VIDEO – Forum 85th Assembly Debate 10 22 2014

VIDEO – Forum 34th District Senatorial Debate 10 22 2014

VIDEO - Forum 86th Assembly District 10 22 2014

Secretary Merrill Releases Turnout Figures from 2013 Municipal Elections

Denise Merrill

Secretary of the State

Connecticut

For Immediate Release:

November 13, 2013  

- News Release -

Secretary Merrill Releases Turnout Figures from 2013 Municipal Elections

Statewide Voter Turnout Figure 31.43%; Bridgewater Reported Highest Turnout at 77.39%, Hartford Lowest at 5.21%

Hartford: Secretary of the State Denise Merrill today released voter turnout numbers from the 2013 Municipal Elections which showed that overall, the statewide voter turnout among registered voters in Connecticut was 31.43%.  The town with the highest voter turnout for the municipal offices was Bridgewater, where 77.39% of registered voters cast ballots.  The municipality with the lowest voter turnout was Hartford, where only 5.21% of registered voters cast ballots.  A complete listing of turnout among towns that held elections on November 5, 2013 follows at the end of this news release. 

“Municipal elections usually have lower turnout figures than state or Presidential elections, even though the impact of the decisions made by those elected to local government is huge in the community,” said Secretary Merrill, Connecticut’s chief elections official.  “Many races were decided by just a handful of votes, and we had a number of recounts as a result, which shows once again how important it is to do your civic duty and cast a ballot.  I also want to praise our local election officials for accommodating all of the new voters in Connecticut who used their new right to register and vote on Election Day.  From everything we are hearing Election Day registration went very smoothly in 2013, and we look forward to even more voters being welcomed into the democratic process next year.”

The following reflects numbers reported to the Secretary of the State’s Office.  The column labeled (AB) represents the number of Absentee Ballots counted on Election Day.  The column labeled (EDR) represents the number of Election Day Registration ballots counted.

 

