8-1 Council majority, minority representation required
I don't have the final numbers, but the GOP won 8 of 9 seats on the Council - though "minority representation" prohibits the majority from holding more than seven seats.
1st - Schrumm (R)
2nd - Ruocco (R)
3rd - Falvey (R)
4th - White (R)
I won 1082 to 719.
At-large:
Slocum
Sima
Giddings
Adinolfi
Nichols
Ecke
Altieri
Sylvia Nichols will not be seated on the Council. Presumably, that means Mike Ecke will take her seat.
I congratulated Justin Adinolfi on his victory. Though my predictions were not all correct, I did predict that Adinolfi and Slocum would receive the most votes for Council in their respective parties.
The rest of the ticket - BOE, PZC and further down - went Republican.
The highest vote total for the night? Steve Mrowka.
Apparently much of the country trended Republican tonight... no doubt because of the economy. However, while nearby towns such as Southington and Wallingford flipped Dem to R majorities from 5 to 4 Dem to 6 to 3 R (or something like that), Cheshire flipped from 5 to 4 Dem to 8 to 1 R. That suggests to me that the "globals" alone would have swung the Council from Dem to R majority. But the 8 to 1 R majority is also due to strongly-felt local issues.
In other words, I feel both the economy and the Town's management had significant impacts on the results of today's election.
Your thoughts?
Tim White
53 comments:
I predicted 9 to 0. I was off by one. Mr Adinolfi does not deserve to be on,but what are you going to do.
I think the uninformed voter may have thought he was related to Al. We would have still needed to give up two seats to the losers.
MJR
Justin Adinolfi was legitimately elected.
Mike Ecke is a non-elected "affirmative action" appointee.
Really? And your source for this information was the magic eight ball?
MJR
Congratulations to the Magnificent Seven!
MJR
Congratulations to the Republican party. Hopefully this is the beginning of getting this town bask to fiscal responsibility.
I would say that based on the voting tonight, this town overwhelmingly does not want the turf. With Altieri and Ecke receiving the lowest amount of votes for incumbants and the lead turf head on the BOE, Bob Behrer losing.
Any word on how the referendum votes went?
One more comment on tonights voting...
Does anyone remember when they had the turf meeting a couple of weeks ago and all those people (maybe 60)turned out to speak in favor of it?
I remember the current, lame duck majority, saying that it showed this town wanted it.
Guess what?
YOU WERE WRONG!!
So much for the jocks trying to control the town.
congratulations
Nice job Tim. Congrats to my rep Tom Roucco....who's wife was manning the post at Highland when i voted - good people. No turf.
Attn swim team - next years meets will be held at Mixville.
Attn youth football - i guess your turf email didn't work.
Hey Marty, are you sipping Earl Grey or Darjeeling this morning?
I am amazed at these responses. The comments about Jocks running the town is crazy. It is for the kids in town it has nothing to do with Jocks' running the town unless you are talking about a bunch of 1o year olds running the town. There is more then one way to skin a cat the town will figure out what to do in regards to getting a turf.
Congratulations, Tim. I'm a Democrat, but I went across the board Republican yesterday. The powerless federal Democratic Congress is making me gag. I just went with instinct. I'm sure someday I'll be buried in the tomb of the uninformed voter, but good luck. To all us us Cheshirians. Where the deer minus antelope play, in my backyard...
"with baby deer too, better than in a zoo...and the skies are not cloudy all day."
7:30
Perhaps if the current majority (who happen to be made up of a baseball coach, a football coach and a former football coach) spent more time on the real issues instead of turf they may have had a chance.
Congrats Tim! Way to go Republicans.
As a former "jock" I can tell you I'd much rather play on a real grass surface any day of the week. As for those who claim to be in favor of this ill advised project "for the kids", injuries on turf are more severe than those which come from slipping in the mud. Just because the state is goofy enough to hand-out grants for pet projects like these does not make it right to spend money foolishly. Not to mention the spend for up-keep and replacement. Renovating the locker rooms and some of the bathrooms are better use of some of this money.
I am hopeful with this team in place we can spend our money wisely and come up with innovative ideas (including energy efficiencies) to solve problems.
Tim, check-out recyclebank.com other towns in ct have begun using this service.
The only Dem who was truly elected was the non-incumbent, J Adinolfi. Ecke lost the vote, but will serve only because of the 'affirmative action' requirement for failed political parties.
The voters rejected ALL the Dems on the old council for their enabling of corruption in town management. If I were Milone, Zullo, or Michelangelo, I’d be updating my resume. If I were Cruess, I’d be taking some personnel management courses and learning how to treat folks.
Note to Mr. Milone:
Here is the correct organizational chart for the town:
The People (at top)
The Council (middle)
You & staff (at bottom)
.... in that order, not the reverse.
Hey Altieri and Ecke,
DON’T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU ON THE WAY OUT.
(for all practical purposes,
Ecke if off the council too).
I’ll gloat about this only once.
“Death is the wages of sin.”
I saw my guy Tom Roucco out on rt 10 this morning as well as Ann G....I voted for Ann based on her participation on this blog...thats political currency Tim...
Time to get going:
1) Fire the TM
2) Bulldoz the pool
3) NO TURF
4) Cut the BOE budget!!
Gee, why aren't all the town hall staff spamming their poisonous comments about Tim this morning? Oh right, they were reputiated by the voters .... overwhelmingly.
PS to Laura DeCaprio: you were in way over your head in the business of government. The voters saw it and your pity-ploy only proved it.
