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No GOP Primary As Candidate Bid Fails

By Vanessa de la Torre

August 16, 2011

There will be no Republican primary on Sept. 13 after city council candidate Gerry Pleasent failed to collect enough signatures to challenge his party's endorsed slate, officials said Tuesday.

Pleasent, a former deputy police chief, was not among the six candidates nominated last month to represent the GOP in the race for three minority party seats on the council. He collected 97 signatures to petition for a primary but too many were invalidated, said Michael McGarry, chairman of the Republican town committee and a mayoral candidate.

Sal Bramante, the city's Republican registrar of voters, said Pleasent needed 89 signatures from registered Republican voters in Hartford. After checking voter records, only 66 were valid, Bramante said.

The deadline for submitting signatures was last week. Pleasent could not be reached for comment.

The six endorsed GOP candidates are Corey Brinson, a current council member, and challengers Sweets Wilson, Michael Fryar, Rico Dence, Jake Bookwalter and Andrew Childs.