Wallingford

25256

11163

44.20%

TOWN	Total Names on Registry List	Total Names Checked as Voting	Turnout Percentage	AB	EDR
Bridgewater	1331	1030	77.39%
Warren	1003	573	57.13%	21	11
Sharon	1740	983	56.49%	116
Cornwall	985	532	54.01%
Sprague	1732	922	53.23%		12
New Hartford	4573	2311	50.54%		30
East Haven	15176	7658	50.46%
Hampton	1193	596	49.96%
Harwinton	4059	2015	49.64%
Sherman	2600	1275	49.04%	126	9
Orange	10330	5014	48.54%	241	40
Wolcott	11233	5429	48.33%	254	35
Goshen	2172	1048	48.25%
Beacon Falls	3858	1861	48.24%
Killingworth	4266	2054	48.15%
Middlefield	3213	1545	48.09%		5
Derby	6555	3090	47.14%		11
Westport	16994	7961	46.85%		34
Morris	1697	786	46.32%		4
Prospect	6220	2872	46.17%
Bozrah	1709	786	45.99%		7
Woodbury	6770	3098	45.76%
Bolton	3336	1523	45.65%		5
Easton	5176	2351	45.42%
Cheshire	18706	8375	44.77%	367
Stafford	7543	3374	44.73%	169	20
Pomfret	2520	1123	44.56%		4
Roxbury	1695	750	44.25%
Wallingford	25256	11163	44.20%		43
Bethlehem	2782	1228	44.14%		6
West Haven	29147	12813	43.96%
Haddam	5860	2565	43.77%		9
Brookfield	9769	4274	43.75%	185	15
Ansonia	9790	4246	43.37%
Canterbury	3376	1451	42.98%
Clinton	9213	3937	42.73%
Branford	18140	7701	42.45%		23
Westbrook	4201	1779	42.35%	72	8
North Stonington	3778	1584	41.93%
Thomaston	4818	2008	41.68%	67	9
Salisbury	2940	1197	40.71%		15
Trumbull	24401	9852	40.38%
Guilford	14804	5949	40.19%		25
Monroe	11778	4716	40.04%		15
East Granby	3477	1384	39.80%
Simsbury	16096	6403	39.78%
Granby	7106	2805	39.47%		8
Stonington	12459	4916	39.46%
Washington	2403	948	39.45%	50	4
Chaplin	1355	525	38.75%		2
Redding	6987	2694	38.56%
New Britain	25211	9568	37.95%		164
Norwalk	44407	16781	37.79%		81
East Hampton	8426	3181	37.75%	95	20
Bethel	24181	9124	37.73%	156
Sterling	2150	811	37.72%
Oxford	8552	3225	37.71%		10
Greenwich	32152	11934	37.12%		40
Suffield	8390	3110	37.07%		15
Winchester	6837	2521	36.87%	76	16
Southbury	13773	5078	36.87%
Salem	2773	1022	36.86%
Shelton	23821	8686	36.46%
Essex	4620	1675	36.26%
Lebanon	4666	1689	36.20%	46	6
Windsor Locks	7387	2666	36.09%
Lisbon	2608	938	35.97%		5
Milford	33275	11927	35.84%
Somers	6384	2273	35.60%	72	11
Stamford	60604	21441	35.38%		61
Rocky Hill	11563	4030	34.85%
Hamden	33475	11649	34.80%
Newington	17329	6030	34.80%		24
Putnam	5159	1785	34.60%
Torrington	18985	6531	34.40%		30
Canaan	759	260	34.26%	8	3
Plymouth	7494	2567	34.25%
Avon	11939	4089	34.25%		22
Thompson	5321	1817	34.15%		8
Columbia	3562	1216	34.14%
Colchester	10105	3448	34.12%		10
Southington	25824	8749	33.88%		41
Willington	3574	1192	33.35%		5
Franklin	1212	404	33.33%
Bristol	33255	11021	33.14%
Middletown	22053	7303	33.12%
Stratford	31877	10556	33.11%		40
Danbury	34286	11304	32.97%		36
Vernon	15746	5149	32.70%
Cromwell	9304	3042	32.70%		21
Berlin	12891	4214	32.69%
New Fairfield	9569	3090	32.29%
Tolland	9409	3037	32.28%	62	5
South Windsor	15780	5091	32.26%
North Haven	15342	4918	32.06%		10
Weston	6674	2134	31.97%	112	22
Madison	13347	4262	31.93%
Griswold	6676	2123	31.80%
Burlington	6117	1941	31.73%		5
Deep River	3143	994	31.63%	36	4
North Branford	8925	2781	31.16%
Brooklyn	4754	1464	30.80%
Kent	1935	584	30.18%	27
Farmington	17246	5204	30.18%		22
Darien	12249	3659	29.87%
East Haddam	5767	1722	29.86%	48	5
Wethersfield	17282	5155	29.83%		12
Seymour	9518	2825	29.68%
Enfield	21698	6426	29.62%
Watertown	14434	4272	29.60%		37
Eastford	1176	347	29.51%
Fairfield	36839	10775	29.25%
New Haven	72278	21120	29.22%		202
Marlborough	4159	1204	28.95%		3
East Lyme	12047	3457	28.70%
Barkhamsted	2646	747	28.23%
Naugatuck	17507	4903	28.01%		35
Preston	3239	907	28.00%
Montville	9792	2723	27.81%
West Hartford	38826	10727	27.63%
Manchester	28876	7889	27.32%
Coventry	7620	2069	27.15%
Windsor	20264	5490	27.09%	268	20
Portland	5932	1593	26.85%
Meriden	29416	7887	26.81%
Groton	19082	5106	26.76%
Mansfield	11269	3010	26.71%
New Canaan	13132	3481	26.51%
Plainville	10599	2795	26.37%
Norfolk	1131	297	26.26%	15
Old Lyme	6068	1591	26.22%		4
Newtown	17346	4438	25.59%
Ellington	9594	2415	25.17%
East Windsor	3827	959	25.06%	14	2
Litchfield	6405	1567	24.47%		2
Ledyard	9006	2199	24.42%		12
Old Saybrook	7448	1818	24.41%		5
Bloomfield	12772	3094	24.22%
Windham	10981	2653	24.16%
Glastonbury	21803	5266	24.15%
Ridgefield	16681	4020	24.10%		11
Ashford	2808	671	23.90%
Durham	5074	1187	23.39%	46	3
New Milford	18370	4290	23.35%	61
Norwich	19796	4573	23.10%		23
Waterbury	56470	12732	22.55%		39
North Canaan	1968	440	22.36%	15	5
Hartland	1534	339	22.10%		1
Middlebury	5195	1124	21.64%		3
Hebron	6426	1388	21.60%	30
Waterford	12810	2712	21.17%		9
New London	14245	2986	20.96%
Voluntown	1643	320	19.48%
Canton	6973	1349	19.35%	42	3
Colebrook	1079	206	19.09%
Woodstock	4983	927	18.60%
East Hartford	26920	4894	18.18%
Killingly	9222	1636	17.74%
Lyme	1782	276	15.49%		1
Scotland	1107	171	15.45%
Chester	2444	346	14.16%		1
Plainfield	8652	1070	12.37%
Bridgeport	70322	8161	11.61%
Wilton	11463	1320	11.52%		6
Hartford	47031	2449	5.21%
Total Statewide Turnout	2020194	634875	31.43%

