By Charles Stannard
DEEP RIVER— A recount is set for Monday in a close race for town clerk where Republican Amy Winchell led Democrat Nancy Talbot by two votes, 702-700, in the result from Tuesday’s election. The recount will be held at 10 a.m. at the Deep River Public Library polling place.
The apparent town clerk result, and another victory for a Region 4 Board of Education seat, were bright spots for town Republicans in an election where Democratic First Selectman Richard Smith was unopposed for a record 11th term, and Democrats won most other contest races on the ballot.
Talbot, who currently works as the town’s park and recreation director/building department clerk, had won the Democratic nomination in a September 15 primary over Stella Beaudoin. Talbot had been the unanimous pick of the Deep River Democratic Town Committee to replace Democratic Town Clerk Jeanne Nickse, who is retiring after holding the office since 1993.
Smith received 1,088 votes Tuesday. Democrat Arthur Thompson, ther current tax collector, with 716 votes, and Republican David Oliveria, with 401 votes, were elected to the board of selectmen. Oliveria outpolled incumbent Selectman Russell Marth, an unaffiliated voter who ran on the Deep River Independent Party line. Marth, who received 313 votes, was elected in 2007 after town Republicans did not nominate candidates for first selectman or board of selectmen.
Democrat Lisa Bibbiani was elected tax collector over Republican John Townsend on an 873-521 vote. Thompson has served as tax collector since 1993. Republican Town Treasurer Thomas Lindner was returned for a new term, defeating Democratic challenger John Dickson Jr. on a 996-421 vote.
In the Region 4 contest, Republican Laurie Ann Tomlinson, who served previously on the board in the late 1990s, defeated Democrat Patricia Conwell on a 707-628 vote. Conwell had been appointed to the regional school board last spring to fill a vacancy.
Incumbent Democrats George Eckenroth and Richard Balducci were re-elected to new terms on the board of finance, with Democrat Nichole Coutant winning a two-year vacancy term on the finance board over Republican Joyce Metz on a 702-634 vote.
Democrat Leigh Ann Balducci was elected to a full term on the board of assessment appeals, defeating Republican Darlene Pollock on a 692-644 vote. Democrat Mark Reyher was uncontested for a four-year vacancy term on the board of assessment appeals.
All four candidates for the Deep River Board of Education will be seated on the board, including Democrats Elizabeth Tracy and Arthur Robbins, and Rpublicans Mark Malcarne and Karen Nelson-Oliveria. Democrats Alice Proctor, James Davis and Mary Maraschiello were elected as library trustees, with Republican Rolf Peterson elected to a two-year vacancy term as a library trustee.
By Charles Stannard
CHESTER— A recount is set for Monday in a close race for the Region 4 Board of Education seat after a municipal election that brought Republican First Selectman Tom Marsh a third term in the top job.
In the Region 4 race, Republican Pamela Christman, who currently chairs the local board of education, led Democrat Lori Ann Clymas by a vote of 585-579, a six-vote difference that requires a recount. Town Clerk Debra Calamari said Wednesday the recount would be conducted Monday at 9 a.m.
Marsh won a third term Tuesday over Democrat Chuck Della Rocco on a 758- 465 vote. Repubo8ican Tom Englert, with 655 votes, and Democrat Lawrence Sypher, with 549 votes, won seats on the board of selectmen. Just under half of the town’s2,563 registered voters cast ballots Tuesday.
Winners for the board of finance were mixed, Republican Joyce Alley and Democrat Jennifer Rannestad each won seats. Incumbent David Cohen was unopposed, and incumbent Democrat Virginia Carmany won a two-year vacancy term over Republican James Bisaccia on a 596-521 vote.
All candidates for the Chester Board of Education will be seated, including Democrats Amy Safran, Lianne Rutty, Majorie Della Rocco, and Eileen Sypher, Republicans Ashley Marsh and Carol Johnson, and Common Ground Party candidate Margaret Reyer. The top vote-getter was Rutty, with 697 votes.
