Democrats nominate Dickau to run in special election for vacant District 3 seat

Mark Dickau is the Democratic candidate for the District 3 special election later this month. | DTC

Posted By: David Fortier July 3, 2024

Mark Dickau will be the Democratic candidate in the July 30 special election for the District 3 city council seat left vacant when Republican city councilmember Andrew Howe resigned, citing a toxic work environment in a newspaper account covering his resignation.

“We are excited Mark has the opportunity to run as he worked hard last November,” said Bristol Democratic Town Committee chair Mike Nicastro, in a release from the DTC announcing Dickau’s selection in the most recent DTC meeting on June 30.

Dickau lost in his bid for the council seat in the last municipal election but was the highest Democratic vote getter. He will be running against Republican Sal Mazzarella.

“This will also be an opportunity for Bristol residents to end the toxic one-party control that has ruled the roost since 2021,” Nicastro said, also, in the release, “the same one that delivered its second consecutive significant tax increase after maligning the previous Administration for a single minimal increase during Covid.”

A Bristol native and life-long Bristol resident, Dickau grew up on Federal Hill. Currently, he lives in Forestville with his wife, Melissa, the director of the Bristol Hospital Women Infant and Children’s program.

Together, they raised their daughter Alexandra Thomas, a Bristol Central graduate who recently completed her doctorate in African American Studies and Art History at Yale University.

“I met hundreds of people in last year’s campaign, and am ready to hit the ground running again,” said Dickau in the release. “The key issues haven’t changed much in the last eight months, other than Bristol taxpayers are being asked to pay more for less services and no new programs.”

Among his priorities, Dickau included investing in Bristol’s infrastructure and identifying ways to control utility expenses through a variety of Energy Commission initiatives and encouraging targeted investment and business growth in Forestville center, which has had several businesses close.

In addition, he included supporting Bristol Hospital and its vital role in the community as a health care provider and second largest employer from within local government and improving traffic safety and responding to neighborhood concerns.

The special election for the District 3 city council vacancy will be held Tuesday, July 30, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Only one polling place will be open, Bristol Arts & Innovation Magnet School (BAIMS), which means all district voters, including those who usually vote at Greene-Hills and Bristol Eastern will be voting at BAIMS. The entrance is at the rear of the school.

Early voting opens July 24 and continues on successive days through July 27, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., each day.

Absentee ballot applications are available in person at the city clerk’s office in city hall or by calling (860) 584-6200, ext. 0.

DTC meetings are free and open to all Democrats. The meetings are held the fourth Tuesday of each month, starting at 6:30 p.m.

Typically, the meetings are held at the Bristol Elks Club, but the club is being renovated, so the location of the next meeting, July 23, has yet to be announced.

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