Valley reacts to new playing field

Written by Susan Hunter
Thursday, 05 November 2009 17:20

Seymour Selectman Paul Roy, a Democrat, was the only challenger to defeat an incumbent top government leader in the Valley on Election Day.

Roy ended the six-year tenure of Republican First Selectman Robert Koskelowski in a 2,032 to 1,810 tally.

In other Valley races, Ansonia Mayor Jim Della Volpe will go on to serve a sixth term. He defeated his challenger, Republican Judy Larkin-Nicolari, 2,157-1,196.

In Derby, Republican Mayor Tony Staffieri defeated Democratic challenger Daniel Foley 1,766 to 1,355.

Roy said he was “ecstatic” when he heard he had won and said door-to-door campaigning helped him win the first selectman seat in Seymour.

“I went out and talked to people, and they talked to me,” he said. “We were talking about the same thing. I found that Tri-Town Plaza was the number one issue.”

Bringing new stores to the mostly vacant plaza has been a priority to economic development officials for the past few years. Things have been at a standstill ever since developer Ron Spector filed a lawsuit against the town over the assessment of the Ames portion of the plaza.

Roy said he’s met with Spector a few times recently about the situation, and Spector threw his election endorsement to Roy. He said he believes that Roy’s spirit of cooperation can help reach a solution to the stalemate.

Koskelowski has said that the court case shouldn’t have stopped Spector from leasing the buildings, and that he has tried as recently as six weeks ago to resolve the plaza issue.

Roy said that residents’ concerns about communication with the Seymour School System administration was another issue that brought him victory.

The three Democrats who were reelected or elected to the Board of Education received much higher votes than Republicans named to the board, he said.

Koskelowski blamed his defeat on the education issue, and said the election of two Democrats who were former schoolteachers to the Board of Selectmen showed the direction voters were taking.

He said he’s heard that residents “aren’t very pleased with the Board of Education or the administration. If I have to be the fall guy, that’s okay.”

But he said he was disappointed not to be reelected, “because over the past 10 years, Republican administrations have put the town’s finances in order and economic development has started over again.

“The voters made their choice,” he said. “I can walk out with my head up. The town is in good financial condition.”

He said he’s concerned about Democrats coming into office because “they like to tax and spend. The town can’t afford a large tax increase.”

Roy said he thinks the Republican-controlled Board of Finance can work well with the newly aligned Democratic controlled Board of Selectmen.

“It’s good for us to move forward,” he said. He plans to meet with town employees when he takes office “to get to know where we stand on the issues, so we can make sure we’re heading in the right direction.”

Republicans gain seat on Ansonia board

In Ansonia, Nicolari was another in a series of Republican mayoral candidates who have failed to unseat longtime Mayor Jim Della Volpe, a Democrat.

“I’m certainly very disappointed. I thought I’d do better,” she said, based on door-to-door conversations with residents who indicated they wanted a change at the top spot.

“It was a well-fought campaign, and it remained clean,” she said, according to an agreement that she and Della Volpe shook hands on.

She said that she’d “feel good about it” if some of her campaign pledges “get accomplished by the present administration. I congratulate Mayor Della Volpe on his win.”

Despite her loss, Republicans picked up a seat on the Board of Alderman, with the election of John P. Marini in the Third Ward.

It’s the first time in about a decade that the 14-member Board of Aldermen has had Republican representation.

“It’s a start,” Nicolari said.

Republican Joan Radin lost by 10 votes in the Fifth Ward, and an automatic recount is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 9 at 5:30 p.m.

Derby’s Staffieri said he was heartened by his win.

“I thank the people of Derby for showing us they still trust me to manage the city and see that we’re bringing city down the right avenue,” he said. “We’re going through a true Renaissance, with businesses coming in, and we’re creating more jobs and more tax dollars.”

Della Volpe and Foley couldn’t be reached for comment.