Republican Steven Merola, and Democrats Errol Horner and Keith Sherber were elected to full terms on the planning and zoning commission, with Democrat Michael Joplin, the panel’s current chairman, elected for a two-year vacancy term. Common Ground Party candidate Lynne Fredriskson, Democrat Louis Desjardins, and Republican Stephen Sepowski were elected as planning and zoning commission alternates.
Democrat Michael Desnoyers and Republican John DeLaura Jr. were elected to the zoning board of appeals, with Democrats Robert Gorman and Justin Kronhelm elected as ZBA alternates. Democrat Dudley Clark Jr. was elected to the board of assessment appeals.
Democrats John Bellows and Elizabeth Gourlay were elected to full terms on the inland-wetlands commissioin, with Caryl Horner and Peter DeLisa elected to two-year vacancy terms on the panel.
By Charles Stannard
Election Day is Tuesday, November 3rd. The polls will be open from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Here is a town-by-town breakdown of election information. Sample ballots can be found at the bottom of the article.
Chester
A total of 2,563 registered voters are eligible to participate in the town election, including 944 Democrats, 513 Republicans, 1,088 unaffiliated voters, and 18 voters registered with other political parties. Voters will elect a three member board of selectmen from the competing candidates, Republican First Selectman Tom Marsh, Democratic challenger Chuck Della Rocco, Republican candidate Ton Englert, and Democrat Lawrence Sypher. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the town hall on Route 154.
Voters will also elect four members of the board of finance, a finance board alternate, a member of the Region 4 Board of Education, a member of the board of assessment appeals, four members of the Chester Board of Education, four members of the planning and zoning commission, three planning and zon ing commission alternates, two members of the zoning board of appeals, two ZBA alternates, four members of the inland-wetlands commission, four members of the water pollution control authority, and two library trustees.
Three town hall positions are uncontested, with Town Clerk Debra Calamari, Tax Collector Madaline Meyer, and Town Treasurer Elizabeth Netsch endorsed for new terms by both political parties. Along with Democrats and Republicans, the Chester Common Ground Party, a new group calling for a non-partisan approach to town government, is running candidates for board of finance, Chester Board of Education, planning and zoning commission, PZC alternate, zoning board of appeals, and inland-wetlands commission.
Deep River
A total of 3,176 registered voters are eligible to participarte in the town election, including 1,073 Democrats, 602 Republicans, 1,494 unaffiliated voters, and seven voters registered with other political parties. Democratic First Selectman Richard Smith is uncontested for an 11th term, the first time Smith has run completely uncontested since 1999. Three candidates are competing for two other seats on the board of selectmen, including Democrat Arthur Thompspn, Republican David Oliveria, and incumbent Deep River Independent Party Selectman Russell Marth. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Deep River Public Library polling place.
There are contests for three other town hall positions for the first time in more than a decade. Democrat Nancy Talbot and Republican Amy Winchell are competing for the open town clerk position, Democrat Lisa Bibbiani and Republican John Townsend are competing for the open tax collector position, and Democrat John Dickson Jr. is challenging incumbent Republican Town Treasurer Thomas Lindner.
Voters will also elect three members of the board of finance, a member of the Region 4 Board of Education, two members of the Deep River Board of Education, two members of the board of assessment appeals, and four library trustees.
Essex
A total of 4,572 registered voters are eligible to participate in the town election, including 1,459 Democrats, 1,287 Republicans, 1,819 unaffiliated voters, and seven voters registered with other political parties. Voters will elect a three-member board of selectmen from the competing candidates, Democratic First Selectman Phil Miller, Republican nominee Joel Marzi, Democratic Selectman Norman Needleman, and Republican Selectman Vin Pacileo. There is also a contest for the open position of tax collector between Democrat Megan Dwyer Haskins and Republican Mark Pratt. Polls are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at town hall.
