Recount In 106th District Confirms GOP’s Bolinsky As The Winner

By John Voket

In the end, a November 14 recount in Newtown’s 106th state legislative district registered 21 more votes than on Election Day, but the outcome remained the same. Republican Mitch Bolinsky was declared the winner by 45 votes and will be heading to Hartford to represent the community for at least the next two years.

According to Democratic Registrar of Voters LeReine Frampton, and confirmed by Head Moderator Carol Mattegat, the official tally gave 5,757 votes to Mr Bolinsky, and 5,712 to Democrat and challenger Lisa Romano. The original Election Day count was reported as 5,748 for Mr Bolinsky and 5,700 for Ms Romano.

In a statement issued the following morning, Mr Bolinsky said he was pleased and very proud to have prevailed in the recount.

While the campaign for the local statehouse district provided virtually no controversy, the few days leading up to what is technically classified in state statutes, as a “recanvass” of ballots was not without its drama.

Ms Romano initially notified The Newtown Bee in writing that she was convinced a recount would not provide her with a turnover, so she was waiving the process and conceded to her GOP challenger. She also notified Ms Frampton and other local party leaders verbally that she would not force a recount.

But because she failed to notify the town clerk within 24 hours of the original vote as required by law, the procedure had to be initiated according to a spokesperson from the Connecticut Secretary of the State’s office. Ms Romano then said she initially felt rushed into announcing her concession, and supported the recount.

After fulfilling all other statutory requirements, the procedure commenced Wednesday, November 14, at Town Hall South.

In a stuffy boardroom packed with the candidates, registrar staff, observers, and attorneys representing both the state Democrats and Republicans, Ms Frampton walked everyone through the rules governing the process, and the activity commenced. One Democratic poll worker and one Republican poll worker removed and examined each ballot for stray marks, and to ensure each 106th District vote was endorsed properly.

About six hours later, the recount concluded leaving both candidates and Ms Frampton to issue their final statements. All three enthusiastically thanked the front line poll workers and volunteers who participated, and the candidates each also thanked the registrars for what Mr Bolinsky described as “a very well organized and painstakingly transparent recount under very stressful circumstances.”

“As orchestrated by LeReine Frampton, Carol Mattegat, and Linda Connor, the process was handled with impressive efficiency,” Mr Bolinsky stated. “Every voter should know and respect the professionalism of the recount team.”

At the same time, Mr Bolinsky sent thoughts and prayers following the passing of John Aurelia, husband of GOP Registrar Karin Aurelia and father of Town Clerk Debbie Aurelia. Since the family’s private funeral occurred earlier Wednesday, neither attended the recount.

The Republican victor said his race was far closer than his team expected and credited Ms Romano for running a hard-fought campaign.

“In a year when nearly every other electoral contest was run with over-the-top negativity, I am proud of our campaign and team for staying focused on Newtown, on Connecticut, our economy, job creation, and common sense accountability in how government uses taxpayer dollars,” he said.

Mr Bolinsky observed that toward the end of the campaign, Ms Romano publicly reflected on whether her efforts should have gone more negative and whether that might have altered the outcome.

“I like to think the average Newtowner respects honesty, experience, a can-do attitude, and results far more than mudslinging. In the end, a handshake was the appropriate conclusion to our recount,” he said. “I hope Lisa stays positive and idea-focused going forward and believe she will be rewarded for doing so. I look forward to working together on issues of importance to her.”

Ms Romano said she was glad that the recount proceeded as prescribed by state law, noting that the added votes both candidates picked up provided her with “only one-twelfth of what I needed to change the result.”

She also observed during the recount that “many Democratic voters filled in their bubbles for President, Senate, and Congress, but did not continue, across the space where John McKinney didn’t have an opponent, to fill in the bubble next to my name.”

“I’m sure there were also quite a few Republican voters who did not cast a vote in the state representative race. I hope that in the future, voters will take a few moments to look up the candidates and make a choice for their statehouse seat.”

Ms Frampton observed that “going into this recount there was a lot of accusations and animosity; however, once both parties entered the recount assembly everyone was respectful and worked well together.”

“If Hartford and Washington would do the same thing we would be in a much better place,” Ms Frampton said, adding that her office staff was very appreciative of the support shown by local Democratic Party Chairman Jim Juliano and GOP Chairman Dennis Bloom.

Ms Frampton reported the added cost for the recount was $4,398.