New London — This year’s run for New London’s 39th District House seat features a police officer who voted in favor of a police accountability bill, the head of the city’s Police Community Relations Committee who was endorsed by police and an employee at a youth activist group that is calling for the defunding of police.

Democratic incumbent state Rep. Anthony Nolan, 52, is a New London police officer who served four terms on the New London City Council, including as its president, before taking the leap to run for state office in a special election in 2019. The district encompasses the city's first and second voting districts.

Republican candidate Kat Goulart, 40, is chairwoman of the Police Community Relations Committee who earned the endorsement of state and New London police for what they said was her strong support of public safety issues. She is also chairwoman of the Republican Town Committee, commissioner on the Economic Development Commission and treasurer with the New London Babe Ruth League. She is also vice president of the FBI New Haven Citizens Academy Alumni Association, a nonprofit organization separate from the FBI.

Green Party candidate Erycka Ortiz, 21, who describes herself as a Black Latinx visible trans woman, works as an organizer with the New London-based youth activist group Hearing Youth Voices, the organization that has helped push the message of social justice and Black Lives Matter in the city.

Nolan secured his seat in a special election in 2019 against three challengers, including Goulart, and said he wasn’t particularly surprised he was not endorsed by his fellow officers this year.

Nolan voted in favor of An Act Concerning Police Accountability, which among other things has a provision that would limit qualified immunity, opening up police officers to civil litigation for “malicious, wanton or willful acts.” Nolan said much of the criticism of the bill and his support for it is the result of “fear mongering and a lot of untruths” spread by police union officials.

While he admits “the bill was not perfect,” Nolan said, “I was not willing to sacrifice the bill that is such an enormous change to correct the wrongs that many police departments across our nation are doing.”

“Everybody’s saying you’re losing immunity. You’re not losing immunity,” Nolan said. “What you’re doing is being held accountable for treating someone the way you shouldn’t be treating people. For all of the officers that say they're leaving because of that, it sounds to me like you can’t adhere to the policies so you’re going to leave. You don’t have to stop to think twice about what you’re doing if you’re doing the right thing.”

“Some people thought I was backstabbing the police department. I was doing what my community voted me in to do,” Nolan said.

The issue has surfaced as a major divide between Republicans and Democrats in the election and Goulart said she can see why.

“On its face, an Act Concerning Police Accountability sounds fantastic. Who doesn’t stand for accountability in policing?” she said. “But it shouldn’t have passed as a whole.”

She said its provisions should have been voted on separately to allow for better study of some of the issues and how they might negatively impact police departments and municipalities.

“It was a reactionary bill. Absolutely there are some areas of needed reform but this was the wrong way to go about it, passed without much forethought,” she said.

In reference to the Black Lives Matter movement, Goulart said the public should know “the Republican Party does not stand for racism,” and she recognizes there are areas in the police department in need of reform. But she said calls to defund police and a list of demands being advocated for by groups like Hearing Youth Voices are “untenable” and “ridiculous.”

She said she agrees with the intent of the message of the Black Lives Matter movement but said “the discord that it sows is something I cannot get on board with.”

Ortiz, in a written response to questions posed by The Day, said “granting qualified immunity for police misconduct has given us a system in which police, rather than being agents of the law, are all too frequently above the law.”

Ortiz was not available to answer questions for this report, but said in her written responses to The Day that the Black Lives Matter movement has grown because “not only are Black lives threatened, but it’s become pretty predictable that perpetrators of the violence are rarely held accountable for their actions.”

If reelected, Nolan said he plans to continue a fight to rectify the state’s mishandling of the redevelopment of State Pier. The state has partnered with Danish wind giant Ørsted and power company Eversource on a $157 million upgrade of the pier. New London officials have argued they’ve been sidelined from negotiations and not fairly compensated.

Despite his initial support for the deal, Nolan said the state has failed to follow through on commitments to the city, which include fair compensation and a seat on the board of the Connecticut Port Authority.

“The mayor is not the only one working to bring back to New London what they deserve,” Nolan said.

While Nolan said it’s a continuing conversation, Goulart argues “we should never have gotten into this deal with Eversource and Ørsted."

“Now, we’re coming in from behind the eight ball. Our pier is completely shut down. The employees are without jobs. We are really in a lot of trouble,” she said. “We need someone who will pound their fists on the desk and not say, ‘Pretty please, what about that seat you promised us?’"

Nolan said he is not a fan of legalizing marijuana for recreational use but will keep an open mind when the issue comes up again in Hartford. He said he would hesitate to vote in favor of legalization without knowing first if people convicted of marijuana charges will be released from prison or have criminal records erased. He also sees a disconnect between a state seeking revenue from sale of a drug that for decades earned people a criminal record.

Goulart said she is not personally in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana but would vote in favor “because it is the job of a state representative to represent the people in the district.”

“It is not lost on me that the 39th District is overwhelming in favor of the legalization of marijuana,” she said.

While Goulart said Gov. Ned Lamont may have used too much executive power during the COVID-19 pandemic, she agrees that allowing local control of the phased rollout in cities where there is an uptick in COVID-19 numbers is not unreasonable. Lamont announced this week that he may allow leaders in municipalities to roll back provisions in Phase 3 of reopening. A decision from the governor is expected next week.

“What’s right for a city like New London is not necessarily right for Hartford,” she said. “We need to be able to make decisions on the local level.”

Nolan said there needs to be better enforcement of COVID-19 guidelines, “letting these restaurants and businesses that are open know that there’s somebody watching and you can’t cheat because this pandemic is not gone.”

Both Nolan and Goulart agree that the state needs to step up to support, either through funding or education, the struggling businesses in the city.

“There are a lot of resources out there and people don’t know how to access them,” Goulart said.

She also thinks the state needs “some smarter fiscal planning.” For example, while she agrees the planned pedestrian bridge will provide safe passage over Water Street in New London, she said, “think of how much good we could do for the business community across the entire city of New London with $20 million,” the cost of the bridge.

Nolan said the city continues to be a hub for people seeking social services, and organizations like the New London Homeless Hospitality Center “needs to get its fair share.”

“We’re taking the slack for a lot of towns. I think it’s time for other towns to start investing in what we’re doing. It’s almost like New London takes the responsibility for the rest of the state," he said.

g.smith@theday.com