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Written by Marla Hoffman
Thursday, 05 November 2009 11:32
Republicans across the state and in Monroe are celebrating a big victory over Democrats during Tuesday’s election.
Democratic incumbent Thomas Buzi conceded to Republican challenger Steve Vavrek Tuesday night after early numbers showed Vavrek up by nearly 200 votes. Vavrek won in every district except District Three.
Of the 13,175 registered voters, 42%, or 5,534 taxpayers, turned out at the polls.
Final numbers show Vavrek winning with 2,839 votes over Buzi’s 2,646 votes.
The Republicans took the majority on Town Council, Board of Education and Planning & Zoning Commission, and won the Town Clerk, Town Treasurer and Tax Collector by large margins.
The biggest surprises of the night for Republicans were on Town Council, where all six candidates won, and Board of Education, where all four candidates won.
On the Democrats’ side, Michele Mount, David Halliwell and Dee Dee Martin were victorious on Town Council; Kelly Plunkett is the only Democrat who won for Board of Education.
On Planning & Zoning, Republicans Patrick O’Hara and William Porter beat out Democrats Leon Ambrosey and Michael Visconti.
On Board of Finance, Republican Chris Baudouin and Democrat Gabriella DiBlasi were victorious. While Republican candidate Michael Manjos garnered more votes than DiBlasi, the town charter states that a democrat had to fill the open position to fulfill minority representation. Therefore DiBlasi took the seat.
Republican Donna Lane, current BOF member, will resign her position to take up her new post on the Board of Education. Her seat will have to be filled by the Republican Town Committee.
Democrat Daniel Hunsberger ran unopposed to fill a two-year vacancy on the Board of Finance, as did Democrat Michael Parsell to fill a two-year vacancy on the Planning & Zoning Commission.
Incumbent Republican Town Clerk Marsha Motter Beno beat Democratic challenger Pam Nicotera, and Town Treasurer John Fracassini won over Democratic challenger Teresa Pontillo.
Republican Tax Collector Emanuel Cambra, who ran unopposed, garnered the most votes of any candidate with 3,950.
The inauguration of the newly elected officials will be on Nov. 23 at Jockey Hollow School. Watch monroecourier.com for more updates.
A hard fought victory
Running on a platform of developing a new plan for economic development and working with both Republican and Democratic elected and appointed officials, Vavrek’s message convinced the voters.
“All day long today people were telling me, ‘Steve, we know we can trust you,’” said an elated Vavrek after his victory. “I am happy people have faith in me and trust in me.”
Vavrek said he recognized the gravity of his win.
“Beating an incumbent is not an easy thing,” he said. “I ran a good, fact-based race, and we tried to stay above the divisiveness. In the end, we were a small team, but we got the issues out.”
Next on Vavrek’s agenda: “I am going to sit down with our state delegation and get to work on doing what we can to bring more money into Monroe,” he said. “I’m also going to start work on building relationships with developers and business owners so we can develop a business friendly plan for economic development in Monroe.”
At the victory party at 707 on Main, Republicans celebrated taking the election.
Republican Town Committee Chairman Elizabeth Edgerton, who did not run for re-election to the Board of Education this year, is looking forward to the work to come.
“This has been a very hard fought campaign,” she said. “The work begins tomorrow. We thank Monroe for its confidence.”
“If you look at the results, you can see our message resonated with residents,” said committee Vice Chairman J.P. Sredzinski. “Now a huge responsibility is in our care. We need to show up, do work and carry out our vision for this town.”
Patrick O’Hara, who did not run for re-election to Town Council in order to run for Planning & Zoning, agreed it is time for the Republicans to set to work.
“The people spoke,” he said. “They don’t want excuses. They want people who will speak clearly and all the people in this room do. It’s a huge night, and now its time to get to work.”
A difficult loss
At the Democratic headquarters Tuesday night the mood was subdued as the realization that less than half of their candidates won set in.
Incumbent First Selectman Thomas Buzi said he would work with Vavrek over the coming weeks in the transition period before Vavrek takes office. Then, he said, he will go back to being a private citizen.
“I’m tired, and in some ways relieved of the burden of having to lead in government,” he said. “There’s a certain freedom that comes with this loss.”
Still, Buzi believes his loss was not a reflection of his time in office.
“I don’t think this is a reflection on how I’ve done as first selectman,” Buzi said. “I think it reflects the down economy, unemployment and people’s general dissatisfaction with the current situation in this country. It’s people expressing their frustrations. This loss is a byproduct of what’s going on.”
When it comes to his opponent’s campaign, Buzi said they have a lot still to prove.
“The Republicans made a lot of claims during their campaign, so now they’ve got to live up to it,” Buzi said.
Incumbent Councilman Dee Dee Martin felt a sense of loss with Buzi’s defeat.
“I’m sad for our town,” she said. “We have lost a great leader, who has done so much for this community and was truly committed to doing the best for Monroe. Mr. Vavrek has some very big shoes to fill.”
Michele Mount, one of only three Democrats who will take a seat on Town Council, said she will continue her work for the people.
“I will work as hard as I can for the town,” she said. “I will stand by my feelings and make sure they are heard. I will do what I think is best for Monroe and hopefully everyone on the council will do the same. I’m proud of our team for being positive throughout this campaign.”
Terri Bhatt, Monroe Organized Voters for Education spokesman, who lost her bid for Board of Education along with running mates Amy Primorac and Fran Welch, said she would continue her own work for the town.
“We’re not going anywhere,” she said. “We will still participate in the town in any way we can, and we look forward to Vavrek’s work on improving roads and bringing in development.
“It’s time for [the Republicans] to deliver on their promises,” she added. |