Former City Councilwoman Maria B. Gonzalez announced Monday
that she is dropping out of the race for State Representative
from the 3rd District. Her decision means incumbent Minnie Gonzalez
will be unopposed in her bid for re-election this November.
Maria Gonzalez had lost to Minnie Gonzalez in this year's Democratic
primary but then said that she would run in the general election
as a petitioning candidate. On Monday, however, she said she
had decided to end her campaign in order to devote more time
to volunteering at the Parkville Senior Center and to running
the Language League tutorial program, which she operates out
of her house.
She also said that she wanted to spend more time campaigning
for Barbara Kennelly, who is running against Gov. John Rowland.
Gonzalez, a retired teacher, said her decision does not mean
she is retiring from politics and, in fact, she said she is planning
to mount a challenge slate in the next year's 3rd District Democratic
Town Committee election.
