When Stewart was elected in 2013 at the age of 26, she was the youngest person to ever hold the office and she has become the city’s longest-serving Republican mayor.
New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart has announced that she will not be seeking re-election to a seventh term.
When Stewart was elected in 2013 at the age of 26, she was the youngest person to ever hold the office and she has become the city's longest-serving Republican mayor.
In November 2023, she was elected to a sixth two-year term.
On Tuesday, Stewart said the decision was two months in the making and it is "bittersweet."
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She said her “foot will remain on the gas pedal” as she finishes her term.
Stewart was asked during a news conference on Tuesday morning if she plans to run for governor and said she does not know.
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“The pieces are coming together, but I know that I have to look at that and take that very seriously,” Stewart said.
“It’s not something I just want to jump into. I tried that in 2018. I know what it takes, but what I do know is that I won’t be able to do that and do it effectively if I am mayor at the same time. I’ve got to be able to give my all to that if that is where I want to go,” she added.
Gov. Ned Lamont was asked Tuesday about the possibility of Stewart running for governor.
"Look, I love Erin," Lamont said Tuesday. "I've known her for a long, long time and I wish her all the best. They'll miss her in New Britain."
As for his plan to run again, Lamont was non-committal.
"We'll see, that’s a long way away, I'll have to make up my mind myself," Lamont said.
Stewart was also asked if she has thought about Congress.
“Everybody’s been asking me to do that for years. I’ll say no and it’s a huge risk just because I have little babies and mom has to be there for them,” she said.
Stewart initially made the announcement about not running for mayor on Facebook on Tuesday morning that she will not be running in November 2025 and then held a news conference later in the morning to further discuss her decision.
You can see her full Facebook statement below.
