DeLuca Resigns

State Senator Louis DeLuca announced today that he will resign his seat, effective November 30th. You can read the article here.

DeLuca served for nearly seventeen years, but decided to resign after months of speculation of his relationship with trash hauler James Galante. A special election will be held to choose his successor.

The following was taken directly from his announcement:

"For now, I must do what is right for my family, my district and my state. I will retire from the state Senate and resign my office, effective Nov. 30, 2007. I love you, and farewell."

Hopefully our state can now move forward, and put this behind us. We'll have to wait and see.

Veteran's Day

Today we honor those who have put their lives in danger for us. People of courage and pride. God bless them and their families.

School Board Chair Resigning

Board of Education Chairperson Susan Podhajski is resigning her seat. She announced this one day after being elected to a second term on Tuesday.

Podhajski is accepting a job in New Hampshire, which is the reason for why she is leaving the board. The Democrats now need to find someone to fill her seat. I believe that person will then have to run in two years since she is filling a seat that has an election up before that seat's term would be up. It can get very confusing, but at least we have until 2009 to worry about it!

Republicans Come Out On Top

Top Four Incumbents Win

GOP Keeps Council

Yesterday, Republican Mayor Mark Boughton coasted to a fourth term, earning 66% of the vote. Democratic challenger Helena Abrantes lost by over 4,200 votes. This was Boughton's strongest victory as Mayor.

City Treasurer Dan Jowdy also easily won re-election beating Democrat Brian Cotter by over 3,600 votes. Jowdy earned a third term getting 64% of the vote.

City Clerk Jean Natale received 57% of the vote, and bested her Democratic opponent Eileen Coladarci by over 1,800 votes. Many expected this race to be very close as Natale only beat Coladarci by about 400 votes in 2005. However, a strong Republican turnout helped Natale win by a much larger margin than anticipated.

Town Clerk Lori Kaback was one of the few bright spots for the Democrats. Kaback beat Republican Pudgie Delohery by 1,383 votes, earning 55% of the vote. Boughton's strong showing didn't help Delohery, or at least gain her some more momentum.

The Common Council has remained in Republican control by the current 14-7 majority. All incumbents running for Council ward seats won. Six out of seven Republicans won Council at Large seats. Republican Pauline Basso lost her seat, as Warren Levy was the Democrat that beat her. Republican Bob Arconti was the top vote getter followed by Republicans Collen Stanley, Gregg Seabury, Phil Curran, Democrat Warren Levy, and Republicans Jack Knapp, and Robert Riley.

The first ward went to incumbent Republicans Louise McMahon and Shay Nagarsheth. The second ward re-elected Republicans Charles Trombetta and James Johnson. The third ward was anticipated to be the most interesting as Lynn Taborsak was trying to pick up a seat for the Democrats and take out President Joe Cavo. However, that didn't happen, as Republicans Joe Cavo and Mike Colandrino won impressive victories here. The fourth ward kept Democrats Tom Saadi and John Esposito. Democrats also kept ward five Councilmen Duane Perkins and Fred Visconti. Democrats Ben Chianese and Paul Rotello also won re-election in the sixth ward. Seventh ward voters decided to keep Republican Councilwomen Mary Teicholz and Jane Diggs. All of that results to a 14-7 Republican majority, which is no change from what it was before the election.

Republican Board of Education candidates that won were Joe Scozzafava, Louis Alosco, Irving Fox, and Richard Janelli. Democrats Gladys Cooper, Rachael Austin, and Susan Podhajski also won.

On the Zoning Commission the winners were Republicans Rob Mellilo, Andrew Wetmore, Larry Stramiello, David Manacek, Ted Farah, and Patrick Johnson. The Democrats were Anthony DiCaprio, Theodore Haddad, and Richard Jowdy. The Alternates elected were Republicans Victoria Hickey and Thomas Spegnolo. One Democrat was elected based on minority representation and that was Jaquelin Perez-Ares.

Democrats maintained their hold on the Constables keeping incumbents Michael Esposito, Paul Estefan, and Francis Kieras. The two Republicans that won were Dianne Zielinski and Barbara Kurpiewski.

