Candidates Reflect On Election Outcome

By John Voket

In nearly four decades of community service, Republican First Selectman-elect Joseph Borst has been a busy man. But he is vowing to “hit the ground running” as his team takes over the reigns from an administration that has been entrenched at Edmond Town Hall for ten years.

“I’m very anxious to get started,” Mr Borst told The Newtown Bee as he was heading out to a Veterans’ Day celebration at Newtown High School.

The town’s newly elected top official said he was planning to meet with outgoing First Selectman Herb Rosenthal by early next week to begin his administration’s transition.

“We want to see what’s left hanging — what things are left to take action on,” Mr Borst said, adding that he was also planning to meet with the co-chairs of the recently formed Long-Range Strategic Planning Committee.

“We want to move forward with this committee, discuss where they are going with it and outline some procedures as they move forward,” Mr Borst said. His running mate, Paul Mangiafico, was also successful in securing a seat on the Board of Selectmen, giving that top board a Republican majority for the first time in a decade.

Mr Mangiafico believes the results of the election speak plainly, and he is ready to respond.

“The results of this election clearly are significant,” Mr Mangiafico said. “We’ve got to do a better job of listening and engaging the people in this community.”

Mr Mangiafico said while campaigning, he spoke with many voters who were very specific about issues in the community, while many others were more generally concerned.

“When I pressed these people, the thing I kept hearing about was a general feeling that something wasn’t right, even if they could not specifically identify what was causing those feelings,” Mr Mangiafico said.

While the selectman-elect said this week’s closely decided election was not a huge mandate for change, he believes the unseating of the five-term incumbent first selectman was significant.

“I think they saw in Joe [Borst] a different approach to things,” Mr Mangiafico said.

Mr Rosenthal said from the moment the election outcome became apparent, he refused to get upset because he always respected the decisions of local voters.

“People wanted to see a change,” Mr Rosenthal said. “I wish Joe and Paul the very best.”

Mr Rosenthal said he was thrilled to see six of the seven incumbent council representatives returned to serve another term, and that he was honored to sit on the Board of Selectmen with retiring Republican William Brimmer, Jr, and fellow Democrat Joseph Bojnowski.

The outgoing town leader cited several other races in particular that he was watching closely. “I was unhappy to see council vice chairman Tim Holian lose by such a close number,” Mr Rosenthal said. “The council and the town will miss him and all the other incumbents who ran hard.”

He was also happy to see fellow Democrat Joseph Hemingway returned to the council after a two-year absence, and pointed out the resounding victory of another fresh-faced newcomer.

At 23, Democratic First District Councilman-elect Christopher Lyddy was both the youngest and highest vote-getter across all three council district races, capturing 1,039 votes. He told The Bee Wednesday that he was excited to see the campaign and election processes playing out.

“I think the voters elected a pretty diverse and dynamic group of council members,” Mr Lyddy said. The new councilman believes he will be able to bring new energy to the council process, but admits his ideas might not always be popular.

“We’re facing some major challenges,” he said. Mr Lyddy was also hopeful that a newly forming minor party would continue to bring added perspective to the issues.

“The Independent Party of Newtown really made a lot of people open their eyes,” he said. “And I trust their newly elected council candidates will not be complacent.

“I hope we will all be willing to listen to one another to ensure the best possible future for our community,” Mr Lyddy said.

In a written response to questions from The Bee, District 2 Councilman-elect Po Murray said, “There was a strong sentiment for a new direction in Newtown as evidenced by the defeat of our very influential incumbent first selectman by Joe Borst.”

She was happy to see strong support for the IPN and IPN-supported candidates.

“Every vote for an IPN candidate was a vote for a change,” Ms Murray said. “It is quite remarkable that a…fledgling organization was so successful in seating eight out of 17 IPN and IPN-supported candidates in a tough political environment. Clearly, citizens of Newtown are ready for a new direction in Newtown.”

Her Second District council running mate Gary Davis said IPN supporters thought endorsing Mr Borst was the right move, saying he brought the right mix of experience, reputation, and progressive ideas to the voters.

“I like to think that IPN made a difference in helping Joe win the election,” Mr Davis said. “I think this election has led to an interesting mix of experienced elected officials and newcomers with new ideas being elected.”

Mr Davis said he is looking forward to participating in some robust discussions over the critical issues facing Newtown, and hopes those discussions will promote new and innovative approaches to the community’s problems.

“This election was about a desire for change, and we are committed to working with the community and our fellow elected officials to chart a positive new direction for our community,” Mr Davis said.

Republican Legislative Council Chairman Will Rodgers, who was successful in his reelection campaign, said the extraordinarily close numbers that determined winners in many of the races proved the community was very evenly divided on the many issues being discussed this Election Day.

“When so many races were so close, I don’t think we should be talking about mandates,” Mr Rodgers said. “But I think at this point cooperation should be on everybody’s mind.”