Familiar Faces, New Names on Slate as Democrats Announce Candidates

Two years ago, members of the Democratic Party suffered a crushing defeat as the Republican party took a super majority on the Southington Town Council and gained full control of the town’s boards, but with a mix of familiar names and new candidates, they are hoping to regain control in 2013.

The election season officially kicked off Thursday as the Democrats announced their slate for office, keeping their incumbent members in the race and bringing longtime member and recent charter revision commissioner Dennis Conroy and the youthful third-generation Democrat Chris Kelley into the mix.

“I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for the party to win back our seats on the council,” incumbent Christopher Palmieri said. “We lost many seats on town committees and boards over the last four years. We need to put a strong race on and get the town’s Democrats out to vote this November.”

The biggest change for the party was the introduction of Chris Kelley as a candidate. The youthful Southington resident brings new ideas, but also comes from a long lineage of successful politicians.

He is the grandson of longtime Board of Education member Urbin T. Kelley, whose work led the town to eventually dedicate the Kelley Elementary School in his honor, and is the son of former Board of Education member Kevin Kelley.

On the Board of Education and Board of Finance, familiar names returned including Jerry Belanger, John Moise and Kevin Beaudoin.

After serving multiple terms on the Board of Finance where they helped establish the town’s rainy day fund, Moise and Beaudoin were both ousted in an effort to gain seats on the Council in 2011. Both are now seeking to take back their former finance seats and join Sandra Feld. Anthony Casale, current Board of Finance member, is not seeking reelection.

The party also selected Sandra Brunoli, known for her work behind the camera in recent years, as their selection to replace retiring Town Clerk Leslie Cotton.

“The committee went through and really took the time to put together the best list of candidates and most qualified individuals to help serve the town and represent the party,” said Elaine Bedard, chairwoman of the Southington Democratic Town Committee. “We know this will be a winning combination for us come November.”

For a party that had been somewhat divided following the previous election, the candidates showed hope and promise Thursday – and found support on the state level as Attorney General George Jepsen and Gov. Dannel malloy stopped by to inspire the party.

The two talked about the importance of local elections and how the local parties make the biggest difference in helping the state move in the right direction.

Dennis Conroy said he sees weakness in the Republican Party this year, noting that he believes the charter revision process showed a lack of concern for the voters, and encouraged his party to work hard and take back control of the town.

“It’s so obvious to me that the Republican Party thinks the voters have no idea what is going on,” he said. “We need to take to the streets, talk with the voters and show (Republicans) they are wrong.”

The complete list of Democratic candidates for office is as follows:

*Denotes incumbent.
**Denotes alternate to a board.

Town Council
*John Barry
Dennis Conroy
Chris Kelley
*Dawn Miceli
*Christopher Palmieri
David Rinaldi

Board of Education
Jerry Belanger
*David Derynoski
Gail Doerfler
William Lutz
*Patricia Johnson
*Zaya Oshana

Board of Finance
Kevin Beaudoin
*Sandra Feld
John Moise
Edward Rosenblatt

Planning and Zoning Commission
Anthony Cervoni Jr.
**Susan Locks
**Ryan Rogers
*James Sinclair

Board of Water Commissioners
*Thomas Murphy
*Angelina Santa Maria
Rudolph Cabata

Southington Town Clerk
Sandra L. Brunoli

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