That about wraps it up for the results. You can read all the exact numbers here. I think many did not expect the Republicans to have such a strong showing, reminding us a little of what they did in 2003. A very positive night for them, as the city showed that they really did not think change was needed. More to come on speculation and analyzing within the coming days. The election may be over, but that doesn't mean we have to stop talking about it.

Election Results

All four top office incumbents won today -- Mayor Boughton, Treasurer Dan Jowdy, City Clerk Jean Natale, and Town Clerk Lori Kaback. Boughton won by over 3,500 votes. No real unofficial numbers have been released on the other top races.

The Common Council will stay in Republican control. The biggest news here is that Lynn Taborsak did not win in the third ward. Republican incumbents won wards one, two, three, and seven. Wards four, five, and six went to the incumbent Democrats. It appears as though Republicans won at least six out of the seven Council at Large seats. The last seat is to close to call.

The bottom line here is that the Republicans had a very strong showing, and did very well considering the attacks by the Democrats in the final weeks. Much more to come. Even though the election is over, it doesn't mean our coverage is. Check back later to see more.

Election Day!

Today is the most important day of the year. All citizens registered to vote should take advantage of the democratic process, and fulfill their civic duty to vote. If you don't know where to vote here is a list of the voting locations:

Ward 1-Danbury High School
Ward 2-Pembroke School
Ward 3-Broadview Middle School
Ward 4-Shelter Rock School
Ward 5-War Memorial
Ward 6-Park Avenue School
Ward 7-Mill Ridge Intermediate

It is sure going to be an exciting day. Who knows whats going to happen. Just make sure you make your voice heard -- go vote!

Our Endorsement For Mayor

Before reading this I hope everyone understands that this is just our endorsement for Mayor, and however you take it is up to you. Many of you may not agree with the choice, and that's okay. Whatever the case, make sure you vote on Tuesday, and take advantage of the democracy government that we have in place. Make your voice heard!

This year incumbent Republican Mark Boughton is facing Democrat Helena Abrantes for Mayor. Boughton was a former history teacher at Danbury High School, and former State Representative. He was elected Mayor in 2001 by only 139 votes, but easily won re-election in 2003 and 2005. Abrantes served on the Common Council during the 1990's, and is also a former City Clerk. She lost her bid for a second term in 2003, and since has opened a family restaurant named Atlantic Restaurant.

This year, accomplishments as well as a vision for the future needs to be what we look at when supporting a certain candidate. In his six years in office, Boughton has done a lot for the city. He has focused heavily on education, and renovating our schools. He has built a new Fire Station on the west side of our city, and has a new Police Department being built. He has presented a new plan to preserve open space, and started an impressive city call line -- 311.

Abrantes criticizes Boughton on tax breaks given to developers, higher taxes, and not doing enough to improve and attract people to the downtown area. She says she would like to do many things if elected, such as add twenty-four new police officers, preserve more open space and keep our environment clean, improve downtown, and fix traffic problems. All very bold beliefs and ideas.

Abrantes also says Boughton went the wrong direction when confronting the issue of illegal immigration. Though she has valid points, the Mayor has confronted the problem, which is a very serious problem. He has tried heavily to influence talk within the federal government to address this issue. Though it's a national issue, it may never get discussed to a great degree without the influence of local residents throughout the country. That's what we've seen in this city.

This election also needs to be about the future. We have serious overcrowding issues within our school system, who have to make traffic improvements, and attract more people and businesses to the city, as well as many others. We need to elect someone who can deal with these problems.

Abrantes has run on a message that "Danbury can do better", and of course it can. Boughton says that he wants to continue to make Danbury the “greatest place to live, work, and be educated." Though Abrantes has come up with bold ideas, it is puzzling how she would go about them, and get the funding needed to support them. Yes -- Danbury can be better, but it is not in bad shape, and not headed in the wrong direction.

Based on his record of accomplishments, and ability to get thing done, Mark Boughton has earned a fourth term as Mayor.