Voters will also elect two members of the board of finance, two members of the Region 4 Board of Education, and two members of the Essex Board of Education. Incumbent Town Clerk Frances Nolin and Town Treasurer Robert Dixon are uncontested for new terms, as is incumbent board of assessment appeals member Anne Dougherty.
Links:
Chester sample ballot in PDF format
Deep River sample ballot in PDF format
Essex sample ballot in PDF format
By Charles Stannard
CHESTER— Republican First Selectman Tom Marsh is defending his four-year record against sometimes sharp criticism from Democratic challenger Chuck Della Rocco in the Nov. 3 town election contest.
Marsh, 50, was first elected in 2005, defeating six-term incumbent Democrat Martin Heft by 30 votes. He was re-elected in 2007 on an 858-493 vote over Democrat Justin Good. Marsh had run unsuccessfully against Heft in 2001. The owner of a cleaning services company, Marsh is a married father of three has lived in Chester for the past 20 years.
Della Rocco, 41, is an Old Saybrook native who became a police officer in that town after serving previously as a military policeman in the U.S. Army, including service during the 1989 Panama Intervention. He left the Old Saybrook force in 2007 and currently works as a police officer for the state Judicial Branch, providing security at the State Library/Supreme Court building in Hartford. The married father of two elementary school children has lived Chester since 2002.
Tom Marsh
Della Rocco said economic development and building the town’s commercial and industrial tax base would be the major issue facing Chester over the next two years. He criticized Marsh for transferring a $500,000 state Small Town Economic Assistance Program grant that was awarded to help fund construction of a Route 148 public water line to the Inspiration Lane Industrial Park to help pay for the sewer expansion project that was completed last year. “Taking care of the sewer project is fine but he has not tried to get money for the water service that is needed at the industrial park,” Della Rocco said.
Marsh said the $500,000 in state funds would not have covered the entire cost of the water main project, which is on hold because property owners at the industrial park are currently unwilling to contribute to help fund the full cost of the project.
Della Rocco said Marsh made no effort to locate a regional probate court that is scheduled to open in 2011 at the Chester Town Hall. “You’re just giving it away,” he said, rejecting Marsh’s position that there is not space for a nine-town court in the Route 154 town hall building. Marsh said first selectmen from the nine towns that would be included in the regional court, including the larger towns of Clinton, Old Saybrook, and Westbrook, favored locating the court in Old Saybrook, where the town has offered rent-free space. Marsh said the Chester Town Hall would have been “overwhelmed” by the activity generated by a nine-town court.
Marsh said controlling and reducing town budget expenditures has been the major accomplishment of his two terms, noting the current town budget is lower than the spending plan he inherited in 2005. Della Rocco maintains Marsh has “moved money around,” to reduce the budget total, particulartly by shifting money budgeted for road projects to a capital projects fund.
Chuck Della Rocco
“We pay attention to it but we don’t want to spend any more money on it than we have to at this time,” Marsh said. Della Rocco said the town should consider closing the community center if it is not planning to maintain the building.
Della Rocco said he remains undecided on the proposed town purchase of 4.6-acres of riverfront land on Parker’s Point Road that goes to the voters in a Nov. 10 bonding referendum. While agreeing the parcel is “a beautiful piece of property,” Della Rocco said the $948,000 purchase price is too high and suggests delaying the referendum in an effort to negotiate a lower price.
Marsh, who supports the open space acquisition, said the owners are not willing to lower the price. Marsh added the net expense for the town, now at about $400,000 plus bonding expenses, would not be a changed by a lower price because state grant funding, now at $484,520, would be reduced if the sale price was lowered.
The make-up of the three-member board of selectmen will change, regardless of the outcome of the contest between Marsh and Della Rocco. Both Democrat Heft, who has served on the board since losing the top job in 2005, and six-term Republican Selectman Bruce Watrous are stepping aside this year. Marsh is running with Tom Englert, a Whelen Engineering employee who serves on the water pollution control authority and the zoning board of appeals. Della Rocco is running with Lawrence Sypher, the owner of a local internet technology business who serves on the planning and zoning commission.
