In the heart of Waterbury, a vibrant initiative called It’s Time Waterbury is stirring a transformative movement. It’s a campaign school designed by and for Waterbury residents to expand political engagement. It’s not just about recognizing the issues that the city faces, but also embracing the resilience and potential of Waterbury’s residents. This “brass-roots” community collaborative champions a positive outlook on Waterbury, celebrating its parks, infrastructure, and neighborhoods as hubs of joy and unity.
The idea for developing a Waterbury-specific campaign school curriculum came in 2021 when a group of Waterbury residents sought to offer a non-partisan program for aspiring civic leaders. They looked at state-wide and national programs that might be offered. However, what they encountered fell short—lacking the depth, relevance, and local context needed for their city. Disappointed but determined, the group resolved to create a new program, driven by a vision for locally tailored, impactful civic leadership training. And so, It’s Time Waterbury was born.
In its first year, the program’s founders received grants from Connecticut Community Foundation and The Leever Foundation to design and pilot this program. Soon after, a coalition formed, bringing together the strengths of It’s Time Waterbury, Waterbury Empowers the People to ACT (WEPA), and Waterbury Strong Community Collaborative. The design team poured eight months of dedication into crafting a six-week program aimed at nurturing and educating the city’s residents.
Bilal Tajildeen, one of the founders of the design team, states, “Every Waterbury resident has the ability to make change. The topics we designed do not depend on party analysis. Waterbury’s history, our voter turnout statistics, and the fundamentals of canvassing, marketing, and putting together a campaign team are basic to civic participation. Our design team took careful measures to ensure they created a space where people could ask questions and work out answers. And thanks to the instructors who facilitated the classes and the passionate participants, I believe we achieved that.”
In 2023, It’s Time Waterbury received two grants from the Connecticut Community Foundation. The first was a $15,000 planning grant to assist the endeavor with foundational business planning elements. The second grant was for $5,000 that was used to host in-person and virtual forums between September and November 2023, during Waterbury’s election season. They added Brass City Gamers to their coalition and with the added funding were able to train even more residents on how to better engage in the civic process.
Over the last two years, 28 people have responded to a call for civic engagement and participated in the campaign school. They dedicated their Saturday mornings to learning how to actively participate in the democratic process, aiming to dismantle barriers in housing, health, education and wealth and pave the way for a stronger, fairer Waterbury. These graduates brought diverse motivations and commitments to this cause.
Tylo (Ty) Hernandez, a student at the campaign school, highlighted a common purpose among all the students: rather than getting stuck in stagnant thinking, they were committed to ongoing discussions about the most effective ways to support campaigns and candidates. “We all agreed on identifying practical ways to help continue the ongoing effort in making the world a better place, which is particularly rare given the times we are living in.” Hernandez also identified how important the diversity of the team was to him. “There are stereotypes I often hear people talk about when they’re talking about Connecticut Independents, Republicans, and Democrats. This team’s diversity, including their political diversity, was key for the inclusivity I needed as a multi-racial, LGBTQ+ Democrat with faithful roots.”
Photo Credit: Maza Rey Photography
One participant, having navigated a campaign amid challenging personal milestones, found solace in a program that filled the gaps left by previous experiences. Hector Navaro was a student in the Cohort 1 campaign school and a volunteer for Cohorts 2 and 3. When he first attended the program he was surprised to learn that most residents are disengaged from the political process. “During our classes, we discussed that voter turnout was less than 8% of the residents in Waterbury. This indicates that a few folks are determining the policy for the majority, and we all agreed that needed to change.” Navaro’s forward-looking plans, inspired by the training, center on leveraging the insights from the program’s marketing module. He aims to enhance communication strategies by effectively conveying political desires, beliefs, stances, and aspirations through both digital platforms and traditional advertising channels. He says, “I plan to use what I learned to canvas my constituents prior to the election cycle so that I am not waiting during election season to introduce myself to residents. My goal in the short term was for residents to know me and know what I was about. Long term, I hope to have residents engaged in policies and action items that I present to my fellow commissioners to improve our public education system.” It is worth noting that Hector Navaro is now an elected official and in his first election (this November, though he was previously appointed), received the 2nd highest votes out of all 6 Board of Ed commissioners who ran.
Campaign school participants shared a commitment to addressing the issue of disengagement from the political process and to advocating for a more inclusive and representative civic landscape. In the future, the Campaign School anticipates opportunities for more collaborative efforts. It’s Time Waterbury imagines a grassroots pathway leading to a specialized training program called the Candidate School for aspiring political figures. In fact, the impetus for creating a Candidate School stems from the fact that three elected officials sprung out of the Campaign School program, with hopes for more! Recognizing the importance of supportive leadership, the program acknowledges the necessity for increased mentorship, guidance, and education to empower new and emerging candidates.
Through networking, discussions, and learning opportunities, It’s Time Waterbury’s campaign school aims to be a catalyst for a thriving, engaged community where each resident’s voice is not just heard but actively shapes the city’s future.