Post-Mortem on the Corrupt Democratic Convention
As this election cycle comes to a close, I want to share my thoughts about what happened at the CT Democratic Convention.
I re-registered as a Democrat to challenge Rosa DeLauro for the Democratic Primary so that Democratic voters in Connecticut’s Third Congressional District could have a fundamental choice in who represented them in Congress. In this historically Democratic district, the only prominent choice comes in the Democratic primary.
There were reports of the Democratic State Party pressuring— if not outright bullying and threatening— delegates that if they voted for any challenger, they could lose resources for their constituents, resources for their own elections, or positions in the party or government.
Despite this pressure, we accrued 45 of the needed 51 delegates to force a primary.
As outlined below, the party broke several rules, the most prominent being the 10-minute rule. The Democratic Party broke rules, and in doing so, possibly violated state law to deny our campaign the legal opportunity to collect the last 6 delegates necessary to be included on the primary ballot, so that voters could be given a democratic choice. Even worse, they admitted that they didn’t follow the procedures, but then declined to take any action to remedy the situation.
This is not just nitpicking. Delegate votes frequently change during this “10-minute” window (historically, it hasn’t even been capped at 10 minutes), and it frequently impacts the outcome of nominations. Although the DSCC doesn’t publish records of the non-final tallies, we found news coverage of at least 8 recent instances that votes have changed during that window, and in several cases those re-votes changed the nominated candidates:
The Democratic Establishment broke their own rules to deny their own voters a fundamental choice in policy, and force upon the voters the establishment’s preferred candidate. Democrats in CT abandoned democracy and protected the incumbent.
The establishment must be held accountable for this corruption.
News Articles about the Convention:
“DeLauro Challenger Challenges Convention” - New Haven Independent, 5/29/26
“Panel Rejects DeLauro Challenger’s Convention Complaint” - New Haven Independent, 6/2/26
“Panel nixes challenge to DeLauro’s convention win” - Connecticut Mirror, 6/2/26
“In CT’s 3rd District, DeLauro eyes gavel as Lancia seeks change” - Connecticut Mirror, 10/22/26
Full Text of Our Complaint to the CT Democratic Party:
To the Executive Director of the Connecticut Democratic Party Sarah Locke,
I am submitting a Formal Complaint requesting an investigative process, including protections under Article V of Connecticut Democratic State Party Rules, looking into violations of “Agenda 2026 US House of Representatives Endorsement Convention” and “2026 Democratic Party Congressional Convention Rules” approved by the Connecticut Democratic State Central Committee. These violations undermine the legitimacy of the results for the May 11th 2026 Democratic Party Congressional Convention for Connecticut’s Third Congressional District. Therefore, I am requesting a new Congressional Convention for Connecticut’s Third Congressional District be held.
Link to Agenda: https://www.ctdems.org/2026-congressionalconvention-agenda.pdf
Link to Rules: https://www.ctdems.org/2026-congressional-convention-rules.pdf
The above files were emailed to CD3 Convention Delegates on 5/10/26 from the email address: conventions@ctdems.org
The following list describes violations of “Agenda 2026 US House of Representatives Endorsement Convention”
After the Temporary Chair Kristen Malloy-Scanlon called the convention to order (Agenda Item 1), the temporary chair invited Reverend Abraham Hernandez from Grace Fellowship Church in East Haven for a prayer. This item was not on the agenda and no motion was made to add to the agenda.
The Convention Chair, Vincent Mauro Jr, failed to call for the appointment of a Parliamentarian for the Convention (Agenda Item 6). There was no motion to exclude this agenda item nor any reason or context given as to why this agenda item was excluded.
The Convention Chair, Vincent Mauro Jr, failed to call for the Adoption of Rules for the Convention (Agenda Item 7). There was no motion to exclude this agenda item nor any reason or context given as to why this agenda item was excluded.
The announcement of the presumed winner (Agenda Item 10), Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro, was to be immediately followed by an acceptance speech of the presumed winner (Agenda Item 11). The Convention Chair, Vincent Mauro Jr, called for a campaign style video of Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro lasting 6 minutes and 13 seconds to be presented to the Convention. There was no motion to include this agenda item nor any reason or context given as to why this agenda item was included.
The following list describes violations of “2026 Democratic Party Congressional Convention Rules*”
*No rules package was approved or adopted by the delegates at the Third Congressional District Convention. The following violations are of the presumed rules drafted and approved by Democratic State Central Committee.
The Convention Chair Vincent Mauro Jr violated Rule 6, Section a, subsection iii by allowing nominating and seconding speeches for Rosa DeLauro to last a combined 12 minutes and 14 seconds versus nominating and seconding speeches for Andrew Rice having only 8 minutes and 25 seconds combined. The rules stipulate these combined lengths shall not exceed 8 minutes.
The Convention Chair Vincent Mauro Jr violated Rule 6, Section a, subsection iv by allowing presumed endorsed nominee Rosa DeLauro to deliver an acceptance speech lasting 13 minutes and 45 seconds. The rules stipulate the acceptance speech shall not exceed 5 minutes.
The Convention Chair Vincent Mauro Jr violated Rule 7 by not holding a roll call vote by town delegation. The vote was conducted by a final tally. There was no motion to amend this rule nor any reason or context given as to why this rule was ignored.
The Convention Chair Vincent Mauro Jr violated Rule 10 by not providing delegations with a 10-minute period to change their votes at the conclusion of a roll call vote. There was no motion to amend this rule nor any reason or context given as to why this rule was ignored.
The Convention Chair Vincent Mauro Jr violated Rule 1, Robert’s Rules of Order, by failing to properly recognize and give the podium, microphone, or quiet chamber to Hamden Delegates Taite Lipchak and Bradford Picarello when they raised a “Point of Order.” The Chair failed to provide a ruling of “Well taken" or "Not well taken” to the points of order and instead called on the delegation to vote in favor against the point of order on Taite’s Point. Robert’s Rules of Order stipulate a chair provides a ruling, the ruling can be appealed, and then a vote is called. The point of order should have been determined by the parliamentarian. However, since the agenda item of appointing a parliamentarian was omitted by the Chair, the Chair did not consult with anyone, and decided to take an out of order voice vote.
The Convention Chair Vincent Mauro Jr violated Rule 1, Robert’s Rules of Order, by ignoring Tiffany French Goffe when she raised a “Point of Order” and instead unilaterally instructed a campaign style video of Rosa DeLauro to be played.
Given the experienced nature of the Convention Chair Vincent Mauro Jr, who chairs the New Haven DTC, the largest DTC in the Third Congressional District, and has chaired committee and conventions for years and the presence of senior Democratic State Central Committee members, it is difficult to comprehend blatant violations of Robert’s Rules of Order, “Agenda 2026 US House of Representatives Endorsement Convention” and “2026 Democratic Party Congressional Convention Rules.”
The actions of this Chair casts doubt on the ability of the Convention to remain neutral and impartial during the convention. A new Congressional Convention for Connecticut’s Third Congressional District must be held to ensure the legitimacy of the Democratic Party in accordance with the Connecticut Democratic Party rules as authorized by the Democratic State Central Committee.
Thank you for your attention to this matter. We look forward to working with you to resolve these violations of Connecticut Democratic Party rules as authorized by the Democratic State Central Committee.