Eva Bermudez, a local, state and national union organizer for the Service Employees International Union, and an outreach worker for Access Health CT, was sworn in December 3 to fill an open District 2 seat on the Legislative Council.

She received the endorsement of Paul Lundquist and Daniel Amaral, two of the three Democratic council members charged with naming a replacement after Lisa Romano resigned her seat last month. Democrat Dan Honan was not on hand for the vote, but arrived at the meeting a short time later.

Following her first meeting as a local council member, Ms Bermudez told The Newtown Bee that the prospect of serving her community in such a leadership role was “very exciting.”

“I want to be sure I represent my party, that my budget votes [provide] a voice for Democrats, and to make sure taxpayers are represented in the budget process,” she said. She said her role on the council represents her first elected political position.

Newtown Democratic Town Committee Chairman James Juliano said he met Ms Bermudez on a Danbury picket line three years ago when she was supporting a strike by healthcare workers.

He said while Ms Bermudez lacks any experience – either elected or appointed – in Newtown’s political or government structure, she has a wealth of experience working on union-related issues with the Connecticut State Employees Association SEIU Local 2001, as well as on political campaigns.

The DTC chair, who was on hand for her swearing in Wednesday evening, said Ms Bermudez supported the campaigns of local Democrat Matt Cole ran unsuccessfully for the 106th District statehouse seat, and State Representative Kim Fawcett, who had designs on the state Senate seat vacated by Senator John McKinney.

According to her LinkedIn bio, Ms Bermudez also states she supported the re-election campaign of President Barack Obama in Las Vegas and Chester County, Nevada in 2012.

“I brought her into the DTC because we needed someone with her expertise and political savvy,” Mr Juliano said of the new council member. “She has been tireless keeping the DTC informed about state and national health care issues.”

As recently as late October, Ms Bermudez was a featured panelist for a Connecticut Health Advancement and Research Trust symposium that focused on developing informed, effective consumers and advocates to use their collective power to transform health care to a quality, affordable, person and community-centered system, according to event documents.

She also served as one of 300 Personal Assistors for Access Health CT in 2013, according to reports in the CT Mirror, and was personally responsible for signing up nearly 1,000  of the 19,000 state residents onto the health insurance exchange. She also advocated for making similar services available during the current enrollment period.

Her LinkedIn profile also indicates Ms Bermudez was active with the Hartford Democratic Town Committee for a period of time in 2011; was a Bridgeport Field Coordinator/Office Manager for the 2010 Dan Malloy for Governor campaign; as well as a campaign manager for Edwin Vargas’ 2010 campaign for State Senate.

From 2008 to 2009, she served as a Legislative Aid in Washington, DC for Congressman Charles B. Rangel, and was previously active with ConnPIRG, the state Public Interest Research Group. As a property owner in Hartford since 2009, Ms Bermudez said she plans to remain active as Treasurer of Hartford’s Sheldon Street/Charter Oak neighborhood group.

Ms Bermudez earned a certificate of completion from Yale University’s Women’s Campaign School; and graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts in Pre-Law Studies and Political Science from the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico-Metropolitan Campus.

Democratic council members Paul Lundquist, Dan Honan and Daniel Amaral were charged with naming a replacement for Ms Romano. While Mr Honan did not arrive until after the vote, Mr Lundquist and Mr Amaral’s endorsement Wednesday installed Ms Bermudez to complete Ms Romano’s remaining term, which runs to December 1, 2015.

Ms Romano, reached by email, said she was thrilled that Ms Bermudez was accepting the position on the Legislative Council.

“She will listen thoughtfully, think and speak logically, and have an understanding of her constituents’ needs from her previous advocacy work,” Ms Romano said. “She is very approachable, and I encourage Sandy Hook residents to reach out and get to know her.”