WEST HAVEN, Conn. — Election Day in Connecticut is just hours away and candidates are crisscrossing their communities to get their message across before polls open Tuesday morning.
In West Haven, it’s about two things: ethics and the economy.
Democrat incumbent Mayor Nancy Rossi is facing a challenge from Republican Barry Lee Cohen. It has been a contentious race with a cloud of corruption allegations against former state Rep. Michael DiMassa hanging over it.
“I think Nancy Rossi has completely lost the confidence of the people in this great city,” remarked Ben Proto, the chairman of the Connecticut Republican Party.
Proto’s Democrat counterpart, Nancy DiNardo, told FOX61 that Rossi could have “very easily” hidden her findings of alleged fraud until after the election.
“I see her as a hero in West Haven,” she said.
DiMassa, who also resigned from his post in the city, is facing a federal wire fraud charge for allegedly misusing more than $630,000 of West Haven’s COVID-19 relief aid to gamble at Mohegan Sun.
“We all sign ethics and code of conduct forms,” Cohen said. “For Nancy Rossi to say this was not her responsibility and she found it, she caused this problem.”
In response, Rossi said voters shouldn’t hold it against her because “the mayor doesn’t sit in the finance department.”
“Let’s be clear about that. I’m a CPA but I sit on the third floor in the mayor's office and do mayor's work whether it be interviews or economic development,” she told FOX61.
When it comes to economic development, Rossi told FOX61 she is proud of her record. She said she inherited a bankrupt city and with state oversight, she said she’s turned the city around.
“We have corrected a lot of the financial problems in West Haven and then we started working on infrastructure. We cleaned up the beaches and cleaned up the parks,” the mayor said.
But Cohen rebutted: “Our quality of life has gone down. From cracked sidewalks to the way we keep our streets.”
Both candidates told FOX61 they’ve campaigned hard and will continue to vie for votes until time runs out.
“I personally have knocked on over 6,000 doors. I’ve been doing this now for over 6 months. The response has been absolutely tremendous,” said Cohen.
Rossi said: “I’m confident I am going to do well. We have tried very hard to knock on as many doors as possible. We were out all weekend.”
Cohen told FOX61 he wants people to vote for him not against Rossi, but he says he’s concerned that the city will have trouble getting grant money given the financial scandal.
Meanwhile, Rossi told FOX61 she hopes agencies won’t hold the actions of one man against the whole city and that they are working to improve their internal financial controls.
Matt Caron is a reporter at FOX61 News. He can be reached at mcaron@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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