Local Election Promises Changes At The Top

By John Voket

Newtown goes to the polls Tuesday, November 3, to facilitate one of the largest turnovers among the top echelon of local political leadership in memory. Voters will seat a new three-person Board of Selectmen, choosing from among four contenders for first selectman and three candidates for the board.

In Newtown by charter, if an unsuccessful first selectman candidate is the second and/or third top vote getter, he or she retains a seat on the Board of Selectmen. Once the first selectman is determined, the remaining candidates move into a six-way race with the next two top vote getters becoming selectmen regardless of whether they ran for first selectman or a board seat.

That still leaves the top-of-ticket race wide open, with the possibility of having a tri-partisan board if the top three vote getters are Republican, Democrat, Independent Party of Newtown (IPN), or unaffiliated.

Neither Joe Borst nor Paul Mangiafico — Republican running mates from 2007 — are seeking reelection, and Democratic Selectman Herb Rosenthal is seeking an underticket seat on the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Across Newtown’s four voting districts, residents could also see a complete turnover on the Legislative Council depending on how votes are cast. This year seven incumbent council representatives are campaigning for reelection.

But with as many as six competing council candidates in each district across three participating parties, the entire Legislative Council could be comprised of newcomers, according to the registrars of voters.

Keep The Cup

Even though they are not running for office this year, the registrars are hoping Newtown can retain the Connecticut State Democracy Cup — an award from the Secretary of the State’s office that goes each year to the towns with the highest voter turnouts as a percentage of population.

“We want Newtown to keep the Democracy Cup, so that means everybody needs to get out and vote,” said Democratic Registrar LeReine Frampton.

And while the registrars are not competing for votes on Election Day, their respective daughters are. Republican Registrar Karin Aurelia’s daughter Debbie Aurelia is seeking to retain her seat as town clerk, while being challenged by Democrat Sara Frampton, the daughter of LeReine Frampton, the Democratic registrar.

The Board of Education could see four newcomers as well, because challengers outpace incumbents 4- 3.

The local Board of Finance currently has a 3–3 makeup, split evenly between Democrats and Republicans. But this year both major parties cross-endorsed their three competing Board of Finance incumbents. Only the local Independent Party of Newtown chose to put up additional contenders for the finance board, offering a possibility of two new faces on that panel.

The first ballot position on November 3 will be a special election — a three-way race to seat a new Judge of Probate. Newtown’s long-serving Judge Margot Hall was forced to retire earlier this summer because of a state mandated age restriction for that office, and local Democrats, Republicans, and the IPN have all endorsed probate contenders.

An interim judge from Danbury continues serving in Judge Hall’s stead until the newly elected probate judge takes over the office November 4. The entire remaining cast of officials who become elected November 3 take office by charter mandate on December 1.

The Details

Polls will be open from 6 am to 8 pm in all four local voting districts on Election Day. District 1 votes at the Newtown Middle School Gym A at 11 Queen Street; District 2 voters should report to the Reed Intermediate School cafetorium, 3 Trades Lane; District 3-1 voters head to Head O’ Meadow School cafetorium on Boggs Hill Road; and District 3-2 residents vote at the lower level gym at Edmond Town Hall.

The town clerk’s office at the new Municipal Center, as well as the former town clerk’s office at Edmond Town Hall, will be open Saturday, October 31, for qualified voters to complete absentee ballots between 9 am to noon. Absentee ballots can also be completed or delivered completed to the new Municipal Center at Fairfield Hills during regular business hours Friday, October 30, and Monday, November 2, and dropped off before 8 pm on Election Day.

Town Clerk Debbie Aurelia reminds anyone delivering absentee ballots for another voter that they will be required to show photo identification for the ballot to be accepted, even though they may just be acting as a courier.

Only emergency ballots can be distributed on Election Day; no absentee ballots will be provided. All absentee ballots must be turned in at the town clerk’s office; they will not be accepted at the polling places.

Election Coverage

The Newtown Bee has been covering candidate activities and reporting on numerous position papers issued by the campaigns in our print edition, and on the newspaper’s website, www.newtownbee.com. Additional web-based coverage includes a full audio transcript of the recent Newtown Bee First Selectman Candidates’ Debate; video highlights of that debate; and for the first time, video snapshots of the three candidates seeking seats on the Board of Selectmen.

The Bee is also offering a special pullout section containing candidate profiles, sample ballots, and the town voting district map.

Numerous individual candidates also have utilized social networking sites — in particular, Facebook — to support their candidacies.

Locally, residents and voters can get additional information on local Republicans at www.newtownrepublicans.org Or visit the local Democrats’ website at www.teamnewtown.com. The Independent Party of Newtown’s website can be found at www.ipn2009.org.

The Newtown Bee will offer comprehensive, up-to-the-minute Election Night coverage in the form of reports from the polls, from candidate headquarters, along with audio, video, and photos via newtownbee.com. Residents interested in getting updates to their computer, mobile devices, or smart phones can sign up to follow thenewtownbee on Twitter, or become a fan of The Newtown Bee on Facebook.

And look for even more post-election information and reactions, letters, photos, and related coverage in the November 6 print edition.