With New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart’s decision to veto the Paul Manafort Drive vote, the likelihood of it being changed in the future is slim.

Although the street has not faced a completely new name change, a slight addition may catch the eye of passing students and faculty on the Central Connecticut campus.

Originally named Paul Manafort Drive, the street was named after the former mayor of New Britain, Paul Manafort Sr. However, Mayor Stewart felt the street sign was misleading.

“[Mayor Stewart] wanted to make sure there was no misunderstanding in the name. But whether it’s Junior or Senior, the name is still there,” Alderman Aram Ayalon stated in an interview.

The street sign was changed after Paul Manafort Jr. was convicted of eight out of 18 counts against him. A jury found Manafort Jr., President Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, guilty of five counts of tax fraud, two counts of bank fraud and one count of failing to file foreign bank account reports (FBAR), according to Forbes.

At the Common Council meeting held on Sept. 26, a vote was held to debate whether the street name should be changed or stay the same. The vote was 9-6, with more in favor of changing the name.

Democrats on the council, primarily Alderman Ayalon, suggested the change in street names from ‘Paul Manafort Sr. Drive’ to ‘Ebenezer D.C. Bassett Way’ because he was a “very prominent” figure in Central history.

Bassett was the first African American graduate of the Connecticut Normal School and a predecessor at CCSU, according to Alderman Ayalon.

“There are very few streets in New Britain that are named after African Americans in general,” Alderman Ayalon stated.

However, Mayor Stewart vetoed the decision of the Common Council. She provided The Recorder with her veto message on Monday.

“The ugly truth is that elected officials saw an opportunity to feed into the national media stories. It had absolutely nothing to do with their opinion of former Mayor Manafort,” Stewart stated. “It was merely a pretext to legitimize a political maneuver.”

“When you review the record of service of former Mayor Paul Manafort Sr., with that of my colleagues who wish to strip him of his honor, it pales in comparison. This is a man who served the city for decades, on more civic boards and organizations than many on the council combined. This is a man who dedicated his adult life to giving back to our city,” Mayor Stewart continued. “I firmly believe there was no mistake in former [New Britain] Mayor Linda Blogoslawski’s intent to name this street after Mayor Paul Manafort Sr.”

On the Democratic side, the mayor’s decision to veto struck conversation within the common council.

“I’m not surprised because [Manafort] was a Republican,” Alderman Ayalon said. “[Because] the Manafort family and similar ones have big business here [in New Britain]. The mayor depends on him.”

Agreeing with Mayor Stewart, Republicans on the common council feel the street sign should not be changed.

“I find it a disservice. Why not give him his due? Why are we giving another street to someone else because of somebody else’s ills?” Alderman Daniel Salerno, who opposed the street change, said.

Mayor Stewart’s decision to veto the common council’s vote, keeping the street name, does not sit well with the Democratic aldermen who want to override her veto but know their chances are slim to none.

“To override we need 10 [votes]. We have nine [votes]. The six Republicans on the council never vote against her wishes,” Alderman Ayalon said. “Hopefully, next election either we’ll have a veto-proof of 10 or more votes or the next mayor will be a Democrat and then we can try again.”

Some residents of New Britain attended the Common Council meeting on Sept. 26 and spoke during public participation.

Resident Patricia Karowski expressed to the council that “[the street name change] should not be a political issue.”

Contradicting her beliefs, resident and attorney Nicholas E. Denigris said: “Why should he [Manafort Sr.], in any way, affiliate with his son’s problems?”

With Mayor Stewart’s veto in place, Alderman Ayalon is hoping the street name change could still be implemented in the future.

“It would be much more meaningful to Central to have this street go along [the university],” Alderman Ayalon stated. “However you look at it, it appears to be beneficial to change the name to someone we can be proud of, someone that is [crucial] to the Central community.”

“Are we going to reward corruption? Or are we going to reward diversity and reward people we are more proud of?” Alderman Ayalon concluded.