Connecticut Local Politics

Two close races in Bolton are having recounts this afternoon. At stake is the race for First Selectman and a seat on the Board of Education. Democrat Leslie Shea finished four votes behind Republican Bruno Simonetti in the First Selectman race, while a Democrat trails a Republican by thirteen votes in the Board of Educaiton [...]

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I drove out to Union last Thursday to see what was going on with their election, and to take pictures of election signs. I love taking pictures of election signs, which shows just how much of a political fanboy I really am.
Union is not a big town. In fact, population-wise, it’s Connecticut’s smallest town. [...]

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Republican and political newcomer Mike Bronko will be the new mayor of Naugatuck, after being swept to power by an overwhelming vote in favor of Renaissance Place, a downtown redevelopment project. Bronko was the only candidate to support the project.
Bronko will have a Republican majority to work with on the Board of Burgesses.
More than 60% [...]

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It was a good night for incumbents as Democrats at the top of the ticket kept their seats in Bethany, Woodbridge, Groton City and Jewett City. In Bethany, incumbent Derrylynn Gorski (D) defeated challenger Sal Amadeo (R) 1069-861 for First Selectman, while in Woodbridge incumbent Democrat Ed Sheehy defeated Republican Chris Dickerson 1536-1282 for First [...]

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I will update this as the night goes along.
8:37 - Naugatuck voters, listen in to WATR 1320 for live updates. Right now, Bronko is slightly ahead, while Renaissance Place is up by “a couple hundred votes.”
8:39 - Naugatuck - with three polling places reporting in, Bronko 963 Bosco 822 Jurzynski 545.
Renaissance Place is up [...]

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Polls have closed in towns holding elections today. I’ll update with results as soon as I know them.
A report out of Naugatuck says that there has been a problem with four voting machines there. Don’t know what the problem is, but it looks like some of the ballots will have to be counted by hand. [...]

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Turnout in Jewett City’s borough election today has exceeded all expectations by getting as high as… 14%!
Still better than 2005. Then voter turnout was 3.73%. Having more than one candidate per position helps, as does the publicity this election has generated. Still, no Democracy Cup for Jewett City this year.
Naugatuck, where voters are actually deciding [...]

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Voters in five towns and seven boroughs are going to the polls tomorrow to choose local leaders.
Important: This will be the first municipal election where optical scan machines will be in use!
There’s a lot of information to go through on the CT Elections Wiki for the May elections. Here are a couple of late [...]

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The largest of the towns holding elections next Monday is Naugatuck, which is not only electing a new mayor and board of burgesses, but also deciding on a downtown revitalization plan called Renaissance Place.
Republican Mayoral candidate Mike Bronko is for it, as is outgoing Republican Mayor Ron San Angelo (who is leaving to take some [...]

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In May 2005, less than 4% of Jewett City’s voters turned out for the borough’s elections, largely because the incumbents were running unopposed. There’s a long history of uncontested elections in this tiny section of Griswold, where Democrats have long ruled.
Not so this year. The usual Democratic suspects are running for re-election, but so is [...]

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Well, it’s another May election season, and time to gather in another crop of dismal municipal campaign websites.
Municipal elections often produce amazingly terrible websites. Often, it seems that local political parties think that having a presence on the web isn’t terribly important, and this attitude is apparent in many of the sites I’ve visited lately. [...]

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Groton is… complicated.
There’s the Town of Groton, which is governed by a 45-member Representative Town Meeting (RTM) and a 9-member Town Council, one of which is elected by the others to be mayor. There is also a Town Manager which administers town departments. The RTM’s duties include “[R]eviewing the actions of the Council and [...]

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Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz will demonstrate new optical scan voting machines to residents in Woodbridge and Naugatuck this week, according to a release from her office.
The events will take place on Tuesday, April 10th, at the Woodbridge Senior Center (4 meeting House Lane) and Naugatuck Senior Center (300 Meadow St.). The Woodbridge event [...]

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Republicans have replaced Stephanie Gunnoud as their mayoral candidate with 44-year-old Mike Bronko, owner of a carpentry and design company. From the

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Naugatuck
The Rep-Am’s news blog is reporting that Stephanie Gunnoud has dropped out of the race to be Naugatuck’s mayor. Republicans suddenly find themselves without a candidate, again.
Torrington
They also report that Owen Quinn may return to challenge Mayor Ryan Bingham in a rematch of 2005, when Quinn, then the mayor, lost to Bingham in an upset [...]

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Parties in Bethany, Woodbridge, Andover and Bolton Choose Candidates
Parties this week chose their slates in the towns holding elections this May. Here’s what we’ve got:
Andover
First Selectman Robert Burbank (R) has been endorsed by both parties. Burbank, an accountant, has been steering the town through a fiscal crisis after the original First Selectwoman, Charlene Barnett, resigned [...]

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Naugatuck Republicans, left at sea after Mayor Ronald San Angelo abruptly announced his decision not to run for another term, have chosen San Angelo’s aide, 24-year-old Stephanie Gunnoud, as their nominee to replace him. From the Republican-American:
Gunnoud, a Republican who has been San Angelo’s aide for two years, saw the announcement as an opportunity. She [...]

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Naugatuck is probably the most interesting town on the May election calendar (although Andover, with its financial maelstrom, comes close this year, as does Jewett City with a new borough-only third party), and it’s about to get even more so. From the Waterbury Republican-American:
Mayor Ronald S. San Angelo will not run for mayor in the [...]

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Political parties in towns that have elections this May are holding nominating conventions this week and next to determine their slates. All endorsements must be certified by town or city clerks by 4:00pm on Tuesday, January 23rd.
Towns with elections on May 7th, 2007:
Andover
Bolton
Bethany
Naugatuck
Woodbridge
Union
There are also May 7th elections in the following boroughs (parent town in [...]

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