"We're not going to play dead. We're going to work hard, and we're going to put a fight out there."
State Rep. Minnie Gonzalez
The race for Hartford's mayor is entering its final stretch before the city's Democratic party makes its pick. But even a powerful supporter of Mayor Pedro Segarra said it's increasingly likely that the mayor will lose the nomination to challenger Luke Bronin.
State Rep. Minnie Gonzalez is backing Segarra, and she said she's expecting the mayor to force a primary. She spoke with WNPR reporter Jeff Cohen.
Cohen: Tell me if I'm right. You say Luke wins the endorsement, Pedro wins the primary?
Gonzalez: That's what I'm saying.
Cohen: That's what you're saying.
Gonzalez: That's what I'm saying... But that doesn't mean that the endorsement wins the election.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, one of the handful of Democrats who was campaigning for mayor dropped out of the race. Attorney John Gale said he was stepping out of the race for mayor and endorsing Bronin.
Gonzalez conceded that a few high profile Latinos have endorsed Bronin, including State Rep. Angel Arce. But she said they don't speak for the entire Latino community. She also bristled against the idea that Bronin -- who most recently served as general counsel to Governor Dannel Malloy but has a relatively short history in the city and its public life -- is the right candidate just because party insiders say so.
Bronin reportedly has a strong fundraising lead. According to his campaign, he has more than a half million dollars on hand.
"We gotta take that?" Gonzalez said. "That means that okay, here is the candidate that's going to run for mayor and we have to lay back and play dead? It's not going to happen. Not in a million years. We're not going to play dead. We're going to work hard and we're going to put a fight out there."
But Michael Bland, Segarra's campaign manager, said he thinks Segarra is still in the race for the nomination.
"I believe that, at one point, the town committee was in favor of Bronin," Bland said. "But when the mayor had the opportunity to speak about the things that he's done...you started to see a paradigm shift."
Bland said it's too early to say who will win the party endorsement.
"I'm not saying the mayor has the endorsement locked up," Bland said. "But the mayor does have a pretty damn good count...and I can tell you this right now. Luke Bronin is not going to beat Pedro Segarra in a primary."
Should the campaign proceed to a primary, it will be an interesting one to watch. Bronin reportedly has a strong fundraising lead. According to his campaign, he has more than a half million dollars on hand. He's raised over $600,000 since the campaign began. But Segarra's campaign says he's raised just half that. Other candidates could run, too, including former Probate Judge Bob Killian.
Hartford's Democratic Town Committee will vote later this month.