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Noel Anew

By Jeffrey B. Cohen

August 17, 2009

Looks like Elizabeth Brad Noel has another party up her sleeve.

Earlier this summer, Noel - a board of education member - didn't get the endorsement of her Democratic Town Committee to run again. No worries. On Friday, she got the endorsement of the Working Families Party, along with two others.

"I'm excited about it and flattered," Noel said. "I think that the Working Families Party has demonstrated that they've got a lot of strength in Hartford."

The other two Working Families Party candidates are incumbent Sharon Patterson Stallings and first-time candidate, Robert Cotto. Read the press release below.

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Working Families Party Announces Slate for Hartford Board of Education

For immediate release: Friday Aug 14th

For more information contact:

Joe Dinkin at (860) 523 1699 or (978) 223 5868 (cell) or jdinkin@workingfamiliesparty.org

Today, the Working Families Party announced a slate of three candidates for the Hartford Board of Education. The slate includes two incumbents, Working Families Party member Sharon Patterson Stallings and Democrat Elizabeth Brad Noel. The slate also includes first-time candidate Robert Cotto, a teacher and Working Families activist.

Elizabeth Brad Noel, a long-time Board of Education member was not nominated for re-election by the Democratic Town Committee. Her surprise addition to the Working Families slate gives the upstart WFP an impressive slate including two incumbent Board members.

"The Working Families Party is thrilled to announce a full slate for the Board of Education for the first time," said Urania Petit, the WFP Registrar of Voters in Hartford, and also a member of the Working Families Party State Committee. "These three candidates will work tirelessly to refocus the schools on what our kids really need: quality teachers, involved parents and accountable administrators."

Sharon Patterson Stallings, a North End resident was elected for the Board of Education in 2005 as a member of the Working Families Party and also serves as Chair of Connecticut ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform now.

"On the Board of Education, I've worked hard to get the community and parents back into our schools," said Sharon Patterson Stallings. "I'm proud to be part of such a passionate slate this year, and I know we'll work hard together to build on the ground-work we've started and turn our schools around."

Elizabeth Brad Noel is an incumbent member of the Board of Education and a resident and community advocate in the Blue Hills neighborhood.

"I am delighted accept the nomination of the Working Families Party for Hartford Board of Education," said Elizabeth Brad Noel. "Working Families is an important force on the cutting edge of progressive change in Hartford. I look forward to collaborating with like-minded colleagues on the Board of Education as well as the City Council."

Robert Cotto is a Working Families activist and a teacher at Hartford's Metropolitan Learning Center CREC school.

"Every single school in our system should meet the needs of our students," said Robert Cotto "To do that, we need to focus on teacher development and retention, parental involvement, and transparency and accountability from our administration. Those are things Working Families has always fought for and I share that mission."

The Working Families Party has grown quickly in recent years. The WFP currently holds two seats on the Hartford City Council: Minority Leader Larry Deutsch and Luis Cotto. In 2008, the Working Families Party elected Urania Petit as the first-ever minor party registrar of voters in the state of Connecticut.

Working Families is a minor political party in Connecticut formed by a coalition of community organizations, labor unions and neighborhood activists who united to fight for a fair economy. The Working Families Party was formed to inject issues like healthcare, quality education, and livable wages into the public debate, and to hold politicians accountable on those issues.