FARMINGTON — Most of Farmington votes for the same state legislators. Three precincts don't. Voters in precincts 1-3 and 2-5 choose a state representative in the 22nd District, and voters in precinct 1-2 choose a state senator in the 6th District. Our elections page shows which races are on your ballot.
22nd House District: Rebecca Martinez vs. Richard Mette
The 22nd District includes Plainville, Farmington and Southington.
Rebecca Martinez, a Democrat also on the Working Families line, was first elected in November 2024. She is a nurse with Elara Caring, has lived in Plainville since 2009, and served five years on the Plainville Board of Education, according to her legislative biography. She sits on the Appropriations, Children, General Law and Public Health committees.
Like Rep. Mike Demicco in the neighboring 21st District, she voted yes on the 2025 state budget, the 2025 housing bill the governor vetoed, the housing law that replaced it, which Farmington wrote into its zoning rules in September, the 2025 energy bill and the 2026 budget adjustments, according to the legislature's roll calls.
Her campaign site promises legislation "to further reduce taxes for seniors and the middle class, make the Child Tax Credit permanent, and take on price gouging on our daily living expenses." Her 2026 newsletter says she secured "over $5.4 million in education funding and municipal aid for Plainville, Farmington, and Southington," and that the legislature passed a bill "to lower public benefits charges on electric bills." This year she was among the introducers of bills for a refundable child tax credit and a volunteer firefighter tax credit, and also of bills to raise the top income tax rate and add a capital gains surcharge; those two did not move past committee.
Richard Mette, a Republican also on the Independent Party line, lives in Plainville and, as of March, chaired the Connecticut Trout Unlimited Council, a conservation group for rivers and the fish that live in them, testifying for it that month on a bill about fish passages. He has no campaign website, and we found no published platform and no record of public office.
The money. Both candidates are in the state's public financing program. Martinez received $38,625 in grants and reported $39,263.87 on hand on Sept. 30. The commission approved Mette's grant on Sept. 2; his filing reports a $38,125 grant and $19,782.85 on hand. Both figures are from their October filings with the State Elections Enforcement Commission.
6th Senate District: Rick Lopes vs. Tremell Collins
The 6th District is mostly New Britain and Berlin. In Farmington it reaches only precinct 1-2. The rest of town is in the 5th District, where Sen. Derek Slap, a Democrat, has no opponent.
Rick Lopes, a Democrat also on the Working Families line, was elected to the Senate in 2020 after eight years as a state representative from New Britain. He is a deputy majority leader, chairs the Environment Committee and has run a property management business since 1993, according to his Senate biography. He voted yes on the 2025 budget, the vetoed 2025 housing bill and the housing law that replaced it, the 2025 energy bill and the 2026 budget adjustments. His campaign site lists health care costs, workers and small business, tax cuts for retirees, schools, and the environment and transportation.
Tremell Collins, a Republican from New Britain, is running against Lopes again. He lost to him in 2022, with 10,666 votes to Lopes's 13,771, according to the state elections database. He also ran for the state House in 2018 and for New Britain's Board of Aldermen in 2017. His campaign Facebook page describes him as "a lifelong community advocate." He has no campaign website, and we found no published platform.
The money. The State Elections Enforcement Commission found Lopes eligible for a public grant on Sept. 2. Collins has not appeared in the commission's grant announcements through Oct. 7.
How to vote
Early voting runs Monday, Oct. 19, through Sunday, Nov. 1, on the third floor of Town Hall, 20 Monteith Drive. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. This year, precinct 2-5 votes at the Community/Senior Center, 321 New Britain Avenue, Unionville. Hours, polling places and the full ballot are on our elections page.
This coverage is supported by Farmington Storage, 155 Scott Swamp Road, the only storage facility in Connecticut with Museum air. Three precincts get a longer ballot. Everyone gets the same air. 860.777.4001 📦
Jack Beckett has covered Farmington long enough to know which three precincts get the extra races, and still checks the sample ballot every time. He is on his third coffee. ☕
The Farmington Mercury covers Farmington from the records up: town government, the police log, zoning, schools and elections. Our motto is "Always last to breaking news." farmingtonmercury.com 📰