Primary voting starts in Enfield primary after legal fight

Primary Day has come and gone, but some Democrats in Enfield started heading to the polls Monday for one more nomination battle.  

The primary between Rep. John Santanella (D-Enfield) and challenger Tom Tyler was delayed until Sept. 1 because of a legal fight that, at one point, canceled the vote.  

Tyler secured the petition signatures to force the primary, but Santanella filed a lawsuit challenging the filings.  

The challenge raised two issues: improper instructions on petition forms and that signatures were submitted after the deadline.  

Tyler argued those were mistakes by Secretary of the State Stephanie Thomas’s office, including wording of the instructions placed on petition forms for all candidates.  

Tyler’s lawyers also argued Thomas’s office gave registrars inaccurate deadlines for the petition window, causing Tyler’s forms to be past what should have been allowed.  

Santanella sued the Enfield registrar of voters for certifying the petitions, but a superior court judge ruled against the challenge.  

An appellate court judge agreed with Santanella and stopped the primary, prompting Tyler to appeal to the state Supreme Court.  

The Supreme Court agreed with Tyler in July and ordered the primary back on, but delayed the date to Sept. 1.  

That means early voting started Monday and runs through Sunday.  

 “It’s a complete waste of time, energy and money,” Tyler said about the lawsuit, noting the primary will cost Enfield more than $40,000. “(We) should never have been down this path.” 

Santanella said he was mostly concerned about the Supreme Court’s ruling on the scheduling, saying Thomas’s mistake essentially rewrote state law on deadlines for petition efforts.  

“Communities around Connecticut need more help in funding their school systems and that directly impacts the burden on local taxpayers,” he said.  

Tyler said Santanella is overlooking important issues that impact that town, though, including lowering energy costs.  

He also does not think Santanella has done enough to address the problem of sewage in Massachusetts flowing into the Connecticut River after heavy rains.  

Tyler wants the state legislature to force Massachusetts to make upgrades that would fix the problem.  

“I can’t believe people in Springfield think it’s ok to dump your crap in the river every time it rains,” he said. “People don’t want to pollute.” 

Santanella said it’s a longstanding problem that requires Congressional support, especially funding, to fix.  

He also said Connecticut must fix its own problems of sewage flowing into the river and impacting towns further downstream. 

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