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There is a shortage of lawmakers willing to run for office in Connecticut because locals fear the political landscape is too divided and dangerous, according to officials. A prime example of this issue took place in Vernon, about 20 minutes outside of Hartford, just before the November 4 election date. The Vernon Democratic Town Committee was desperate for a candidate to go up against Daniel Champagne, a Republican who's been mayor for six terms, but no one had stepped forward by June - just five months before polls opened. 'It was like pulling teeth to fill out the slate. We were going through a Rolodex of if there's anybody who knows anybody who would run for mayor,' Democrat state Rep. Kevin Brown, told CT Mirror. Eventually, committee leaders approached Jeremy Geller, a member of the town's Conservation Commission, to run for mayor but he was skeptical. The 67-year-old retiree was hesitant at first as he never saw himself getting into politics and feared of violence associated with the job. 'There’s such vituperation and tendency even to political violence. I wondered, well, what do I lose by running? I mean, do I lose my safety?,' Geller, who is currently up against Champagne for the 2025 election, told the outlet. But it isn't just Vernon that is seeing a lull in residents wanting to get involved in local politics, according to Joseph Thornton, a spokesperson for the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities. After visiting 10 towns across the state over the past six weeks, Thornton quickly realized every single one of them is facing the major issue of not being able to recruit political candidates. 'You factor in … all the pressures of the job, late nights 24/7, and you throw in that people are just going to yell and scream at you no matter what you do, it’s not very attractive,' Thornton said, adding that he spoke to one town official who told him she wants to leave her position but has decided to stay because no one wants to replace her. It's been very difficult to nail down people who want to enter politics in the state, and that really shows this election year. There are 39 uncontested races for mayor in Tuesday's municipal elections, per the outlet. A total of 24 Republicans and 15 Connecticut Democrats are running unopposed this year, meaning no one is going up against them. According to data from Ballotpedia, 70 percent of elections were unopposed last year across the US. In Connecticut alone, 71 percent of its races were uncontested. State political organizers, researchers and officials have credited the violent climate for playing a huge role in people's reluctance to get involved. There have been several political assassinations this year, including the deaths of Minnesota Democrat Melissa Hortman and her husband, along with conservative ally Charlie Kirk. Several Connecticut Facebook pages highlight the intense scrutiny politicians face, as many users have branded them corrupt and called them vicious names. Because of this, many leaders feel they are being attacked, Elizabeth Gara, executive director of the Connecticut Council of Small Towns, said. 'Many municipal officials feel like they’re under attack in the community. And it’s not just an issue in local politics, it’s an issue across the nation,' Gara stated. Among the comments on social media, there is a lot of 'trolling' going on, according to Patricia Russo. Russo, the executive director of The Campaign School at Yale University - an organization that prepares women to run for office - said Connecticut has a lot of online hate spreading when it comes to politics. 'We’re seeing it here in Connecticut: a lot of trolling on social media, a lot of hostile, nasty comments on social media, a lot of stalking when you’re out campaigning,' Russo said, adding that it is 'definitely a deterrent.' And the 'trolls' aren't just taking aim at the people running for office, but their loved ones too. 'People will go after spouses, they’ll go after children,' Benjamin Proto, chair of the Connecticut Republican party, said. 'And people look at that [and think], "I don’t want to put my family through that. It’s not worth the time, it’s not worth the effort, it’s not worth the BS that I have to put up with to sit on the Planning and Zoning Commission".' Nuchette Black-Burke, the mayor of Windsor, said many fail to understand that political figures are still human. 'Folks that don’t understand that we can disagree on a point, but we can still go down to the local eatery and have a cup of coffee,' Black-Burke said. In a bid to get the community more involved, Connecticut Secretary of State Stephanie Thomas' launched an online resource to teach people how to engage in local policy and politics, including how to run for office. Others have suggested investing in a civic education as a great starting point to get into elections. Meanwhile, Brown said many people just don't know that local positions exist, and according to Nancy DiNardo, that is why public outreach is so important. Guller has taken the experience on for himself, focusing his campaign on the things that matter most to him, like housing and health care. He told the outlet he has gone on to knock on people's doors in the months leading to election day and has not experienced the negativity he feared he would. 'They say the world is controlled by people who show up,' Gull added.
