Election 2009 heads for the finish line

Written by Fred Musante
Friday, 30 October 2009 12:02

Voters on Tuesday to choose mayor and other city officials

Shelton voters go to the polls in a week to pick top city officials in an election that is one of the oddest in memory.

Unfolding with a corruption investigation looming over it like a dark cloud, the candidates have appeared content to lob long-distance accusations at each other without meeting face to face.

More than 25,500 individuals will be eligible to vote on Election Day — Tuesday, Nov. 3 — at four city polling sites.

Poll locations are Elizabeth Shelton School for Ward 1, Sunnyside School for Ward 2, Long Hill School for Ward 3 and Mohegan School for Ward 4.

Voters who can’t get to the polls in person on Election Day can vote by absentee ballot right up to Election Day, contrary to some campaign literature that gave an incorrect cut-off date.

City/Town Clerk Margaret Domorod said voters can contact her office for a ballot by calling 203-924-1555, ext. 377, or in person in City Hall, up to Monday, the day before Election Day. Absentee ballots can be returned in person up to Monday, Nov. 2, or by mail up to Election Day, Nov. 3.

The deadline to register to vote was Tuesday, Oct. 27, but persons who move to Shelton or reach their 18th birthday between now and Election Day are still eligible to register. Seventeen-year-olds who will reach 18 on or before Election Day do not have to wait until their birthday to register, but may do so in advance.

The Huntington Herald will post election results online at huntingtonherald.com.

For the record, as of Oct. 22, 13,762 residents were registered as unaffiliated voters, amounting to nearly 54% of the total registered voters. So while the parties seek support for their candidates and attack their rivals, those who belong to no party clearly hold the decision-making power.

The Oct. 22 registration figures also listed 6,158 members of the Republican Party (24.1%), 5,574 members of the Democratic Party (21.8%), 18 Libertarian Party members, 17 Green Party members, 15 Citizens United members, two Reform Party members and one member of the Working Families Party.

The minor parties total registration comes to only two-tenths of one percent of the total voter registration, but that doesn’t actually measure the influence of Citizens United, the local third party that has candidates on the ballot for every elected office except treasurer and Library Board.

Incumbent Mayor Mark A. Lauretti, the Republican Party candidate, is running for his 10th two-year term against Democratic Party candidate Chris Jones, currently a member of the Planning & Zoning Commission; and Citizens United candidate Mark Widomski.

Lauretti, first elected in 1991, has campaigned on his record of promoting economic growth and controlling local taxes.

Jones and Widomski have campaigned for improved city services, low taxes and good government practices.

The Shelton Republicans have no Web site, but their campaign headquarters is at 97 Center Street, and voters can call them at 203-922-0018.

The Shelton Democrats’ have a Web site at sheltondemocrats.org, with a link to the Jones campaign Web site. Voters can call the party at 203-926-0712.

The Citizens United Web site is at sheltoncitizensunited.org; the campaign headquarters is at 8 Huntington St., Suite 156; and voters also can reach the party by sending an e-mail message to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

News and opinion articles related to the election and candidates published this fall in the Huntington Herald are collected on our Web site, huntingtonherald.com and can be viewed by clicking on the “Election 2009” link.

The 2009 campaign

There are two big questions on the minds of many politics-minded people in Shelton, and nobody will know the answers until the votes are counted Tuesday night.

One is what effect the ongoing federal corruption case will have on the election. A federal grand jury indictment charges Shelton developer James Botti with bribing public officials in order to get his land development plans approved, and circumstantial evidence points to Lauretti as one of the officials. Lauretti has denied it.

The first trial against Botti was scheduled to start Monday, guaranteeing that voters would see news headlines about it when they woke up on Election Day. Will it affect the voter turnout or end the popular mayor’s political career?

The other question is what effect would Widomski’s candidacy play in the election? Will it split the anti-Lauretti vote and help the mayor, or would it give disaffected voters who previously supported Lauretti an alternative to voting for Jones, thus hurting the mayor?

The candidates spent the campaign aiming barbs at each other without ever meeting face to face.

Their one opportunity was at a “Meet the Candidates” forum sponsored by the Shelton PTA Council, which invited the mayoral candidates to give five-minute speeches. Lauretti didn’t show up, and neither did most members of the public. In fact, politicians who are running for elected office outnumbered ordinary voters.

Then the Shelton Exchange Club offered to sponsor a mayoral debate, but while Lauretti said he would show up, Jones and Widomski declined.

The Democrats and Citizens United said they were suspicious about the debate because Republican Party leaders instigated it. Also, they said they were satisfied they had gotten their messages out to the voters by mailing election brochures and campaigning door-to-door, and showing up to debate Lauretti would only give him free publicity.

According to the Republican Town Committee chairman, Alderman Anthony Simonetti, Jones and Widomski were afraid to debate Lauretti. When their reluctance became clear, he goaded the Democrats and Citizens United at every opportunity, even calling them “chicken.”

Jones may have had the most to lose by debating Lauretti and Widomski. The most recent campaign finance report for the period ending Sept. 30 shows Jones with an advantage in campaign donations with nearly $21,000 for Jones, $10,450 for Lauretti, and about $1,300 for Widomski.

Jones may also receive support from several city unions, providing him with campaign manpower if not donations.