Saying Connecticut's capital city is in a much stronger position than when he took over, Mayor Luke Bronin of Hartford says he hopes to continue that progress over the next year-- but plans to "pass the baton" after that.
First elected in Nov., 2015, Bronin announced Tuesday that he won’t seek a third term in office.
Bronin, 43, says his health is not a factor in the decision. He suffers from ulcerative colitis, a chronic condition, and underwent surgery in Dec., 2021.
He does say, however, he weighed the grind of a 2023 campaign plus the prospect of another five years in a position that commands his full attention:
"For the first two terms, I counted four-year terms a blessing, to be able to just focus on the work and not worry about a campaign. If I could sign up for another two years right now, I'd probably do it, but having done seven, I'm not sure that I'm prepared to sign up for five more."
Bronin isn't saying what he'll do when he leaves the mayor's office at the end of 2023. If it's a run for higher office, the Democrat's news conference announcing his planned departure foreshadowed a key element of a potential campaign: he's credited with turning around Hartford's finances, which were on the rocks when he took office in 2016.
"If you'd asked me seven years ago if I thought that seven years on we would be financially stable," says Bronin, "with ratings upgrade after ratings upgrade, with surpluses each year that we've reinvested in our community... without borrowing a single dollar or issuing a single bond and we were able to reduce the (property tax) mill rate by 7.2 percent, I'm not sure I would have believed you."
The last seven years have also seen a great deal of development in Hartford. Mayor Bronin helped turn around the once-troubled Dunkin' Donuts Park project. The successful result has become a source of civic pride and economic growth. It's also the center of the new Downtown North neighborhood, the site of several new mixed-use buildings, with hundreds of apartments.
In 2015, John Gale was a candidate for the mayor of Hartford, a rival of Bronin's. Gale dropped out of the race, ran a successful campaign for City Council and became a Bronin admirer through their work together. Gale, now a member of the Hartford Party, thinks the mayor would be a fine candidate for higher office, such as governor (Gov. Ned Lamont just won a second term, and might choose not to run for a third term in 2026).
"The impression that he's made upon me is that he's an incredibly bright man, an incredibly talented man," says Gale, "and he absolutely should look at higher office over time."
Gale cites Bronin's handling of Hartford's 2016 financial crisis and the need to get help from the state:
"Luke as the mayor understood this, and was able to very cogently explain the state of our financial disarray in a such a manner as to convince the legislators and the then-governor (Dannel Malloy) to step in and provide Hartford with a lifeline."
