Happy Thanksgiving

Hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving and enjoys their time with family and friends. Enjoy the day!

A Teenage Politician

In The News-Times the other day there was a nice write up on Andrew Wetmore, a newly elected Republican Zoning Commission member. You can read it here.

Wetmore is only nineteen years old, and a WestConn student. Despite being so young, he managed to get the third highest amount of votes out of all the zoning candidates. He said he did not expect to win, however did work hard to get elected.

Wetmore is not new to politics, as he said he worked in the unsuccessful State Representative campaigns of Gregg Seabury, along with Congresswoman Nancy Johnson's failed re-election campaign last year. He also tried to fill a vacant seat on the Board of Education in the summer of 2006, but did not get chosen.

From the article it sounds like Wetmore intends to be very involved in politics for a while.

When asked if he would run for mayor in two years, Wetmore said,"Not in two years . . . One day, I would like that. It's very much in the distance. There are other things that are more important, like a college degree and having a family."

He could very well be a rising star in local politics. Only time will tell.

Staying Put

Susan Podhajski has withdrawn her resignation from the Board of Education. You can read the news here.

Podhajski said that she has now accepted a job within Connecticut, which will allow her to still be on the school board. Last week, she announced her resignation because she accepted a job in New Hampshire.

She is currently Chair of the board, which will have its annual meeting to elect officers on December fifth.

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.