Hand count audits vote scans in Wallingford

As published in the Record Journal Monday December 3, 2012

By Kimberly Primicerio
Record-Journal staff
kprimicerio@record-journal.com 
(203) 317-2279
Twitter:@KPrimicerioRJ

WALLINGFORD

Ten residents spent Sunday afternoon counting election ballots as part of an annual audit to check whether optical scan machines recorded the vote correctly.

Each year, the secretary of the state’s office randomly chooses 10 percent of the 747 polling precincts in the state that use optical scan voting machines for an audit. District 8 in Wallingford, the Wallingford Senior Center, was one of those selected.

“This isn’t a recount,” said Chet Miller, Republican registrar of voters. “We’re not trying to determine voter intention. We’re trying to determine whether the machine counted the ballot or not.”

Miller said the optical scan voting machines used throughout Connecticut on Nov. 6 have sensor lights. If someone didn’t fill in the circle on the ballot enough, the machine might not have counted the vote. The audit makes sure the machines are accurate and record information properly, Miller said.

On Sunday, eight paid helpers, Miller and Democratic Registrar of Voters Samuel Carmody gathered in a meeting room on the third floor in Town Hall. The volunteers, four Democrats and four Republicans who were paid $10 per hour, paired up. Miller handed each group hundreds of ballots cast at the Wallingford Senior Center on Nov. 6.

“We had a remarkably smooth presidential election on November 6th, especially given our state of recovery from Hurricane Sandy,” Denise Merrill, secretary of the state and Connecticut’s chief elections official, said in a written statement. “Now, it is our duty to audit the machine totals from the election to ensure the accuracy of our optical scanners.”

Pairs were first tasked with counting the ballots. As they did this, the room was quiet. Partners concentrated on counting and then recounted their partner’s stack of ballots.

Carmody said for the past several years a Wallingford voting district has been audited. He said no remarkable difference between hand counting and the optical scan machines has been discovered.

After each group counted ballots, they went through each ballot to see if any of its markings looked questionable. If voters checked a bubble on the ballot for their candidate instead of coloring in the bubble, it is likely the ballot was never counted. Counters looked through hundreds of ballots and picked out the questionable ones.

“Auditing election results isn’t just a good idea, it’s absolutely essential in order to guarantee the integrity of our elections,” Merrill said.

No one in the group was bothered by spending their afternoon counting ballots.

“I’ve been working at the polls since my boys were in elementary school,” said Betty Torre. Her sons are now in their 40s.

She even recruited her neighbors Genevieve and Thomas Gersz to help.

Torre and her counting partner Noma Beaumont, were sorting through the ballots and double-checking each other. Nearby, Noma Beaumont’s daughter, Cate Beaumont, was paired with Genevieve Gersz.

“I’ve been around elections since I was born,” Cate Beaumont said. Her mother brought her to a polling place when she was one month old, she explained.

After questionable ballots were located and set aside, partners then sorted ballots by the presidential choice. Those numbers were compared with official machine-recorded numbers. The same was done for congressional candidates and registrars of voters candidates.

Once all the counting was complete, some conclusions were reached.

