GOP Proposes A Slate Of Candidates

By John Voket

The Republican Town Committee has proposed a slate of candidates for the November 8 election that will be ratified, barring any challenges, at a Republican caucus at 7:30 pm on July 26 in the lower gym at Edmond Town Hall.

Meanwhile, James Juliano, chairman of the local Democratic Town Committee, said his group is foregoing a meeting to vote on a slate, and will move directly to an endorsement caucus that same day, July 26 at 7 pm, in the Alexandria Room at Edmond Town Hall.

It was previously announced that the local GOP slate will be topped by incumbents Pat Llodra, who will seek another term as first selectman, and fellow Republican Will Rogers, who is seeking a second term on the Board of Selectman. Neither are expected to face opposition from within the RTC at the July 26 caucus.

The Council District 1 ballot will offer incumbents George Ferguson and Robert Merola as well as first-time candidate Joe Girgasky; Council District 2 will have incumbents Kathy Fetchick and MaryAnn Jacob joined by newcomer Dan Wiedemann; and Council District 3 will see current Chairman Jeff Capeci and incumbent Ben Spragg joined by Mitch Bolinsky.

Republican Board of Finance incumbents Joe Kearney and Harry Waterbury will be joined on the ballot by John Godin — a current member of the Board of Assessment Appeals — and Richard Oparowski; while incumbent Keith Alexander will see GOP colleagues Cody McCubbin and Laura Roche vying for seats on the Board of Education.

The local GOP’s choices for the Planning & Zoning Commission will be incumbent Bob Mulholland, current alternate Mike Porco, and newcomer Jim Swift joined by P&Z Alternate candidate Peggy Fillion.

For the Police Commission, the Republicans have endorsed incumbent Brian Budd for another term, as well as former school board member and selectman Paul Mangiafico; and choices for Zoning Board of Appeals are incumbents Charles Annett and Tim Cronin with incumbent Zoning Board of Appeals Alternate Roy Meadows also endorsed for another term.

The Board of Assessment Appeals candidate for the GOP will be James McFarland; and incumbent Margo Hall will be joined by John Boccuzzi on the ballot for Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers.

Minority Representation

According to Democratic Registrar of Voters LeReine Frampton, Newtown’s Charter follows state statute mandating minimum minority representation for virtually all its elected boards, so there may be cases where top vote-getters for various parties will “lose” to lesser vote-getters ensuring at least one member of another qualified party or a top vote-getting petitioning candidate is represented on each applicable board.

Statutes also require that when the number of members to be elected to the board of education for the same term at any election is even, no elector shall vote for more than half that number. And when the number of members to be elected to the board of education for the same term at any election is odd, no elector shall vote for more than a bare majority of that number.

In an analysis of offices becoming open this November, Town Clerk Debbie Aurelia stated that for the first time in her memory an unaffiliated candidate, Deborra Zukowski, has begun filing nominating petitions to get on the ballot for the Planning & Zoning Commission. That race will have three openings to be filled by electors, and each party can place up to three endorsed candidates on the ballot.

The Board of Education will have one ballot line that will ask voters to elect three candidates, and there will be a separate ballot line to fill a fourth school board slot that is open because the original member resigned from the board before the end of the individual’s term.

As many as four Democrats or as many as four Republicans could be elected to fill vacant school board seats this November, while only as many as three Independents can win new seats because there are two IPN incumbents on the board whose four-year terms are not up until 2013.

Up to four unaffiliated or petitioning candidates can also be elected to the Board of Education, Ms Aurelia said.

For the Board of Finance, all six slots will be up for grabs and each party can include up to six candidates’ names on the ballot. But each party can only have a maximum of four of its candidates elected, no matter how the vote totals weigh out.

Any party can have a maximum of one candidate on the ballot for first selectman, and the two top vote-getters from that race, combined with the candidates for the Board of Selectmen will fill the two remaining board seats, accounting for minority representation.

Up For Grabs

All 12 seats on the Legislative Council will be up for election, although Newtown is divided among three voting districts each electing four candidates. No matter the individual vote totals, at least one Republican, one Democrat, and one Independent must retain a seat on the council to fulfill the minority rule. After that, each district can consider as many as four candidates from each of the three local parties, plus any qualifying unaffiliated petitioning candidates.

The Edmond Town Hall Board of Managers will have three open seats with either an unaffiliated petitioner or one candidate from any party elected to fill a vacancy. The other two open seats must be filled by the two top vote-getters from among the Republicans, Democrats, or the IPN.

The Board of Assessment Appeals will have two open seats, according to the town clerk. Each qualifying party can nominate one candidate, which means one unaffiliated petitioning candidate can appear on the ballot along with one Democrat, Republican, and Independent.

The Police Commission will have three open seats come November, plus a vacancy to fill. Ms Aurelia said that up to two more Republicans, up to three Democrats or three Independents can be elected in that race.

The Zoning Board of Appeals will have three of its five seats open for election. Up to three candidates can be nominated from each of the three local parties, or up to three unaffiliated petitioners.

No more than four from any one party can serve.

According to state law, minor parties including the Independent Party of Newtown have about six more weeks to tender their slate of candidates for the November ballot.

September 7 is the deadline for all minor party nominations and certification for municipal office to be presented to the town clerk. And written notice of date, time, location, and purpose of nominating meetings for municipal office must be filed with municipal clerk not later than five days before meeting.

But Bruce Walczak, who is the IPN chairman and a current member of the police commission, said the minor party’s bylaws call for its town committee to meet by the first Tuesday in August, presumably to ratify candidates for the ballot. He said the nominating committee has been qualifying interested candidates since May and will make recommendations to the full town committee by that time.

Editor’s note: This report was updated Friday, July 15 to correct and clarify our previous web and print story that incorrectly stated each minority party is entitled to at least one seat on every elected board.