose from a field of relatively new faces at the polls in November.

There are 12 people seeking election to the council. Incumbents include Democrats Alma D. Nartatez, John D. Satti and Efrain Dominguez Jr.

Republicans have fielded four candidates: Adam Sprecace, Alexis Major, Karen Paul and Michael Fred Hudson. Ronna Stuller will represent the Green Party. New Democrats seeking election are: James B. Burke, Kevin L. Booker Jr., Curtis K. Goodwin and Reona M. Dyess.

Booker, Burke and Dyess are cross-endorsed by the Working Families Party.

Here are the candidates in alphabetical order:

Kevin L. Booker Jr., 43, is the founder of Booker Empowerment and is a diversity and leadership instructor who travels across the country.

He holds four different degrees and currently teaches college and high school-level classes, trains men and women who have been sexually assaulted, facilitates leadership and diversity workshops and lectures. He also volunteers with a host of organizations that include New London Public Schools. He was the recipient of the 2019 Outstanding Youth Mentor award from the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut.

He said one of his major priorities is redefining the narrative others have of the city, which he calls “an amazing, culturally rich city with many opportunities." He would use his expertise “to ensure that all voices are at the table as we continue to transform the city."

“Additionally, increasing industry and business in New London will continue to draw new families and young people to call New London home,” he said.

James Burke, 28, is a father of a 4-year-old daughter and moved to New London to raise his family “because of its variety of culture, diversity and small-town charm.”

He works as the front-end manager at Fiddleheads Food Co-op and as a sound engineer at 33 Golden St. and the Garde Arts Center.

Burke said he always has been interested in public policy and frequently has volunteered for political campaigns. He is a member of the Pedestrian Advisory Committee and served as campaign manager for Anthony Nolan’s successful run for state representative.

“After being involved in public policy over the last couple of years, I really just wanted to step up and be the candidate,” Burke said. “I love it here. I think I have the perspective we need to attract more young professionals to move here and increase the quality of life for the people that are already here.”

Efrain Dominguez, 46, is an incumbent Democrat seeking his fourth term in office. An educator for the past two decades, he teaches at Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School.

“I am seeking re-election because I see a shift happening for the betterment of our city and it will take someone who is bold, experienced and has strong leadership skills to bring it to full fruition,” he said.

Dominguez said he will continue to support growth in the city’s grand list, “the many construction projects underway and others still to come,” and the two new school campus construction projects.

“Overall, I want to make sure New London residents know I have their best interest in mind when making decisions as a city councilor,” he said. 

Reona Dyess, 54, a Democrat, is making her first run at a seat on the City Council. She is the executive director of The Center: A Drop-In Community Learning and Resource Center Inc.

Dyess serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Connecticut Storytelling, Expressiones, and St. Francis House. She is a youth advisor for the New London Linwood Bland NAACP Youth Council and a founding member of the Steering Community of the Community Land Trust.

“I would like the City Council to represent the people in the community. I’ve been here for 23 years and want to make sure the people and the children I serve have a choice. I’ve been an advocate for them for years. It would be nice for them to look up and see someone they can relate to and inspire them to stand up and be more active members of the community,” Dyess said.

Curtis Goodwin, 32, is a Democrat and a newcomer to city politics. He is an entrepreneur, co-founder of the annual New London Talent Show and works as a global diversity and inclusion media advertisement specialist.

The New London Talent Show started in the wake of the high-profile 2010 murder of Matthew Chew at the hands of a group of local teens. Goodwin’s stepbrother was murdered in the city in 2017.

He has a host of ideas, which include a plan to start an inclusive task force to explore the feasibility of a community center and establishment of a diversity and equity plan for the city. He said he wants to look into training from a cultural competency and communications standpoint for police and supports the use of and training for body cameras.

“I don’t have all the answers, but I am willing to seek the best answer and represent the betterment of my community with sound judgment,” he said.

Michael Fred Hudson, 59, is a member of the Parks and Recreation Commission and a retired federal employee who worked at the U.S. Naval Submarine Base in Groton. A Republican, he ran for City Council in 2015.

“One of the biggest problems is the one-party-dominated City Council. It’s not inclusive. You’re excluded from bringing ideas or solutions to the council,” he said. “The City Council rubber-stamps whatever the current administration presents. It breeds cronyism, corruption and I guess people get ostracized if you’re not part of the dominant party.”

