(Updated) 'Super' Republicans: G.O.P. Maintains Super Majority with Big Victory

For the second straight municipal election, the Southington Republican Town Committee stood tall and were able to take a clean sweep as the party maintained a super majority on all boards in town.

Republicans celebrated Tuesday evening at Friends Café, cheering and sharing hugs as the numbers indicated their second clean sweep in as many elections. It is also the third straight municipal election where the party was able to gain and maintain control of all of Southington’s elected boards.

“It took a lot of work and a concentrated effort to accomplish this, but it’s important we remember this is only the beginning now,” said Michael Ricco, one of the six Republicans elected to council. “There is a lot of work ahead, challenges with our infrastructure and we have a lot left to accomplish.”

Riccio joins Victoria Triano, newcomers Tom Lombardi and Paul Champagne, and incumbents Stephanie Urillo and Cheryl Lounsbury as Republicans on the council. Democrats John Barry, Dawn Miceli and Chris Palmieri will all be returning to office.

For a complete look at Tuesday's election results, click the link provided.

Democrats entered the day hopeful to take back a seat, especially with four Republican council members not seeking reelection, but as the numbers began to roll in, their hopes were dashed.

Barry said he believes the party had a strong platform and was ready to move to town forward in a positive direction, but also said they Democratic party would not dwell on the results and will continue to work to make Southington a great place to live.

“It’s disappointing to see the party work so hard and not pick up any seats, but now the election is over and we need to get back to work,” Barry said.

Brian Callahan, chairman of the Southington Republican Town Committee, credited Tuesday's victory to a strong marketing campaign that was spearheaded by Riccio, a former council member. The party sent flyers to multiple homes and made sure the community was aware of where they stood on the issues and the record of success over the past four years.

"We were reelected because the people are happy with the way we've run government. It's a statement that we need to keep close as we move forward," Callahan said.

Board of Education
There wasn't a lot of change on the Board of Education in 2013. In fact, there was none at all.

In a night where four new faces were introduced to the Southington Town Council, the Board of Education saw all nine incumbents seeking reelection find their way back into office, despite some strong competition.

"The schools have made great progress and movement in a positive direction in recent years and the public recognized that," said Democrat Patricia Johnson. "I look forward to a continued investment in education.

Serving on the board in 2013-15 will be Republicans Brian Goralski, Colleen Clark, Terri Carmody, Terry Lombardi, Jill Notar-Francesco and Patricia A. Queen, as well as Democrats David Derynoski, Patricia Johnson and Zaya Oshana.

Board of Finance
After a little confusion on who was in and who was out, there are some new faces coming to the Board of Finance in 2013.

Two seats were left vacant with Republican Wayne Stanforth and Democrat Anthony Casale each retiring from public office, but the drama came not in who would replace them, but rather which Democrat would hold the seat belonging to incumbent Sandra Feld.

Both parties preliminary office showed Feld remaining in control, but when the Southington Town Clerk tallied the final ballots, it was former member John Moise who held the final spot.

Moise returns to the board after two years away when his run for a council seat fell short in 2011. He outpaced Feld by 62 votes. Also returning to the board for the Democrats will be Kevin Beaudoin.

Newcomer James Coleman will join fellow Republicans John Leary, Joseph Labieniec and Edward Pocock Jr. on the other side of the aisle.

Planning and Zoning
Planning and Zoning Officials saw one change, with Susan Locks unseating fellow Democrat James Sinclair. Republicans Michael Del Santo, Paul Chaplinsky and Steve Kalkowski all return to office.

"I am proud of the eight years I've served on the board and the job that I've been able to do in that time," Sinclair said. "At this point, I just look forward to getting involved and serving my community, hopefully returning to office down the road."

A New Town Clerk
In the race for a new town clerk, Kathy Larkin won in a landslide over Sandra Brunoli. Larkin, the highest vote getter in town, will replace Leslie Cotton upon Cotton's retirement in early January.

In other election news…
Voters chose decisively to reject ideas for Charter Revision, voting down the referendum for two of the three questions.

The town will not be seeing a new system, voting down an effort to establish the police ad fire commissions as “advisory only” and redirecting the hiring and supervision of the police fire chief under the town manager. Instead, voters said no to the measure with a decisive vote that failed by more than 600 votes.

The boards will remain in place, with oversight of the departments and chiefs under the purview of the police and fire commissions.

The one measure to pass expands the town managers ability to balance items within a department in a single fiscal year. Southington Town Manager Garry Brumback will now be able to make small transfers between line items, however any large transfers or inter-department transfers will need to be approved by the Board of Finance.

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