“There were a few ballots where the ovals were not filled out completely, and therefore, a couple of votes were not cast as the voter had intended,” Carmody said. “The voting machines are smart, but they are not smart enough to decide voter intent if the ballot was improperly filled out.”

While the voting machines did their job, voters need to be reminded to fill in the ovals on their ballots completed in order for their votes to be accurately counted, Carmody said.

Carmody said Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney would have picked up one additional vote. Congressional candidate Wayne Wins-ley, a Republican, would have picked up one additional vote in the 3rd District race. Miller would have gained one vote for registrar of voters race and Carmody would have tallied four more votes.

“There is no impact on the outcome of any of the races,” Carmody said.

Presidential Vote totals (as I have them) on 11/8 (includes battleground state information).

The Wallingford Democrats are reviewing election results TONIGHT at the Libero Pensiero Mutual Aid Society (Italian-American Club)

JOIN US FOR OUR ELECTION NIGHT PARTY!

The Italian-American Club

Libero Pensiero Mutual Aid Society

91 Dudley Avenue

Wallingford, CT

Tuesday, November 6th, 2012

8:00PM - 10:00PM

VOTE - IT MATTERS

Endorsed by the Record Journal - Obama for President

As published on Monday November 5, 2012

Winds of change were at our doorstep this week in the form of Hurricane Sandy and its powerful impact on daily lives of citizens along the eastern U.S. seaboard and beyond. To his considerable credit, President Barack Obama’s focus was on the well-being of the nation throughout, setting aside campaign appointments in favor of exercising strong leadership. (Quite unlike his counterpart, Republican former-President George Bush, who was woefully ill-prepared and unfocused with the advent of Hurricane Katrina — the lingering, baneful results of which have been acutely felt.) Appropriate, decisive action in such situations lends impetus, then, to central government’s integral function in American society.

Until the first of three debates, incumbent Democratic President Obama had been generally leading, sometimes by wide margins, in election polls over his challenger, Republican former-Governor Mitt Romney. Consensus solidly declared Romney victor of the first (with Obama seemingly detached from the spirit of this encounter). Thereafter, Obama rose like a Phoenix from the ashes of debate, setting the record straight while championing his cause persuasively in rounds two and three.

A president’s function is, however, not about debate but leadership — making profoundly difficult decisions (ones sometimes politically unpopular or even at odds within his own party). Such far reaching policies guide our nation in matters of war and peace, international policy, economic prosperity, as well as Americans’ health, general safety and well-being among significant, numerous considerations.

Chief among credential cornerstones for presidential elected office is overall consistency and steadfastness at the helm of governmental rule. These qualities Obama has demonstrated with well-reasoned aplomb even as Romney has been at sixes-and-sevens flip-flopping on issues from this season’s vitriolic Republican primary until the present.

Americans of varying political stripes, including members of his own Republican Party, rightly took umbrage with Romney over his recorded declaration that 47 percent of us are lazy slackers, mooching on the largess of government. This overt lack of caring for those relying on safety nets — including veterans, the permanently disabled, seniors on fixed incomes and those who simply can’t get or afford health care — should give voters pause.

Sorry, but, as Obama avers, returning to the Gilded Age is not the answer. Let’s not attempt to voucherize, privatize or systematically end beneficial safety net programs while enriching corporations and one-per-centers’ lavish tax breaks and accommodating loopholes. Instead, modify that which needs fixing by achieving fair, sustainable, humane, bipartisan compromise.

Obama’s impressive record includes: thwarting a potentially massive economic Depression and banking/financial system collapse (inherited from the previous Republican two-term administration), ending the Iraq war, saving America’s auto industry, strengthening international alliances while zeroing-in on terrorists, killing bin Laden, championing the cause of America’s health care and ending an absurd “don’t ask, don’t tell” military policy. By contrast, polls indicate that Romney’s “trust me” appeal to would-be voters is working, though bereft of policy specifics. It’s difficult to see how what he proffers will, in the practical, create 12 million jobs, or how not asking those exceedingly wealthy to do a little more will magically benefit America’s middle class and reduce deficits. It’s a quantum leap of illogic, far eclipsing Bush’s “fuzzy math,” as evidenced by Romney’s insistence that he can miraculously cut taxes, increase spending (especially military) yet achieve budget balance.

