Print

GOP Councilman Robert Painter Won't Seek Re-Election In Fall

Six Years Is Enough, He Says

June 13, 2007
By Courant Staff Report

Republican city Councilman Robert L. Painter has announced he will not to run for re-election this year, leaving office after six years.

Painter said Tuesday he believed all politicians reach a limit for how long they can serve effectively.

"I think for me the time has come," Painter said. "I think we are entering into a new era, perhaps [Mayor Eddie A. Perez's] last term, and I think we need new faces to affect that transition."

Painter said he does not plan to stop public service altogether. He said he hopes to continue to work on a number of issues he considers important to the city - from Hartford's struggle with the drug war, to creating better services for the city's elderly and using new technology called "plasma arc" to incinerate the city's trash.

Painter, one of two Republicans on the city council, first ran for his seat in 2001 as a petitioning candidate with no official party backing. After gaining bipartisan support, Painter cruised to victory in what many at the time considered a unique feat for a neophyte politician.

Painter is a retired heart surgeon and former director of surgery at the Mount Sinai campus of St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center.

Most attention for the 2007 election has been focused on the mayoral race, which is rife with competition.

Perez faces a strong group of Democratic contenders, including former state Sen. Frank D. Barrows, state Rep. Art Feltman, state Rep. Minnie Gonzalez, former Deputy Mayor I. Charles Mathews, political newcomer Raul De Jesus and youth advocate the Rev. Patrice Smith.

The city council race has yet to take full form, as many candidates have not filed paperwork to run.