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DeJesus is running for the vacant Senate seat representing Bridgeport's 23rd District in Hartford. His brief tenure as a councilman and as a candidate have been fraught with controversy and accusations.
“Clearly there are some problems there,” said Mark Trojanowski, a member of the Democratic Town Committee and a strong candidate to replace DeJesus on the council. “The district committee is going to have to take a good look this.”
DeJesus and his running mate Alfredo Castillo ousted longtime seat holders Angel DiPara and Carlos Silva. But accusations quickly arose that DeJesus does not live in the 136th District. An investigation into the matter is ongoing.
As he campaigned for the past month to replace Andres Ayala, now the commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles, things have only gotten worse for DeJesus.
His nomination was called into question after moderator Edwin Farrow voted to break a tie at the nominating convention to give DeJesus the party nomination over Ed Gomes.
It came to light later that Farrow was DeJesus’ attorney, raising questions of conflicts of interest. Although DeJesus remained the endorsed Democrat, his candidacy quickly became tainted. Gomes is also on the ballot as the candidate of the Working Families Party in the Feb. 25 election.
Voters also learned that DeJesus owes nearly $140,000 in back property taxes and $37,500 in child support. These revelations led Mayor Bill Finch to ask him to exit the Senate race.
“It’s a smart move by Councilman DeJesus to step down,” Finch said. “I urge him to drop out of the senate race, too. It seems clear that doing so is in the best interest of our city.”
Finch is now backing former school board President Kenneth Moales Jr. in the race. Democrat Charles Hare and Republican Quentin Dreher are also candidates in the race.
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