There exists an inexhaustible litany, vis-à-vis points of difference. For some, it’s pre-existent, deep-seated resentment that Obama won the White House. For others, it may be individual social liberal vs. conservative issues which drive a stake into the heart of productive discourse while generating electoral rancor and polarizing politics. Meeting half-way on the bridge of bipartisanship has all-but become a lost art of statesmanship.

It took years to create the mess Obama has been dealing with assiduously and painstakingly from day one in office. He admits freely to areas, especially jobs and the economy, needing improvement. Still, improving they are.

No human, no president is perfect. But Obama’s seasoned success and overall wise, thoughtful leadership coupled to his undeniable determination for excellence cause us to endorse him for a second term.

 

Candidate commentary -- Rebuild the middleclass -- Steve Fontana Connecticut 34th senatorial district

As published in the North Haven Citizen on Sunday October 28, 2012

Steve Fontana, Democrat, is a candidate for election to Connecticut’s 34th senatorial district, which represents the towns of North Haven, East Haven, Durham and Wallingford.

By Steve Fontana

Everywhere I go in Wallingford, East Haven, North Haven, and Durham, people tell me that their middleclass way of life is disappearing, and that they want their elected leaders to do something about it. I’m running for the State Senate because I will do just that – by starting to rebuild the middleclass.

To rebuild the middleclass, we can’t keep pursuing the same trickledown economic policies that have failed to pull us out of this recession. We have to go back to what we know works: investing in people and businesses, and giving them the ability and opportunity to succeed.

Here is my plan to start rebuilding the middleclass:

1. Make higher education more affordable: For many young people, joining the middleclass, or simply remaining in it, means being able to go to college. Unfortunately, skyrocketing costs, stagnant financial aid, and mounting debt are making it harder for them to pay for it.

We can make college more affordable by ensuring that every student has access to: (1) cooperative-education programs that combine classroom study with real-world experience; (2) three-year degrees that allow students to get their careers going more quickly; (3) online instruction that gives students more convenient classroom learning options; (4) college credit for knowledge and skills that students receive in nontraditional settings; (5) free or low-cost textbooks that reduce classroom expenses; (6) more spots in our state university system; and (7) college-business partnerships that connect students to companies with jobs.

2. Promote small-business job growth and rein in energy and healthcare costs: The keys to getting people back to work are: (A) stimulating demand by getting more discretionary income into consumers’ hands; (B) channeling capital to entrepreneurs, small businesses, and companies in emerging industries that will create good-paying jobs with benefits here in Connecticut; and (C) pursuing common-sense initiatives that will save everyone money, encourage more investment and foster sustainable economic growth.

We can get our economy going again if we: (1) reduce healthcare costs for small businesses by giving them access to the state health plan and developing better illness management; (2) reduce energy costs by having the state negotiate lower rates for all electric utility customers, and by allowing utilities to generate electricity competitively again; (3) establish a public-private infrastructure bank to invest in critical projects; (4) end wasteful corporate tax breaks, and “claw back” state aid from companies that ship jobs out of state or overseas; (5) help lower-income families make ends meet by indexing the minimum wage to inflation; and (6) help people refinance their mortgage at a lower interest rate.

3. Support family life and healthy communities: From buying a home to paying for college tuitions, hardworking parents are struggling to manage large amounts of debt, job insecurity, and, sometimes, health care issues. They want someone to make sure that their kids get the best education possible, and that help will be there for their family if they ever need it.

We can make it easier for them to focus on raising their family if we: (1) modernize aging school buildings; (2) allocate state education funding more equitably by requiring that the state’s education formula uses the most accurate, up-to-date information; and (3) improve insurance coverage for children who need expensive medical care.

4. Ensure seniors a more secure retirement: Families nearing retirement, and senior citizens already in retirement, rightly believe that being part of the middle class means being able to save enough money to retire, and then being able to afford to live on a fixed income once they retire.

We can improve seniors’ retirement security if we: (1) protect our current senior safety net from people who want to cut it; (2) pursue opportunities to reduce seniors’ energy and prescription drug costs; (3) promote senior-friendly affordable housing; and (4) develop portable retirement accounts to help working families save for retirement.