Municipal elections are taking place this Tuesday, November 3rd in Chester, Deep River, and Essex. All registered voters will have the opportunity to vote from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. in your town’s designated polling location.
Absentee ballots may be cast with the Town Clerk of each town Friday, October 30th and Monday, November 2nd during regular business hours.
Here are polling locations and sample ballots for each town:
Chester
Polling Location: Town Hall – 203 Middlesex Avenue
Click here to see the sample ballot in PDF format
Deep River
Polling Location: Deep River Library Community Room – Main Street
Click here to see a sample ballot in PDF format
Essex
Polling Location: Essex Town Hall – 29 West Avenue
Click here to see a sample ballot in PDF format
Links:
ValleyShore LocalOnlineNews.TV’s Election Coverage
By Charles Stannard
ESSEX — Democratic First Selectman Phil Miller is pointing to his six-year record in a Nov. 3 election contest with Republican challenger Joel Marzi that is focusing on management decisions Miller has made over the past year.
Miller, 51, was first elected in 2003 after making unsuccessful runs in 1999 and 2001 against former Republican First Selectman Peter Webster. Miller was uncontested for a third term by town Republicans in 2007 after defeating Republican Richard Stebbins on a 1,758-909 vote in 2005. A former director of the Bushy Hill nature center in the Ivoryton section, he is single and has lived in town since 1982.
Phil Miller
Marzi contends “leadership” is the major issue facing the town and suggests that problems arising from Miller’s management of town hall are preventing progress on other issues. He also suggests Miller has stepped back from previous campaign promises of open government, pointing to the cancellation of the board of selectmen’s evening meeting in September and this month as an example.
Marzi questions Miller’s decision to lay off town sanitarian Carol Lord last February, noting that a severance package paid to Lord negated any possible budget savings from the move. “It doesn’t add up at all,” he said.
Marzi said he would restore the position of full-time sanitarian pending a possible decision by town leaders and voters on joining the Connecticut River Area Regional Health District. He also contends Miller “acted unilaterally” in allowing a town police officer to obtain a dog for a possible police K9 program without approval from the other two selectmen.
Miller, declaring that Marzi “has never managed anyone in his life,” defends the decision to lay off the sanitarian as a cost savings to the town which now utilizes a part-time consulting sanitarian. He described the recent controversy over the prospective police dog as “a non-issue.”
Miller said complaints about his management style and relations with town employees are contradicted by a recent re-election endorsement from the local chapter of the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees, the union that represents town road crew workers and cafeteria staff in Region 4 schools.
Joel Marzi
Both candidates offer preliminary support to a plan for a full regionalization of Region 4 schools, though Marzi notes the Essex share of a regional education budget could rise when elementary school students are included in the school average daily membership calculation that is used to split the budget between the district towns of Chester, Deep River, and Essex.
Both candidates reject the idea of a four-year term for first selectman or other major changes to the structure of town government. But Miller said the time may have come for Essex to consider adopting a town charter because that is the only way the elected offices of town clerk and tax collector could be changed to appointed or hired positions at some future date.
Miller counts completion of three street improvement projects using state grant funding and the 2005 opening of the swimming area at Viney Hill Brook Park as accomplishments during administration He described Marzi as a “good worker” for the town, adding “that’s why I appointed him to the school building committee.”
Marzi said he would be a full-time first selectman if elected and would improve communications on the board of selectmen and with other town boards and commissions. He also promises a non-political approach to local issues. “I have never voted on a party line basis on any board or commission that I have served on,” he said.
For the first time in more than 15 years, the municipal contest has not featured a public debate between the two first selectman candidates. Marzi said his campaign had been requesting a public debate at town hall or some other venue since early September.
Both candidates have waged active door-to-door campaigns, visiting hundreds of homes since late summer.
