Look Back at the 2005 Election

I thought that many of you would be interested if we look back at the 2005 election results. This year was very important to Republicans because they had to prove that they could maintain the seats that they won big in 2003. Overall, they were successful.

Mayor Mark Boughton won a third term defeating Democrat Dean Esposito. He received 58% of the vote, a little less than the 61% that he won in 2003. In the 2003 election, Boughton didn't have many very controversial issues to deal with, but in 2005 he had illegal immigration, and the police contract, just to name a few. This year Boughton may most likely be challenged by former City Clerk Helena Abrantes. She may pull in much of the Portuguese vote, but she will need more than that to be able to succeed. Something that Boughton has been able to prove is that he attracts not only Republicans, but also gets some Democratic votes, and has always won the unaffiliated voters.

City Treasurer Dan Jowdy faced Democrat Mike McGetrick. He won with 54% of the vote. Jowdy has strong support from his Republican base, is successful in getting Democratic votes, and the unaffiliated voters. As of right now, no big names have really been said to be running against Jowdy, possibly a rematch from 2005.

City Clerk Jean Natale barely survived in 2005. She only got 51% of the vote against her Democratic opponent Eileen Coladarci. This is probably on the top of the Democrats target list. Natale will have to be able to do well with unaffiliated voters if she wants to remain in office. Of course a strong Boughton victory could lead the under ticket to victory as well, but the likelihood of a 2003 repeat isn't that big.

Town Clerk Joe Scozafava was the one person the Democrats attacked in 2003. Democrat Lori Kaback challenged him, and was very successful. She ended up winning 56% of the vote, and did very well attracting people from all sides of the aisle. A Republican challenger is not yet known, but it has been said that a tough candidate may emerge.

The Common Council went into the election with Republicans having a 17-4 member advantage. The results of the election changed this into a 14-7 Republican majority. Lynn Taborsak won her At-Large seat by a very big ratio, and we will have to see if her very vocal stands on various issues will result in much support. Depending on who runs in each ward will determine which wards will be competitive. I do have this funny feeling that the third ward may be competitive.

So will what happened in 2005 end up having any impact in 2007? Will Democrats pick up seats or will Republicans? Will we see much change at all? We are finally in campaign mode. By the way, who do you think should run?