For more details, please visit stevefontana.com

Darter looks to oust Fritz

As published in the Record Journal, Tuesday February 14, 2012

By Russell Blair
Record-Journal staff
rblair@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2225

CHESHIRE / WALLINGFORD — A local Republican businessman has announced his interest in his party’s nomination for the state House seat now held by Democrat Mary Fritz, of Wallingford. The 90th House District consists of portions of Cheshire and Wallingford.

Guy Darter, 57, co-owner of Darter Specialties on Cornwall Avenue, says he wants to work to make Connecticut more business-friendly.

“As a business person, I can’t take what they’re doing,” Darter said. “It’s not a good state to do business. I want to bring a business sense to government.”

Fritz, 73, said she is “happy to have someone interested in the seat.” However, she said she has done a lot to help small businesses during her years in the legislature.

“I’ve run two small businesses, so I know all about that,” she said. “In 28 years, I’ve helped out a lot of business people, but I’ve never heard from Mr. Darter,” she said.

Darter will be making his first run for elected office, but said he has always been interested in politics and has been attending Republican Town Committee and Town Hall meetings for several years, in addition to visiting the state Capitol for the past decade. With his kids out of college and a growing dissatisfaction with state government, Darter said now is as good a time as any to run.

After growing up in Norwalk, Darter took undergraduate and MBA classes at the University of New Haven. He started Coupon Madness, a direct mail advertising business, which he sold in 1990 to start Darter Press Inc., which began in his garage with one printing press.

The company started as a commercial printer before shifting its focus to screen printing, embroidery and signs and banners. Darter co-owns the business with his wife, Alice, and has lived in Cheshire for 32 years.

Among his chief goals is holding the state budget to generally accepted accounting principles. Darter says the rules will make it so state government can’t rely on “phony revenue” to balance the budget.

“No longer can they play with the numbers,” he said.

The state budget has gotten out of control, Darter said, and taxes and mandates make it hard for his businesses to compete with similar shops in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York.

“The state is fundamentally broken,” he said.

As a business owner, Darter said he’s against the proposal by House Speaker Christopher G. Donovan, D-Meriden, to raise the minimum wage.

“Not in this economy,” he said. “The high school kids won’t have jobs, you’re hurting that population.”

Darter also wants to eliminate the state income tax on Social Security benefits for seniors, and cap the gross receipts tax on gasoline.

Another statewide issue Darter is campaigning on is the death penalty, saying he supports it and wants to strengthen the law to make it easier to carry out.

“It’s impossible to carry out,” he said. “You should get one appeal, and you’re done. ... There’ve been no wrongful convictions on Connecticut’s death row. If there was a flaw, it would come up.”

Darter said Fritz is “very nice,” but it is “time for her to retire.”

“Her politics are old,” he said.

Darter also proposes term limits of 10 years for state legislators.

Registrars lament low turnout in municipal elections

As published in the Record Journal, Thursday November 24, 2011

By Russell Blair
Record-Journal staff
rblair@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2225

Turnout for the Nov. 8 municipal election was similar to two years ago and that’s the problem, according to local registrars of voters. Not enough people participate, they say. Wallingford led area towns with 39.56 percent of registered voters coming out to the polls, followed by Cheshire at 30.48 percent, Southington at 29.33 percent and Meriden at 23.62 percent. Statewide, 30.67 percent of the 1,940,432 eligible voters cast ballots. Samuel Carmody, Wallingford’s Democratic registrar, said that, even though the town was almost 10 percent better than the statewide average, it was still not a noteworthy accomplishment.

“Below 50 percent, that’s nothing to be proud of,” he said.

Secretary of the State Denise Merrill said she hoped voter turnout would rise in future elections.

“I hope in the future we can help all of Connecticut’s citizens understand the importance of choosing the right leaders in their communities so we can see more people going to vote,” she said in a statement. Turnout in Wallingford was up from 2009, when it was 35.6 percent, a year that Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr. ran unopposed. In 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2007, turnout was 43.1, 49.9, 47.6 and 45.7 percent, respectively. Dickinson had an opponent in each of those years.

