Democrats Tight-Lipped—

Republican, IPN Election Day

Gains Usher In Many New Faces

By Kendra Bobowick

& John Voket

He stood on a chair and raised his voice for attention.

“This was a terrific victory and I am looking forward to the next two years,” Republican Town Committee Chairman Bill Brimmer intoned to an excited gathering of party faithful as they witnessed a fundamental shift of power that drained elected influence away from local Democrats in favor of local Independents and the GOP.

Among the crowd wedged into the party headquarters Tuesday night was first selectman’s race victor Pat Llodra, and standing beside her was running mate Will Rodgers. Both will trade council seats for positions on Board of Selectmen come December 1.

Less than a mile from the Republican celebration was another crowd toasting its “huge” victory. Independent Party of Newtown Chairman Bruce Walczak, who ran and lost his race for first selectman, congratulated IPN member William Furrier’s win as the third Board of Selectmen member. Only several years since its inception, the IPN members this year find representatives on several boards, including the Legislative Council and Board of Selectmen. “This is huge, huge,” Mr Walczak said.

In the minutes before he knew his party’s results, he was still feeling positive. Regarding the IPN campaign, he said, “The team was right in the middle of it.” The energized election process this year was a general win for the town. As for the IPNs efforts, “We won months ago,” he said, by reengaging the town, and getting a selection of candidates “out there.” He said, “It’s a big win for the town and for us.”

Down on lower Church Hill Road a more somber mood prevailed.

Despite the two dozen people milling around at Democratic headquarters, the room was quiet. As first selectman candidate Gary Fetzer watched the polling numbers fall short of a win for him, and for selectman challenger Joe Hemingway, he said, “The voters have spoken.”

Speaking mostly to himself, Joe Hemingway wondered, “It’s hard to figure how the votes have split,” he said. Two Republicans made the selectmen’s board, and one Independent, but neither of the two Democrats running. On his way out the door to congratulate his opponent at Republican headquarters, Mr Fetzer said, “I congratulate [Mrs Llodra]. The Republicans ran a great race.”

Petitioning challenger for first selectman Pat Heigel was happy with the campaign, before unofficial count sealed the freshman contender’s political fate. As he enjoyed a campaign celebration with friend and Sandy Hook Hair co-owner Bonnie Fredericks at her hair salon, he said, “This was a good process,” although in the end Mr Heigel said he was hoping for “a little influence” in town.

In the end, local electors awarded Republicans with the probate judge seat, which was won in a relatively tight contest by Moira Rodgers, the wife of Republican Selectman-elect Will Rodgers. She edged out Democrat Timothy Holian by 61 votes, and fellow Republican Margaret “Peggy” Jepson, who was endorsed by the IPN, by a 258-vote margin.

The most substantial Republican majority was achieved on the Legislative Council, with eight of the 12 seats going to Republican incumbents Jeff Capeci and John Aurelia, Sr, and GOP newcomers Jan Andras, George Ferguson, Chris LaRoque, Mary Ann Jacob, and Benjamin Spragg. Gary Davis and Independent newcomers Kevin Fitzgerald and James S. Belden will represent the IPN on the council.

IPN Councilwoman Po Murray, who gained a seat in 2007, failed to win reelection in District 2.

Daniel Amaral will be the lone Democrat remaining on the council. And the race in his district was so tight that it triggered a recount.

That hand counting process was completed Thursday afternoon with Mr Amaral, Mr Spragg, Mr Belden, and Republican Mitch Bolinski each gaining one vote in their respective counts, but failing to change any outcomes. According to Democratic Registrar LeReine Frampton, the votes were gained on ballots that were not marked in a way that they could accurately be read by the optical scanner voting machines, but visual inspections by a team of registrars’ staff determined the ballots were marked with clear intent to support the aforementioned candidates.

Despite offering two challengers to the six cross-endorsed incumbents for the Board of Finance, IPN candidates Ben Roberts and William McNerny were unsuccessful in their bids. That race also saw one of two Republicans become the town’s two top vote-getters, with Harrison Waterbury receiving 4,691 votes. But even his numbers were overshadowed by cross-endorsed Planning and Zoning Chair Lilla Dean, who was the town’s top vote-getter with a tally of 5,024.

Another closely watched competition saw Town Clerk Debbie Aurelia outpace Democratic challenger Sarah Frampton by a nearly 2 to 1 margin.

A GOP majority will also prevail on the Board of Education, with Debbie Leidlein and Chris Lagana joining Katherine Fetchick, who is at her midterm. Two IPN-endorsed candidates who were previous appointees to the board, Richard Gains and William Hart, also won full terms, leaving Vice Chair Lillian Bittman as the sole Democrat on the board.

Even the Police Commission lost longtime Democratic member Robert Connor, Jr, in favor of Republican newcomer James Viadero and IPN candidate Keith Jacobs, who previously served a single term on the Legislative Council.

Terse Democratic Response

Democrats were generally tight-lipped when asked Wednesday to try and make some sense of the political shifts coming out of this year’s elections. Mr Fetzer did not respond to an email query for comment, and his running mate Mr Hemingway responded with a curt: “Sorry, gone fishin, good luck.”

His daughter, Sarah Hemingway, the DTC’s vice chair and campaign coordinator, responded with a written statement that said, “I am incredibly proud of the Democratic candidates for the campaign they ran. Across the board, our candidates worked hard and showed how much they truly care about this town. It takes a lot to step up and be willing not only to serve the people, but to run for office.”

Ms Hemingway, who serves as a legislative aide in Hartford, was in a position to confirm that Newtown’s election results were consistent with results from across the state and nation.

“Last year was the year of the Democrats, and this year was, by all accounts, the year of the Republicans,” Ms Hemingway observed. “Strong Democratic towns like Milford, Stratford, Stamford, and Norwalk all saw an insurgence of Republican victories. That and the typical IPN draw of more Democratic than Republican votes resulted in a strong showing for Republicans.”

In the final days of the campaign, Ms Hemingway said, things took a far nastier turn than normal in Newtown politics.

“I have to imagine that the negativity had an impact, minimally on turnout and probably also on the way people voted,” she wrote.

This sentiment was echoed by First Selectman-elect Llodra Wednesday. “Negative messages may have contributed to the outcome,” she said.

“This is our race, our year and celebration,” said Carol Mattegat, who spoke to The Bee at GOP headquarters Tuesday evening. She soon merged into the growing crowd. Mr Ferguson spoke presciently minutes before unofficial totals were verified, saying, “I think we’re looking at a big win for [Mrs Llodra].”

Similarly, Republican Jane Sharpe had said, “I have been here 45 years and this is one of the most exciting campaigns, all the parties have done a superb job.” Noting that the IPN “raised the ante,” she said, “It’s dramatic.”