Republicans win back control in Milford

Written by Jill Dion and Manny Strumpf
Tuesday, 03 November 2009 23:27

Republicans won big tonight in Milford. Incumbent Mayor James Richetelli Jr. won reelection by about a 2-1 margin over his Democratic challenger, Genevieve Salvatore, with larger margins over Independent candidate Peter Spalthoff and petition candidate Tim Chaucer.

Republican City Clerk candidate Linda Stock defeated Democrat Richard Roy and Independent candidate Michael Konopka.

Republicans also knocked a number of incumbent Democrats off city boards and commissions, with some unexpected wins on the Board of Aldermen, Board of Education and Planning and Zoning Commission.

“People in Milford have given us a tremendous mandate but an awesome responsibility,” Richetelli said. “The people of Milford have spoken and they said that they do not want distortions and half truths. I am proud of our eight-year record.”

Spirits were high at the Stonebridge Restaurant, where the GOP gathered to watch election results come in.

Moods were just the opposite at Democratic headquarters in a Bridgeport Avenue storefront, where Democrats were wondering, out loud, what they’d done wrong.

The Board of Aldermen, which had turned to a 10-5 Democratic majority two years ago, returned to Republican control with Tuesday’s election. Republicans now outnumber Democrats 10-5.

“How can I be happy when the whole party has been working so hard?” said Democratic Board of Education member Tracy Casey, who actually won reelection to her board seat. “We have only two returning Board of Education members, and the rest are new. It’s not good for the city.”

She said Tuesday’s results will, however, make her work even harder on the school board.

Salvatore, who said she will run again for mayor in two years if her party backs her, lamented the heavy toll Tuesday’s election took on her party.

“We lost Suzanne Manning, Dave Hourigan, Greta Stanford and Bob Nunno. We lost quality people,” Salvatore said.

Unofficial counts, which do not include absentee ballots, put Salvatore at about 3,714 votes compared to Richetelli’s 8,093. Spalthoff got 1,335 votes, and Chaucer, 376.

Salvatore speculated that the big Democratic losses might be partly attributable to national sentiment. She said many people she talked to while campaigning were opposed to the president’s national health care plan.

“Does that trickle down to local politics?” she wondered.

Democratic Town Committee Chairman Rich Smith grabbed a microphone and addressed his party shortly after a computer program projected the tell-tale numbers on a wall.

“There are a lot of stunned faces in here tonight,” Smith said. “Two years ago we were watching the numbers go the other way. It’s hard to decipher. Is this the repercussion of national issues? Are seniors afraid of health care costs? I don’t know.”

He credited Salvatore with running a strong campaign and said, “The vote tonight is not indicative of the quality of our candidate.”

Addressing the crowd just after the tallies painted the picture, Salvatore said she was proud of her run and the job the party did.

“We didn’t lie, we didn’t cheat, and we played by the rules,” Salvatore said. “And I’m proud of it.”

Republican Town Committee Chairman said he wasn’t surprised Richetelli took the election with such a wide margin, though he admitted he thought popular State Rep. Richard Roy might have taken the City Clerk’s post.

“But her performance at the debate was outstanding,” Jagodzinski said about prevailing City Clerk candidate Linda Stock.

Jagodzinski attributed the GOP return to power to the Democrats’ performance the last two years.

“Because the Democrats had the majority, they were able to put in place their ideas and ultimately I don’t think the voters liked it,” Jagodzinski said.

Following are additional preliminary results in Milford.

On the Board of Aldermen, Anthony Giannattasio (R), Brian Bier (R), and James Patterson (D) won in the First District.

In District Two, Gregory Smith (R), Bernard Joy (R), and Nick Veccharelli Jr. (D) won. Incumbent Democrat Justin Rosen did not win reelection.

In District Three, Paula Smith (R), Frank Goodrich (R) and Martin Hardiman (D) won. Incumbent Suzanne Manning (D) was not reelected.

In District Four, the winners are Daniel German (R), Bill Bevan (R) and Philip Vetro (D). Long-time Police Commissioner Carleton Giles (D) did not get elected to the board as many expected he would.

In District Five, the winners are Pamela Staneski (R), Raymond Vitali (R) and Benjamin Blake (D). Incumbent Robert Nunno (D) lost his seat.

The following people were elected to the Board of Education: Mark Stapleton (R), James Tranquilly (R), Gregory Oliver (R), Tracy Casey (D), Robert White (R), Jack O’Connell (R), Diane Kruger-Carroll (R), David Amandola (D), Josip Ivan Jukic (R) and Suzanne DiBiase (R).

Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Chairman Jeanne Cervin, in what Democrats describe as one of several surprise upsets, was defeated by her Republican challenger, Robert Dickman. In the other P&Z races, Gregory Veter (R) defeated Joseph Castignoli (D); Edward Mead (R) defeated George Gasper (D); Mark Bender (R) defeated Michael Brown (D) and Kevin Liddy (R) defeated Dora Kubek, (D) and John Grant (I).