by Thomas Breen
New Haven Fair Rent Commission Executive Director Wildaliz Bermudez on Friday filed to run for the 97th district state House of Representatives seat — becoming the first candidate so far to officially vie to succeed Al Paolillo, Jr., a fellow Democrat who plans to run for state senate.
Bermudez, 43, registered her candidacy for state representative on Friday, according to a filing submitted to the State Elections Enforcement Commission’s (SEEC) online database.
The New Haven Democratic Town Committee (DTC) plans to meet on Thursday, May 21, at the Betsy Ross Parish House on Kimberly Avenue to endorse candidates for each of New Haven’s state house seats, including for the 97th district.
Bermudez is a former Hartford city council member who now lives on Front Street in Fair Haven. She has led New Haven’s Fair Rent Commission since 2022. In that capacity, she’s boosted the public visibility — and the number of cases heard — by the oft-overlooked local body empowered to strike down excessive rental charges. She also helped New Haven become the first municipality in Connecticut to create a legal pathway for formally recognizing tenants unions.
In a phone interview Friday, Bermudez pointed to those accomplishments as among the ones she’s most proud of during her four-years-and-counting tenure leading the Fair Rent Commission.
She also spoke with pride about being one of the cofounders of the statewide Fair Rent Commissions network, for which she currently serves as chair. Bermudez said that that statewide organization started off with 12 municipalities and has now grown to include 40 members from across Connecticut.
“I strongly feel that we need a voice that reflects our community at the state Capitol,” Bermudez said. “I want to make sure that New Haven is at the table.”
Asked if she would stay in her job as New Haven’s Fair Rent Commission executive director if she’s elected state representative, Bermudez replied, “If I’m given the opportunity, I would. … If I’m allowed to, yes.” She pointed out that New Haven already has one state representative who works for city government — the 94th district’s Steve Winter, a former alder and fellow Democrat who now serves as the city’s director of climate and sustainability.
Bermudez said that, as she has traveled to the state legislature over the years to testify on various housing policies, “I’m appalled at the responses that I hear” from some lawmakers “who don’t live in cities. The line of questioning, I’m appalled by what’s being said.”
“I care very deeply about housing issues that impact folks in our community,” she continued. “I feel like I’ve been doing a great job bringing together and resolving disputes between landlords and tenants” in her role with New Haven’s Fair Rent Commission. She promised to advocate for “better policies, better law at the state level.”
Asked for a specific example of a bill she would advocate for, she pointed to a proposal submitted by the state Department of Housing commissioner this session “regarding rental caps.” The governor “has pushed that forward as well. We need to be on the ground,” fighting for the passage of bills like that, to make sure that kind of proposal is turned into law.
While Bermudez spent six years on the Hartford city council, “I am not new to New Haven,” she stressed. She said she used to work as a community organizer for the Connecticut Center for a New Economy, which provided the initial organizing around what would become the local labor advocacy group New Haven Rising.
“I love New Haven. I love being a resident of New Haven,” she said. And now she wants to represent New Haven in the state house.
Paolillo, a former Annex alder, has served for the past decade as the state representative for the 97th district, which covers parts of Fair Haven, Fair Haven Heights, Quinnipiac Meadows, the Annex, and Morris Cove. He has publicly announced his intention to run for the 11th district state senate seat, which covers parts of New Haven and Hamden and which has been held for the past three decades by Martin Looney. After becoming the longest-serving leader in state senate history, Looney, 77, announced earlier this month that he will not seek reelection for another two-year term.