By: Charles Stannard
CHESTER– Town Republicans have selected a 23-member Republican town committee for the 2010-2012 term that includes nine new members.
Republicans have been gaining strength in Chester in recent years after failing to field a candidate for first selectman in the 1997,1999, and 2003 town elections. Republican First Selectman Tom Marsh unseated six-term Democratic First Selectman Martin Heft by 30 votes in 2005, and was re-elected by wide margins in 2007 and last year.
The new town committee was selected at a Jan. 7 caucus. Incumbents returning to the town committee include current town Chairman Mario Gioco, Marsh, Katherine Marsh, Ashley Marsh, former Selectman Bruce Watrous, Beverly Watrous, former Tax Collector Joyce Aey, Joel Severance, Selectman Tom Englert, Terri Englert, Karl Ohaus, Joni Malcynsky, David Clark, and John Hudson. New members include Laura Gioco, Betty Palka, Frank Palka, Kristian Seifert, Melvin Seifert, Carolina Marguez-Sterling, Maria Ruberto, John Hoehnebart, and Alexa Jamieson Carlson.
Members of the 2008-2010 town committee not returning for the new term include David Testa, Christopher Komondy, Richard Nankee, Christian Johnson, and Richard Strauss.
By: Charles Stannard
CHESTER— Republican First Selectman Tom Marsh was re-elected for a third term Tuesday, defeating Democratic challenger Chuck Della Rocco on a vote of 757-465.
Marsh’s running-mate, Republican Tom Englert and Democrat Lawrence Sypher also won seats on the board. Englert received 653 votes, with 549 votes for Sypher. Englert replaces six-term Republican Selectman Bruce Watrous, who did not seek re-election. Sypher replaces Democratic Selectman Martin Heft, who also stepped aside this year. The new board takes office on Nov. 17.
Marsh had unseated Heft, who had held the top job since 1993, by a narrow 30-vote margin in 2005. Marsh won a second term in 2007, defeating Democrat Justin Good on an 858-493 vote. Check Localonlinenews.tv Wednesday for results of other races on the Chester ballot.
By: Charles Stannard
CHESTER— Republican First Selectman Tom Marsh will seek a third term this fall with a new running-mate, as Tom Englert replaces six-term incumbent Bruce Watrous as the candidate for Board of Selectmen on the party ticket.
Watrous, a 63-year-old life-long town resident, said Thursday he decided last month to step aside from the seat he has held since 1997.”It’s been a long time,” Watrous said, adding that he and his wife, Beverly, hope to spend more time out of town travelling. ”I don’t want to be tied down to something as important as being a selectman,” he said.
Marsh said he approached Englert about running for the board after Watrous told him he definitely would not run again this year. “I was happy about finding Tom,” he said.
Englert, a Deep River native who has lived in Chester since 1996, currently serves on the zoning board of appeals and the water pollution control authority. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering and works as a programmer at Whelen Engineering Company.
Marsh, owner of a cleaning company who served previously on the board of finance and local school board, unseated six-term incumbent Democratic First Selectman Martin Heft by a narrow margin in 2005. He was re-elected to a second term in 2007, defeating Democrat Justin Good by a wide margin.
Marsh, Englert, and other candidates on the GOP slate will be formally nominated for the Nov. 3 town election at the party’s nominating cauicus in late July.
Town Democrats have not announced candidates for board of selectmen. Heft, who now works as an aide to State Comptroller Nancy Wyman, has served as the minority Democrat on the three-member board since losing the top seat in 2005. Chester Democrats have scheduled a nominating caucus for July 28 at 7:30 p.m. at the Chester Meeting House on Liberty Street.