Carmody said it was hard to predict the reasons for turnout in a given year.

In Southington, 8,041 voters came out to decide the makeup of the Town Council, Board of Finance, Board of Education and Planning and Zoning Commission. Turnout was about the same as 2009, when 8,317 voters came out, or 29.8 percent of the electorate.

Southington’s Democratic registrar, Edward Malczyk, said there “were no burning issues in town” that might have driven people to the polls.

“I think that played into it,” he said. “The snowstorm, the power outages worked against us. I thought the middle school referendum would have brought more people out though.”

Despite a rare October snowstorm that left much of the city in the dark for up to a week, Meriden voters came out in numbers similar to past municipal elections. In elections for mayor, City Council and Board of Education, 7,557 voters cast ballots, compared to 7,845 in 2009. Percentagewise, turnout increased by a fraction of a percent.

But the city’s Democratic registrar, Maureen E. Flynn, said the numbers were still disappointing.

“The lowest voter turnouts are municipal,” she said. “People have to vote for the president, but not during the municipal elections. But who are you going to call if there’s a pothole? You should vote for the people you complain to.”

Flynn said that if Meriden had a strong mayor the turnout could have been higher, but she added that it was similarly low this year in cities that have that system of government.

In Cheshire, turnout was about 6 percentage points below 2009. That year, 6,624 people, or 36.3 percent of registered voters, cast ballots.

Aleta Looker, Democratic registrar of voters, said she felt the snowstorm could have had an impact on Cheshire’s electorate.

“I think it’s partly because of the aftermath of the storm,” she said. “They had too much on their plate already.”

Looker said that she’d like to see more voters in local elections, but “you can’t legislate people’s behavior.”

“When people vote, that’s their right and privilege,” she said. “But not everyone sees it that way.”

Economopoulos: A strong, active political voice

As published in the Record Journal, Sunday November 20, 2011

By Robert Cyr
Record-Journal staff
rcyr@record-journal.com
(203) 317-2224

WALLINGFORD — He’s one of the most vocal members of the Town Council and can often be heard at council meetings sharply criticizing the mayor and long-standing town practices. Recently elected to a third term, Democrat Nicholas Economopoulos last week announced he’s going to run for mayor in two years.

It’s been little more than a week since Democratic Councilor Vincent Testa Jr. lost his second bid for the office, and Mayor William W. Dickinson Jr., the second-longest-serving chief elected official in the state, won his 15th consecutive term.

Voters have had little reason to oust Dickinson, who presides over a $141 million budget that saw a less than one percent tax increase this year. Municipal cash reserves are healthy and the town’s credit rating is the highest possible. Those assets can be kept and improved on, Economopoulos said.

While many say Dickinson can’t be beat, Economopoulos says the mayor can be matched and the town can be modernized and run more efficiently and intelligently.

“He’s very humble and that’s one of the things I love about him and the public loves about him,” Economopoulos said. “But as far as running the town, I’ll have people helping me; he tends to do things on his own and that’s where he has a problem.”

Economopoulos said if he wins he’ll institute a series of commissions to research and help plan town projects, an idea he floated at a council meeting earlier this year that councilors overwhelmingly disapproved of.

“I want to stress that our weakness right now is that we don’t have plans,” he said. “Consequently, we get caught in the short straws. If a committee brings the mayor some choices, then he can make a decision.”

An example of a committee would be a group to research possible uses for the town owned Wooding-Caplan property, a 3.5-acre space the town bought in 1992 for $1.5 million that has been vacant ever since. While talk has circulated of the site being a possible home for a new police station, nothing definite has ever formed for the parcel.

Economopoulos, 62, retired in 2006 after teaching accounting at Sheehan High School for 34 years. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Central Connecticut State University and moved to Connecticut from Westbury, Long Island, for good when he was hired at Sheehan in 1971.

Since then, he’s made a large family with his wife of 34 years, Susan. He has five children, including one foster child, now 21, who he said was a homeless seventh-grader when they took her in. His children are now grown and are either in college or teaching, he said.

