Known for his outspoken nature, New Britain Mayor Tim Stewart is blaming "union thugs'' for ensuring the victory of Democrat Theresa Gerratana in the state Senate race.
Many insiders had believed that Stewart would win because he has a long history of winning as a Republican mayor in traditionally Democratic New Britain.
The Senate seat, through the years, has traditionally been held by Democrats like Joseph Harper and Donald DeFronzo.
Tom Swan, the executive director of the Connecticut Citizen Action Group and a longtime union supporter, said that Gerratana had surprised many by defeating Stewart.
"It is shocking and appalling that an elected official, as mayor of a city built by labor and who has at least one union pension from being a firefighter, would lash out in such a bitter way to working people,'' Swan said after a union rally supporting the Wisconsin workers outside the state Capitol.