The whole town is talking. But Mayoral spokesperson Sarah Barr can't say a word.

 

"I can't confirm anything because I am not the contact for the campaign," Barr said Wednesday afternoon. The campaign contact will be made known at some point soon, she said.

 

Mayor Perez was out of the office and couldn't comment, and Superintendent Steven Adamowski was unavailable as well, but reliable sources say that Mayor Eddie Perez will officially announce his bid for re-election Monday, April 9 at 5 pm at Rawson Elementary School at 260 Holcomb Street in Hartford's Blue Hills neighborhood.

 

Perez is joining a crowded Democratic field that includes former Deputy Mayor I. Charles Mathews, state representatives Minnie Gonzalez and Art Feltman, former state senator Frank Barrows, and more.

 

The use of a public school facility for electoral purposes is not prohibited by law, according to Attorney Joan Andrews at the Connecticut State Elections Enforcement Commission.

 

The commission has little to no regulatory authority over municipal elections, except until like three months before the election day, Andrews said.

 

The law covering municipal refernda is very clear, Andrews said. It prohibits the use of children, school facilities, or sending flyers home, or any other municipal resources to pass referenda, but SEEC lacks jurisdiction over it, she said.

 

The SEEC receives many calls about things like Perez's announcement, where an elected official or a party utilizes public facilities for campaign purposes, but can do little about it, Andrews said.

 

"As a matter of policy you would think would be wrong," she said. "But we have to dismiss cases like it time and time again. We say we don't have jurisdiction, and we get a lot of cases."

 

There currently is no legislation that Andrews knows of that would deal with what Perez plans on doing.