With famed Long Island politician Robert Moses as something of an inspiration, Economopoulos served two years on the Board of Education in 2006 and 2007 before being elected to the council. His greatest inspiration in life, however, has been his father, James, a short-order cook turned real estate salesman who died in 2000 at the age of 75.

“I had a strong Greek upbringing, and the way he treated people was unbelievable,” Economopoulos said. “He was big-hearted and I just saw how much he was looked up to, and I thought that was the way I should be.”

Economopoulos, a well known local basketball coach, has a specific list of things he’d like to improve in town and has spent the past year scrutinizing members of the housing authority, requesting financial documents and even calling for the resignations of the housing director and board of commissioners over allegations of mismanagement. On Friday the authority’s board of commissioners voted to fire Executive Director Stephen Nere.

“What has happened at the housing authority is an absolute blemish on our town,” Economopoulos said. “Technology- wise, we’re an embarrassment to the state. Our priorities are all messed up. I don’t want to invest a dime until we have a plan as to what we’re going to do.”

Economopoulos announced his bid for mayor at last week’s Democratic Town Committee meeting. Dickinson, 64, said he has no plans to even start thinking about running for mayor again, but would welcome any challenger.

“I need to enjoy a little while the election that just ended a week ago,” he said. “But the office is a natural focal point for a lot of decision making and in most circumstances it’s unavoidable.”

In the meantime, Economopoulos said he’ll be keeping watch on the council and speaking his mind about Dickinson’s decisions.

“Even if I don’t win it’s going to be a good two years of making sure he’s on the right path,” he said. Vincent Avallone, chairman of the Democratic committee, said this week he was surprised but glad Economopoulos has announced his run so early. It’s the earliest he’s seen anyone declare a run, but an early start might just be what it takes to unseat Dickinson, he said.

“Nick (Economopoulos) is a respected councilor and a respected person in the community,” he said. “And he’s going to need an early start to raise enough money.”

But Economopoulos isn’t the only outspoken member of the council. Republican Craig Fishbein has often found himself on the same side as Economopoulos, and the two were the only councilors to vote against a controversial parking lot deal that was overturned by a referendum last week.

“I hope that he faces issues as a good councilor and not with future aspirations in mind,” Fishbein said. “If that’s what he wants to spend the next couple of years working on, more power to him.”

Wallingford Final election results as published in the Record Journal

Click on the image to enlarge

Thank you again for the support!

Thank you

I wanted to thank everyone who came out to vote yesterday, first and foremost. Whether you supported me or not, you decided it was important enough to invest the time to come out and be part of the process.

And it is very important.

Beyond that, I want to thank everyone who offered their encouragement, support and who gave me their vote.

Those votes I received, unofficially 5,542 in all, landed me in the #2 spot within my party, just 29 votes behind #1 John Sullivan and and 5th overall.

Those votes were based entirely on faith and goodwill as I have no formal prior record of service to the Town of Wallingford.

Now that the campaigning is over, I will spend the next few weeks prior to being sworn in further preparing to take office and serve the town and all her people to the best of my ability – just as I had promised prior as part of my campaign.

My first pledge now formally as a Wallingford Town Councilor (elect) will be to work hard enough to earn each of those votes I received this past November 8th.

Thank you again.

2011 Election Results from Wallingford

Click on the image to enlarge.

Winners are highlighted in yellow.

Totals at this point are unconfirmed.

The unofficial counts from Democrat Headquarters

BOLD denotes the winner

MAYOR
Dickinson (R)    6,213
Testa (D)                  3,558

TOWN COUNCIL
DEMOCRAT
Sullivan              5,571
Hettrick                      4,095
Harwood                    4,878
Zandri                  5,542
Reynolds                    4,687
Eco                      5,370

REPUBLICAN
Fishbein             5,642
LeTourneau       5,728
Parisi                  5,809
Rascati               5,270
Cervoni              5,531
Laffin                  5,195

BOARD OF EDUCATION
DEMOCRAT
Cei                      5,632
Castelli               4,985
Reynolds           4,790
Leonardo                  4,304
Ford                           4,667
Votto                   5,277

REPUBLICAN
Bachand                    4,600
Miller                   5,094
Brooder              5,094
Mansfield            5,297
Mckay                  5,237
Marrone               5,065