Despite spectacular Indian Summer weather, less than one-third of Newtown's 16,597 registered voters had turned out to endorse a full slate of local elected officials as Newtown's polling locations closed at 8 pm on November 3.

And when all the ballots were counted, local Democrats who campaigned on a platform of balancing out party affiliations on a number of boards and commissions were ultimately successful. A close race in Legislative Council District 2 forced a recount which resolved Thursday, November 5 in favor of the declared winner.

With all three Board of Selectmen candidates running unopposed, there was no top of ticket competition, leaving contenders for the Board of Education and Finance, Legislative Council, and several under ticket boards to vie for voters' attention.

Republican First Selectman Pat Llodra will serve another two-year term alongside her running mate Selectman Will Rodgers. They will be joined by Democratic Selectman and former First Selectman Herb Rosenthal.

As numbers first came in Tuesday evening, Mrs Llodra saw that “clearly the Democrats prevailed” in certain districts and “picked up seats” on the town elected bodies.

"They ran a good campaign," she said. While congratulating the night’s winners, she also thanked those “who didn’t prevail. It’s still a win for all who serve the community. Everyone on the ballot wanted to win.”

Democratic Selectman James Gaston, Sr opted to compete for a two-year term on the Board of Finance, where he previously served as vice-chair. He was successful in that pursuit joining incumbent Republican John Godin and newcomers — Republicans Mark Boland, Sr and Sandy Roussas, and Democrats Kelley Johnson and Aaron Carlson — when the new slate of elected officials take office December 1.

Competition for the Legislative Council was heated, with Democrats and Republicans vying for every seat. But when all the ballots were tallied at the two local party headquarters, Republican incumbent George Ferguson along with newcomer Democrats Christopher Eide, Judit DeStephano and incumbent Paul Lundquist claimed District 1 victories.

In District 2 Republican Dan Wiedemann reclaimed a seat he lost two years ago by a narrow margin. However, the close proximity of votes between Mr Wiedemann and Democrat Jennifer Padilla forced a recount of that entire district's balloting according to Democratic Registrar LeReine Frampton.

That recount was completed the afternoon of Thursday, November 5, with Mr Wiedemann retaining  the win by a 19 vote margin.

Speaking to The Bee on election night and looking forward to another two years of council service, Mr Weidemann said, “I think we’re in for a long budget season.” He also proved a point that First Selectman Pat Llodra soon made as all poll numbers were tallied: “One loss doesn’t mean it’s over; come back and try again,” she said. 

In Council District 2 GOP incumbents Mary Ann Jacob and Ryan Knapp, along with Democrat Dan Honan, also won re-election.

Ms Jacob, who is council chair, said “I'm excited to work with new colleagues.” She feels the Legislative Council members have always worked well together, “And I think that will continue.”

Looking toward his second term, Mr Knapp said, “A lot of difficult decisions are coming up.” He also spoke about making the best decisions with the “limited taxes for the benefit of Newtown.”

Incumbents all reclaimed seats District 3, with Democrat Dan Amaral returning alongside Republican colleagues Phil Carroll, Neil Chaudhary and Anthony Filiato.

Two Democrats — Rebekah Harriman-Stites, and incumbent candidate John Vouros —  will take Board of Education seats alongside Republican newcomer Andrew Clure. Mr Clure, with an eye toward the Democratic victories, said, “change is always good.”

Wrapping up the under ticket, Democrat Maureen Crick Owen won a term on the Board of Assessment Appeals, while Democrat Corinne Cox and Republicans James Swift and Robert Mulholland captured seats on the Planning & Zoning Commission. Republicans Roy Meadows and Fred Taylor, along with Democrat Barbara Manville, were all unopposed as P&Z alternates.

Republicans Charles Annett and Tim Cronin and Democrat Ross Carley were unopposed for the Zoning Board of Appeals, as were Republicans Jane Sharpe and Stephen Singlak and Democrat Joseph Bojnowski as ZBA Alternates.

The Police Commission will see newcomer Democrat Dan Rosenthal seated beside Republican incumbent Brian Budd and Democrat Joel Faxon serving four-year terms, while Republican Robert Myer was unopposed in his effort to fill a two-year vacancy on the commission.

Democrat Anna Wiedemann and Republican Marie Smith earned terms on the Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers alongside Jennifer Chaudhary, who ran to fill a two-year vacancy.

Town Committee Chairman Jeff Capeci told the GOP supporters and candidates who gathered at My Place Restaurant, “The results are good. Overall, we did very well.” He nodded his thanks to Mrs Llodra for her leadership, and said he was pleased to have her and fellow Board of Selectman member Will Rodgers back for another term.

He recognized others who lost their seats, and looked to those who won reelection.

“I thank all who worked hard. Our message worked,” he told those in attendance.

Mrs Llodra commented that sometimes in a difficult campaign, animosity can develop.

“Put those things aside that might impede Newtown, welcome new members,” she said.

After the voting totals were listed at Democratic Headquarters at Newtown Shopping Village, James Gaston thanked those who participated in the municipal elections. About 30 people went to the headquarters on Tuesday night.

There was no better Democratic municipal election campaign in the last 25 years, than the one which was waged by Democrats in recent weeks, Mr Gaston said.

“We’ve kept on message, and the good people of Newtown have responded,” he said.

Herb Rosenthal pointed out to his fellow Democrats that the party will have a majority on the Police Commission for the first time since that board was formed in 1971. The Democrats will have three of the five seats on that panel, he said.

The newly elected Democratic selectman also noted that the Board of Finance will now have a 3-3 Republican-Democratic split, compared to its previous 4-2 Republican majority, he said.

Mr Rosenthal also pointed out a unique trend in follow-up email.

"Democrats picked up a seat on the Council, came within 17 votes (Jenn) of a 6 to 6 council, 50 votes (Eva) of a 7 to 5 Council, 81 votes (Chris) of an 8 to 4 Council; and the total votes for the 4 Democrats for Board of Finance were more than the total votes cast for the 4 Republicans.

He noted that Democrats won 2 of 3 seats on the Board of Education; gained a seat on the Planning and Zoning Commission and came within a few votes (Jon) of gaining a majority.

In the three head to head races - although all were elected, voters had to pick one or the other - Mr Rosenthal said Democrats had the most votes for all three races: Maureen Crick Owen, Board of Assessment Appeals, Anna Weidemann, Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers, and in his own selectman race.

"In addition Barbara Manville had the most votes for P&Z Alternate, Joe Bojnowski had the most votes for ZBA Alternate and last but not least, Ross Carley had the most votes for Zoning Board of Appeals," he added. "Those type of results rarely have happened for Democrats, even when I had some fairly successful victories as First Selectman and certainly not in the years since 2007."

The official vote counts as posted by the Registrars of Voters Newtown's can be found in the print edition of The Newtown Bee.

This story was updated on November 4 to add supplemental comments from Herb Rosenthal; to include Marie Smith as a re-elected member of the Edmond Town Hall Board of managers; to add Kelly Johnson to the Board of Finance; and to update developments regarding a Council District 2 recount.

Bee reporters Andrew Gorosko and Kendra Bobowick contributed to this report.