Write-In School Board Candidate

Files Complaint Over Chamber Event

By John Voket

A challenging political newcomer filed a complaint October 30 with the Secretary of the State’s Office because organizers of a political meet and greet event refused to include her on a program featuring four-year Board of Education candidates. Donna Monteleone Randle, a Republican, originally qualified to run for a four-year school board seat as a petitioner with the Independent Party of Newtown committee (IPN).

But the candidate withdrew from that slot on the November ballot to become a write-in candidate in a two-year interim race against an unopposed Democrat who was previously nominated to fill the vacancy. Ms Monteleone Randle filed a letter October 15 withdrawing the ballot position she secured as a petitioner.

On that ballot, the candidate used the name Donna Arlene Monteleone.

Ms Monteleone Randle is among a group of contenders still registered with major parties, who came together with several unaffiliated voters to form a slate with the fledgling political committee. The IPN is attempting to secure future ballot positions with minor party status.

According to an October 17 release, Ms Monteleone Randle sought to qualify as a write-in contender against Democrat Anna Wiedemann under the name Donna A. Monteleone. Ms Wiedemann was endorsed by the Democratic Town Committee to fill the two-year position on the school board vacated by Thomas Gissen.

The complaint stems from an October 29 “Pizza & Politics” event at Reed Intermediate School. The private function was sponsored by the Newtown Chamber of Commerce, the Newtown Rotary, Lion’s Club and Newtown Women’s Club.

Attendees were charged $10 admission, and provided with pizza slices, soft drinks and opportunities to hear from more than 40 incumbents and challengers in several top offices including Board of Selectmen, Legislative Council and four-year candidates for the school board.

According to organizers, the Democratic nominee Ms Wiedemann, was not participating because at the time the program of speakers was finalized, she was running unopposed to fill the remaining term on the vacancy. Ms Monteleone Randle was reportedly not included because at the time, she was not a qualified candidate — she had withdrawn from the IPN, and had not yet qualified as a write-in challenger against Ms Wiedemann.

In her note to Elections Official Arthur Champagne, Ms Monteleone Randle said, “Although I had received an invitation and my RSVP was accepted, I was not allowed to participate in the panel for Board of Education Candidates. When I asked the organizer why, he replied that I was not a valid candidate according to the Town Clerk, Debbie Aurelia.

“This morning I went to the town hall. I spoke with the Registrar of Voters, LeReine Frampton and the Town Clerk, Ms Aurelia,” Ms Monteleone Randle continued.

“Ms Aurelia confirmed that I was indeed a candidate and that they received a letter from [the SOTS Office] on the morning of Friday, October 26. When I pressed for an answer why the event organizer told me that I was not a valid candidate, she replied that there must have been some confusion.

“Needless to say, I was not pleased with her response or the fact that I was not given an opportunity to participate in the forum,” Ms Monteleone Randle continued.

When sought for clarification, both Ms Frampton and Ms Aurelia said any confusion was on the part of Ms Monteleone Randle.

“Between October 17, the day the town clerk received her letter of withdrawal from the IPN, and October 26, the day the town clerk received the validation letter from the state accepting her as a qualified write-in, Ms Monteleone was not a candidate,” Ms Frampton said. The speaking program for “Pizza & Politics” was finalized during this period, and Ms Wiedemann was never given the opportunity to prepare remarks for the event because at that time, she was still unopposed, Ms Frampton said.

Because of Ms Monteleone Randle’s withdrawal from the IPN ballot slot, voters will now be choosing to elect as many as two four-year school board representatives from any party, Ms Frampton said. The Republicans have two candidates, the Democrats have three, and the IPN committee now has two vying for the four-year seats.

Ms Monteleone Randle said in a release she withdrew from the IPN slate to provide voters a choice.

“There’s no choice when only one candidate is up for election,” Ms Monteleone Randle said. “The seat for that two-year term is now a two-person race.”

The announcement from the former IPN candidate forced the town clerk and Registrars of Voters to throw out more than 15,000 preprinted ballots, and to make accommodations to redact Ms Monteleone Randle’s name by hand on approximately 1,600 absentee ballots. A package of computer chips holding candidate information for local electronic ballot scanners had to be reprogrammed removing her name from the IPN slot.

The cost for reprinting new ballots and reprogramming the chips is about $7,000, and that cost will be covered by the Secretary of the State’s office this year. According to the town clerk, the extra time devoted to redacting the absentee ballots will be done by office personnel who will be redirected from other duties.

Those additional labor costs will not be compensated, Ms Aurelia said.

Anyone who has already completed an absentee ballot, and who voted for Ms Monteleone Randle on the IPN line, will have that single vote voided when ballots are counted, Ms Aurelia added.