Pittman Beats Hubbard In Hill Co-Chair Race

by Thomas Breen, Laura Glesby and Mona Mahadevan

Sandra Pittman and Lisa Velazquez Torres unseated Angel Hubbard and Clarence Cummings as Ward 3 Democratic co-chairs Tuesday after racking up enough absentee-ballot votes to overcome a split-ticket result at the polls.

That was the outcome of the latest contentious race in the Hill’s Ward 3 between a Pittman and Hubbard, who is also the neighborhood’s alder.

Meanwhile, in Beaver Hills’ Ward 29, Bryanna Wingate and Betty Alford defeated Alexandra Taylor and Jorge Lopes to succeed Audrey Tyson and Alder Brian Wingate as Democratic co-chairs. (See more on that race below.)

There are 60 Democratic co-chair seats citywide, or two for each ward. A co-chair’s responsibilities include engaging residents with the local party and its platform, picking neighborhood Democrats to serve on their respective ward committees, and casting endorsement votes for the party’s nominees for alder, mayor, and other local elected positions. It’s also often a springboard for people looking to run for alder in the future. 

New Haven saw only two contested ward co-chair races on Tuesday — one in Ward 29, the other in Ward 3. The winners will serve two year-terms starting Wednesday.

When the polls closed at Career High School at 8 p.m. for the Ward 3 race, it looked like Pittman and Hubbard were both on track to win despite running on opposing two-person slates.

A total of 241 people voted at the polls in the Ward 3 co-chair race. The machine vote tally saw 120 votes for Hubbard, 119 for Pittman, 110 for Velazquez Torres, and 102 for Cummings.

Another 80 Ward 3 Democrats voted absentee — with 50 for Pittman, 41 for Velazquez Torres, 19 for Hubbard, and 15 for Cummings. Head Moderator Kevin Arnold provided the Independent with those absentee-ballot numbers at around 9:20 p.m.

That means Pittman secured a total of 169 votes, Velazquez Torres 151, Hubbard 139, and Cummings 117.

“Now Angel’s the alder and she has two co-chairs who worked against her,” city Democratic Town Committee Chair Vinnie Mauro told the Independent Tuesday night. “It’s still an opportunity for that ward to come together and work as a team.”

“Congratulations to them,” Hubbard said in a phone interview after all the votes had been tallied. “My focus has always been on working together for the better of the ward. I just hope that this whole thing of battling each other can now be a collab so we can work better for the ward and each other.”

Tuesday’s election marked the fourth time in 18 months that Hill Democrats got the chance to vote for Hubbard or a Pittman in a neighborhood electoral contest.

In September 2024, Hubbard beat Miguel Pittman — Sandra’s husband and business partner at the restaurant Sandra’s Next Generation — in a special election to fill a Ward 3 alder seat left empty after Ron Hurt’s resignation. In September 2025, Hubbard beat Miguel Pittman in a Democratic primary for Ward 3 alder. And in November 2025, Hubbard beat Miguel Pittman in the general election for Ward 3 alder. (Miguel Pittman, a registered Democrat, ran in the general election as the Republican and Independent Party candidate.) That race was marred by allegations on both sides of campaign misconduct — and saw one vote-fraud accuser change her story a month after the election. Pittman and Hubbard both denied all accusations of wrongdoing.

As with last November’s election, Tuesday’s Ward 3 co-chair contest saw accusations of misconduct, with Pittman claiming that Hubbard colluded with the Democratic registrar of voters to secure an unfair advantage during supervised voting in a neighborhood nursing home. Hubbard said Pittman’s claim was false.

Wingate, Alford Win In Ward 29

The outcome of Ward 29’s co-chair contest, meanwhile, was clear after the results at the polls were announced at Beecher School.

In that race, Bryanna “Bree” Wingate and Betty Alford ran as a slate against Alexandra Taylor and Jorge Lopes, who also ran side by side. Wingate and Alford were supported by the neighborhood’s alder, Brian Wingate, who is also Bryanna Wingate’s dad.

A total of 336 people voted at the polls in the Ward 29 co-chair race, while another 10 voted absentee. The machine vote tally saw 113 votes for Wingate, 104 for Alford, 57 for Taylor, and 54 for Lopes.

Immediately after the polls closed, Alford, Wingate, and at least 8 volunteers entered the polling place.

Although moderator Maya Gant was ready with the election results almost immediately at 8:00 p.m., the Wingate-Alford campaign asked her to wait to read them aloud until their opponents came inside.

“Thank you all for your professionalism and courtesy and for being so nice to each other,” said Gant.

“This is like a never ending drumroll,” said Wingate.

At around 8:03, the Lopes-Taylor team conveyed they would be coming in for the results after taking down their tent, telling the others to go ahead with reading the results.

As Gant reported results indicating that Wingate and Alford had won, the room quickly erupted into cheers.

The entire election process was “amazing,” said Alford. It was the only word she could think of to describe the experience. “It was amazing,” she said again.

Wingate said she’s grateful for the support from the ward and said she looks forward to building a ward committee of “a well-rounded group of people to do the work.”

Taylor and Lopes, meanwhile, said they had expected the results, citing the number of UNITE HERE volunteers that canvassed for their opponents.

Taylor said she had told her seven-year-old and ten-year-old that “this is not about winning.”

“Just keep on trucking, keep on representing who you are in your community, and you’ll win regardless,” Taylor said.

“Don’t be discouraged,” echoed Lopes.

Taylor made sure to give Wingate and Alford hugs before leaving.

Tynicha Drummonds and Angel Hubbard on election night Tuesday. Credit: Mona Mahadevan photo

Bryanna Wingate, Alder Brian Wingate, and Betty Alford (center) with supporters. Credit: Laura Glesby photos

Jorge Lopes and Alexandra Taylor.