Sandra Pittman and Lisa Velazquez Torres won the Ward 3 Democratic co-chair race in New Haven's Hill neighborhood on March 4, 2026, after absentee ballots broke a deadlock that had left the contest unresolved on election night.
The final tally showed Pittman with 168 votes and Velazquez Torres with 150 votes, defeating incumbents Angel Hubbard, who received 139 votes, and Clarence Cummings, who received 117 votes. The results were certified after absentee ballots were counted at City Hall.
Absentee Ballots Decided the Race
In-person voting on March 3 at Career High School, 140 Legion Ave., ended in a near-tie: Pittman and Hubbard each received approximately 120 in-person votes from the 241 residents who cast ballots in person. The outcome came down to the absentee count — Pittman secured 50 absentee votes compared to Hubbard's 19, providing the margin needed to unseat the incumbent.
Vinnie Mauro, chair of the New Haven Democratic Town Committee, acknowledged the result as a reflection of the democratic process.
Fourth Contest Between Pittman and Hubbard
The Ward 3 co-chair race marked the fourth time in 18 months that residents of the Hill neighborhood had cast votes in a contest involving the Pittman and Hubbard names.
Hubbard, who serves as Ward 3 alder on the New Haven Board of Alders, previously defeated Miguel Pittman — Sandra Pittman's husband and business partner at the Hill neighborhood restaurant Sandra's Next Generation — in three separate elections: a September 2024 special election to fill the Ward 3 alder seat, a 2025 Democratic primary, and the November 2025 general election.
With the co-chair race, Sandra Pittman became the first member of the family to defeat Hubbard in an electoral contest.
"My focus has always been on working together for the better of the ward," Hubbard said following the results.