Miller is running with Democratic Selectman Norman Needleman, a local businessman who was first elected with Miller in 2003. Marzi is running with Republican Selectman Vince Pacileo, who was also first elected in 2003.
The retirement of long-time Republican Tax Collector Nancy Stadalnik has set up a contest for the open position between Democrat Megan Dwyer Haskins, a former banker, and Republican Mark Pratt, a former Hamden firefighter.
Video is courtesy of the Chester Common Ground Party.
By: Charles Stannard
CHESTER— Republican First Selectman Tom Marsh and Democratic challenger Chuck Della Rocco sparred over economic development and other issues during the single public debate of the campaign for the Nov. 3 town election.
About 70 residents turned out for the session Tuesday that was co-sponsored by the town’s Democratic and Republican town committees and Chester Common Ground, a group that is running candidates for some board and commission seats on the ballot. The videotaped debate, moderated by former state Rep. Claire Sauer of Lyme, will be broadcast at various times next week on the Comcast public access channel.
The 90-minute session, which included questions from reporters and members of the audience, was cordial, despite occasional sharp criticism of Marsh from Della Rocco, a former Old Saybrook police officer who currently serves on the local board of education.
Marsh, who unseated six-term Democratic First Selectman Martin Heft in 2005, said his record over the past four years merits a third term. Marsh said the current town budget is lower than the budget he inherited in 2005, with no major reduction in services. Marsh said ten new businesses have opened at two industrial parks and other locations in Chester over the past four years.
Della Rocco contended Marsh has become aloof from residents and has acted unilaterally on several issues, including a decision not to take advantage of a new state law that would have allowed the town to defer a property revaluation update completed last year that resulted in sharply higher assessments for some homeowners. “He’s listening but he doesn’t hear you,” Della Rocco said.
Della Rocco also claimed Marsh failed to prevent the relocation of a new regional probate court from Chester to Old Saybrook, and has failed to maintain some town buildings, particularly the Chester Comminity Center property on Route 154.
Marsh said delaying the revaluation was “a sword that cut both ways,” and would not have helped more than a third of the town’s residential property owners who experienced no major jump in assessments from the update. He said the town would have “wasted” the $80,000 spent on the update while still being required to complete a revaluation by 2011. Marsh said the decision on the location of a regional probate court was driven by the larger municipalities, such as Old Saybrook and Clinton, and suggested Chester Town Hall would have had difficulty accommodating the staff for a larger probate court serving nine area towns.
On the proposed Parker’s Point riverfront land purchase, Della Rocco claimed Marsh has not provided residents with all information on the purchase. Marsh said all information on proposed bonding and grant funding for the purchase would be available before a scheduled Nov. 10 referendum, adding “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.”
The two rivals agreed on some issues, rejecting the idea of a four-year term for first selectman and board of selectmen, and opposing Chester participation in a regional health district that is now comprised of Clinton, Old Saybrook, and Deep River.
The candidates each expressed some support for a developing plan for a full regionalization of Region 4 schools, while avoiding making a firm commitment until a detailed proposal is presented by the Region 4 Board of Education. Marsh said the district’s current governing structure, including four separate school boards and a Supervision District Committee managing shared services, “is too cumbersome.” But he expressed some concern about how the district’s budget preparation process would function under a single elected regional school board made up of representatives from Chester, Deep River, and Essex.
Della Rocco said residents will have to weigh the possibility of cost savings against a possible loss of control over the local elementary school when a regionalization plan is presented to voters of the three district towns in a referendum expected sometime next year.
By Charles Stannard
DEEP RIVER— Democratic First Selectman Richard Smith is cruising uncontested to a record 11th term as three candidates, a Democrat, a Republican, and an unaffiliated incumbent, compete for seats on the board of selectmen.
