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Democrats Fill Slate For November Election

BY STEVE BIGHAM

First Selectman Herb Rosenthal says he is more than happy to be running

unopposed in his bid for a second term, although he admits it does take a

little of the fun out of it.

Mr Rosenthal made his comments after accepting his party's nomination July 22

at the Democratic caucus in the Alexandria Room at Edmond Town Hall. Earlier

this month, the Republicans opted not to run a candidate against the

incumbent, saying now is not a good time for change.

Despite his free ride back into office, Mr Rosenthal said he does not intend

to take the campaign lightly. "I think it's still important to get out and

talk to the voters. We picked up a lot of information going door-to-door last

time," he said.

In nominating Mr Rosenthal, friend and fellow party member Mike Kelley said it

is clear to see why the GOP decided to stay out of the race.

"Everyone in Newtown has seen how Herb Rosenthal and Joe Bojnowski have run

the town for the past two years. Herb went out in the campaign and asked

questions about how the residents wanted to shape the future of Newtown," he

said. "The Republicans, by their actions not to run a candidate, have given

their endorsement to Herb as well."

Mr Rosenthal did the nominating honors for his running mate, Joe Bojnowski,

the Democratic selectman.

"None of the things I've accomplished would have been possible without the

support of Joe. It's a team effort," he said.

Adding to the Democrats' excitement last week was the unveiling of the

Legislative Council slate of candidates, which includes Daniel Rosenthal of

District I.

Dan, Herb's son, heads a list of Democratic candidates hoping to get elected

by taking advantage of what may be construed as a down year for the

Republicans. Without a first selectman candidate, there are many, including

Republican Pierre Rochman, chairman of the council, who feel the balance of

power could be tilted following the November elections.

"I'm a little worried that because of that, the Republican party will be light

on campaigning and could suffer losses of council seats," he said at the

Republican caucus on July 20. "If there are freshmen coming in to vote on big

projects facing the town, it could undo all the work that we have done."

But any changing of the guard would have little to do with the current state

of politics in Newtown. In fact, there have been few signs of partisan

politics over the past two years. Instead, both parties have said that

politics have been put aside in the best interest of the town of Newtown.

Democrats Melissa Pilchard (District I), Lisa Schwartz (District III), and Tim

Holian and Peggy Baiad (District II) all seek re-election to the council.

Other candidates include Charles B. Brown III (District I), Joseph Hemingway

(District II), and Ruby Johnson and Anna Wiedemann (District III).

Rounding out the slate of Democratic candidates are Charles V. Framularo, Jr,

Board of Assessment Appeals; Vincent Saviano, Board of Education; Jay T. Gill,

Board of Town Hall Managers; Michael Osborne, Lilla Dean and John Cunningham,

Planning & Zoning Commission; Edward Ruddock, P&Z alternate; Charles Pilchard,

Police Commission; Steven Berg, Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA); Michael

Daubert, ZBA alternate.

Small Crowd

This year's Democratic caucus was nothing more than ordinary compared to the

one inside a packed middle school auditorium back in 1997 when three first

selectman candidates were still in the race -- Gary Fetzer, Chris Spiro and

Herb Rosenthal. With a huge group of Democrats on hand to vote, Mr Rosenthal

emerged the winner, but Mr Fetzer opted to push the campaign to a primary,

which Mr Rosenthal won in a close decision.