He thinks the city needs to institute a minority representation rule, which would bar more than four councilors from any one party.

If elected, Hudson said he would push for elimination of the property tax system and replace it with a “fee for service” structure, in which residents and entities pay for only what they have used in terms of services.

Alexis Major, 40, is a mother, a former retail buyer and manager of National Football League players. She owns a booking agency called Sammie Foremost.

She is a registered Republican but “not a Trump supporter,” and thinks that party affiliation shouldn’t matter as much it seems to in New London.

“There is a big separation between the City Council and Board of Education and a big divide when it comes to people between party lines working together,” Major said. “That shouldn’t be in such an amazing town. It should be us working together for the betterment of New London.”

Major is the daughter of Recreation Director Tommie Major and the late Barbara Major, the city’s former longtime Republican registrar of voters. She said she wants to follow in their footsteps when it comes to service to the city and will look for ways to attract business and investment in the city.

Alma Nartatez, 51, is a Democrat seeking her second term in office and serves as the chairwoman of the council’s Public Safety Committee. She works for the Bard Corporation as a national environmental health and safety compliance program leader.

Nartatez said the city struggles with equitable taxation, an issue the council has tried to address.

“We have roughly 44 percent of all property that is nonprofit, hence nontaxable. When it is time to work on the budget, it is alarming to me how little (grand list) we have to work with. I want to continue to work on pushing for an even playing field,” she said.

Two items the council passed show what Nartatez said was a fair approach to sharing the cost of city services: the implementation of the Storm Water Utility Fee and the burglar alarm ordinance that charges noncompliant property owners fees for tying up police resources.

Karen Paul, 79, is a Republican, the chairwoman of the Senior Affairs Commission and member of the Ethics Board and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. She is also a member of the Neighborhood Alliance and Save Ocean Beach. She hosts a public-access show called “Time on Your Hands.” She ran for a spot on the school board in the last election.

Paul said she thinks that if elected she could act as a representative to the many seniors in the city, where there is a bit of apathy toward some issues.

If elected, she said she would look to hold city administration more accountable when it comes to following the city's charter and code of ethics.

If elected, Paul said she would look to ensure that councilors take their liaison duties seriously and create a better process for choosing members of various boards and commissions. “There is a lack of consistency in the way people are vetted. They are not,” she said.

John Satti, 63, a father of five, is seeking his third term on the council. He is a Democrat.

Satti serves as the council president and chairman of the School Building and Maintenance Committee. He is a retired state probation officer, a volunteer in youth sports and runs his own lawn care business. He previously has served on the Board of Education.

He said he is committed to seeing recreational activities continue to move forward in the city and wants the continued opportunity to work to complete the ongoing multimillion-dollar school building project. “It’s been a long time coming,” he said.

Satti said he is in favor of an independent audit of the school district in the wake of a sex scandal at the middle school and said he is concerned about the potential of dropping enrollment of magnet school students.

He said he plans to work harder to get more police officers on the job.

Adam Sprecace, 49, is a married father of two daughters and an engineering supervisor at Electric Boat. He served on the City Council from 2007 to 2013 and left to spend more time with his family.

“Looking around at what’s been happening, what I see is not bad but not good, either. I think we’ve progressed but really haven’t blossomed,” Sprecace said.

He said he looks forward to becoming involved in the ongoing school construction projects and sees need for charter reform to clarify language that, in his opinion, is misinterpreted. For instance, he said, past petitions calling for a reduced budget have ended without significant action by the council.

Sprecace also sees a lack of consequences for skirting of the city charter, such as the fact that several department heads do not live in the city. He said the city could provide incentives for employees to live here rather than “simply ignoring the city charter.”

Ronna Stuller, 70, is a retired preschool teacher and chairwoman of the New London Green Party. She is a member of the Planning and Zoning Commission, a former member of the Board of Education, founder of the Riverside Park Conservancy and hosts the public-access show “Thinking Green.”

Stuller said two things motivated her to run for office this year: “a desire to bridge the gulf between community-based activities and our governmental institutions, and a sense of urgency to prepare for a future that will be impacted by climate change, diminishing resources, and (on the positive side) increased multiculturalism.”

She said the biggest issue of our time — and not just for New London — is the need to shift from development based on constant growth to a sustainable economy.

“As we market New London as a great place to live, work and invest in, let’s be mindful to value, preserve and support what we already have: our people, buildings, creativity, diversity and natural beauty,” she said.

g.smith@theday.com