Smith, 58, said he believes a “20-year track record of accomplishment,” along with the fact that many of the issues from 2007 are now resolved, has enabled him to run unopposed this year. Two years ago, debate over downtown redevelopment and town hall and firehouse expansion projects fueled the formation of the Deep River Independent Party. Smith defeated John Kennedy, a Democrat who ran as the independent party candidate for first selectman, by a wide margin.
Smith, who also serves as a part-time police officer, was first elected in 1989. He was uncontested by town Republicans in 1995 and 1999, while defeating a series of Republican challengers during other town election years over the past two decades.
Smith said most residents are satisfied with the Main Street commercial projects, a Walgreen’s pharmacy and a new and larger Cumberland Farms store, that were controversial in 2007. Smith said there are no plans to revive a town hall expansion project that was rejected in a 2007 bonding referendum, though a scaled-back firehouse expansion project could be presented in the next two years. Voters rejected a more costly firehouse expansion project in November 2007, only weeks after Smith was re-elected for a tenth term.
Smith has a new running-mate for board of selectmen this year, with Democratic Selectman Richard Daniels stepping aside after 18 years as Smith’s partner on the board. Arthur Thompson, a retired educator who has served as tax collector since 1993, is the Democratic nominee for board of selectmen.
Thompson, 75, said 48 years as a Deep River resident has given him “a good feel for what’s bothering people and what people are looking for in town.” A married father of three grown daughters, Thompson served during the 1980s as a member and chairman of the board of finance and the inland-wetlands commission. He is also the current chairman of the Deep River Democratic Town Committee.
Selectman Russell Marth, Kennedy’s running-mate on the Deep River Independent Party line, was elected in 2007, a year when town Republicans did not nominate candidates for first selectman or board of selectmen. Marsh, 52, is a Chester native who has lived in Deep River since 1990. Marth, who is married without children, works as a publishing consultant for Circulation Specialists of Norwalk.
Marth said he was able to put aside some of the rancor of the 2007 campaign to work effectively with Smith and members of both political parties over the past two years. Marth, who acknowledges the now completed Walgreen’s and larger Cumberland Farms that were issues two years ago “look fine,” said he has focused some of his efforts as a selectman on helping a volunteer committee working on improvements to Veterans Memorial Park.
David Oliveria is the Republican candidate for board of selectmen. Oliveria, 52, is a 14-year town resident who works in business development for Kamen Precision Products of Middletown. The married father of a college-age son and daughter, Oliveria is an alternate on the planning and zoning commission and ran unsuccessfully for board of finance in 2007. He also helps videotape board of selectmen and board of finance meetings for showing on the Comcast public access channel.
Oliveria, who is friendly with Marth, said he would bring “more checks and balances,” to the board of selectmen. He acknowledges Smith “has done some good things for the town,” while adding that in supporting him and Marth, voters have a “unique opportunity” to elect a board of selectmen comprised of a Democrat, a Republican, and an unaffiliated independent.
But Smith is urging voters to return Marth to the third seat on the board because “Russ has worked very well with us.” Smith said it’s too soon to say whether the 11th term would be his last. “I still love the job and I’m still willing to listen to the residents,” he said.
All four candidates for board of selectmen agree on one issue, expressing general support for a plan to pursue a full regionalization of Region 4 schools in 2010. Smith, who was opposed to a full regionalization of the schools in the 1990s, said he has changed his view and now believes the schools system would save taxpayer dollars operating under a single elected board of education for the Chester,-Deep River-Essex district.
Along with the contest for board of selectmen, the offices of town clerk, tax collector, and town treasurer are also contested this year.
Democrat Nancy Talbot, who won her party’s nomination in a September 15 primary, is competing with Republican Amy Winchell for the town clerk position. Democratic Town Clerk Jeanne Nickse is retiring after holding the office since 1993.
Thompson’s move from the tax collector position has set up a contest between Democrat Lisia Bibbiani, who has been a clerk in the tax office since April 2008, and Republican John Townsend. Longtime Republican Town Treasurer Thomas Lindner is facing a challenge from Democrat John Dickson.
Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz today is urging those wishing to vote in the November 3rd elections to register before the statutory deadline.
There are two voter registration deadlines fast approaching. Voter registration cards sent in the mail must be postmarked by Tuesday October 20th in order to qualify for the November Municipal elections. Eligible voters can also register in person at their Registrar of Voters office until 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday October 27th.
“Crucial budget and educational issues are facing many towns in Connecticut as voters go to the polls to choose municipal leaders this year, so it is imperative to register to vote!” said Secretary Bysiewicz. “Anyone who wants a say in the future direction of their community in these tough times should make sure they either mail in their registration card by next Tuesday October 20th or go to town hall and fill out the registration card in person by 8:00 p.m. on October 27th.”
Polls will open statewide from 6:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. on Tuesday November 3, 2009, when the majority of Connecticut’s municipalities will hold a General Election for municipal candidates. Tuesday October 20th is also the last day write-in candidates wishing to run in the Municipal elections can register with the Secretary of the State’s office.
Links:
Connecticut Voter Registration Form (PDF)
ESSEX — Democrats have an edge in campaign fundraising over two separate Republican committees leading up to the Nov. 3 town election, according to campaign finance reports filed this week.
The Essex Democratic Town Committee had raised $10,612 as of Sept. 30 to support the re-election of three-term Democratic First Selectman Phill Miller and Selectman Norman Needleman. With a beginning balance of $5,237, Democrats raised $5,125 in individual contributions between July 1 and Sept. 30. Expenditures during the three-month period of $538 left the committee with a cash balance of $10,073 in hand for the final month of the campaign.
Democrats have spent $1,973 at My Campaign Store of Jeffersonville, Ind, for lawn signs, $1,243 at Essex Printing for printing of campaign brochures, and $1,000 for rental of a campaign headquarters in the Centerbrook retail space that was previously occupied by Bob’s Centerbrook Package Store.
Large doners include $1000 each from Needleman and Jacqueline Hubbard, executive director of the Ivoryton Playhouse, $300 from Padriac Riley of Scarsdale, N.Y., and $200 each from Amanda Flanagan of Fairfield and Kevin and Kathleen Costello of West Hartford. Doners of $100 include Edmund and Suzanne Burke, Daniel Needleman, David and Jean O’Connor, and Toni Hoover, all of Essex, Walter Flanagan of Fairfield, Anne Brennan of Westfield, N.J., and David and Ann Sherman of Westfield, N.J.
The Republican ticket of Joel Marzi for first selectman and incumbent Selectman Vince Pacileo for board of selectmen is being supported by two fundraising committees, the Essex Republican Town Committee and Elect Team Marzi 09, a candidate committee formed by Marsi earlier this year.
Elect Team Marzi 09 had raised $2,499 as of Sept. 30. With a beginning balance of $1,099, the committee raised $1,400 in individual contributions between July 1 and Sept. 30.
The committee reported expenditures of $1,035, leaving a cash balance of $1,463 in hand for the final month of the campaign. Large doners include Audrey Bird $500, and $100 each from Sally Marzi, Tryon Clark, Diane Montana, and Town Clerk Frances Nolin. Neil Nichols of Essex provided an in-kind contribution of $161 in food and beverages for a recent cocktail party fundraiser, and Lauren Lisenfelt of Essex provided $400 of in-kind services for designing a campaign website.
The Essex Republican Town Committee had raised $3,865 as of Sept. 30 to support the election of Marzi, Pacileo, and other members of the GOP slate. With a beginning balance of $2,480, the committee raised $1,385 in individual contributions between July 1 and Sept. 30. The committee repported expenditures of $1,435, leaving a cash balance of $2,430. The town committee spent $700 with Essex Printing for printing of campaign brochures, and $303 with Mungo Works of Ivoryton on hand-out business cards for tax collector candidate Mark Pratt. Most of the individual contributions came in $50 donations from members of the Essex Republican Town Committee.