There were two issues and two issues only that were the downfall of the Dems last night. They are the pool and turf.
what will happen is the repubs will start arguing amongst themselves
A few thoughts:
I don't want to see all votes go 8-2 now..the turf is an expense issue as is the pool. I don't want the turf to be another pool fiasco:lack of funding.Send the money back to the state and make PR points with all tax payers across America. Fix the pool once and for all.I voted no on the 500k for the high school not because I don't think it needs the work, but because I don't trust the people spending the money.
"what will happen is the repubs will start arguing amongst themselves"
as it should be in a healthy democracy, but it will be without the clouds of corruption and arrogance hanging over the council.
Time to get going:
1) Fire the TM
2) Bulldoz the pool
3) NO TURF
4) Cut the BOE budget!!
And then they will all get voted out next elections. It is time to work together on these things. You can't bulldoze the pool or automatically say we are going to cut the school budget. That is stupid. How do you know Milone can't be effective under new council? He did recv a near unanimous thumbs up at his last review...I think Tim should ease off on the partisanship zingers on the blog a little bit(just a little Tim)...I say Tom Roucco for Mayor...what was the count on the DeCrapio race???
I'm still in shock...WOW!!! Yesterday, Cheshire spoke up! THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT! I also want to thank Tim White for supporting us by allowing us to comment on his blog, post videos and provide a means to communicate with you all. Tim is good people and one of the hardest working, down to earth people I've met!
Now, it's time to get to work!
Thanks!
Tony Perugini
Someone said they support Tom R for council chair. Here are a few thoughts about choosing the next Mayor/chair.
Roucco, Schrumm, Sima, Slocum, White are the returning members. Falvey and Giddings are the new members. (Normally new members would not be considered for chair, but because Giddings has extensive administrative and ‘people’ experience, she should be considered).
Now let’s look at the criteria for Mayor/chair, and the qualities that each member brings.
Above all, he/she should be the best public face for the Council and Town, and not one who is primarily seen as a political/issues advocate. That eliminates Schrumm and White (love you guys, but your role is something other than Mayor, like Budget chair).
The Mayor/chair should be a good organizer, and a good facilitator of differences. These favor Giddings, Sima, Slocum.
The next chair will also be the main point man to deal assertively with the TM. This favors Roucco and Giddings.
I have no favorite in this, but only offer these thoughts for consideration.
Time to get going said:
1) Fire the TM
2) Bulldoz the pool
3) NO TURF
4) Cut the BOE budget!!
(1) start by firing Zullo and Michelangelo. It may be sufficient to put Milone on a very short leash.
(2) This new council MUST solve the pool problem. Either a permanent cover or summer-only. Just do it now.
(3) agree: NO TURF. Most Repubs ran on this, and many sports parents don't want it.
(4) Begin to demand line-by-line BOE budget accountability and limit increases to inflation.
The GOP ran on Good Government; now you will be expected to deliver.
Thanks to all that ran for office. It's hard to find "good" people to take on this task. I'm sure it required a lot of time and effort. All should be proud of their results. Let's all take a deep breath and think about what has to be done. Many more people must attend meetings and get informed. Don't be afraid to speak out. This is a great Town and "we" should all work together and try to make it #1.
Agreed,
Roucco or Giddings for the same reasons at the previous post. I am more partial for Giddings because she is retired and will have the time to commit to this job.
I agree that the TC should get rid of Zullo and Michaelangelo. The new TC will stall on the pool. No money. Cheshire is already tied with hamden as far as education rankings go so I don't think we want to go any lower.
I think the new council will consider the taxpayers. I hope the new BOE will ask the hard questions of Florio and realize wants vs needs. The voters of Cheshire sent a firm message last night. In the articles in the papers Eche said it was national filtering down to local. I don't agree, it was local issues and local issues only. People are tired of the pool problems not being resolved and turf is a total waste of money. I'm sure the main reason Altieri was voted out was because he was "Mr. Turfman" himself.
Congrats to the Republicans! Fiscal responsibility and accountability will return to our beloved town.
To those who are employed by the Town of Cheshire in leadership roles who exploit their positions you should know that many are aware of just how much you have abused taxpayer money and trust. You have habitually abused your time, not provided the services you were hired to deliver, failed to provide leadership and accountability, failed to properly and fully utilize the services the town has available to it and have drained the town for the cost of your rather attractive benefit package, which, for some of you, includes a taxpayer provider vehicle - which you no doubt use for personal business during your excessive and abused paid time off. PAYBACK IS AS THEY SAY A ..... Courtesy of all those who find your behavior and performance simply a wanton disregard for professionalism and an exploitation of taxpayers money.
Cheshire did itself an extraordinary favor that was long overdue.
One Thankful Taxpayer
Thanks for all your kind comments about the Republican slate and for me personally.
Unfortunately, the results here are not quite correct. Sylvia Nichols, a wonderful candidate and person, will be serving on the Town Council, not I. There was a mistake in the numbers or totals last night, and Sylvia came in 3rd at large. I was 5th, so I give up a seat to the minority party.
This is what happens when one party has 9 great candidates.
Cheshire will be in EXCELLENT hands!
As a town employee I want to remind the new Republican Council that many of us voted for you. I also want you each to know that there are many good, reliable, talented and dedicated folks working for the town. There were many of us that wanted to address our concerns about the lack of good leadership within the management ranks but knew we would be "black listed" and/or retaliated against. This sequestered a significant amount of information relative to abuse that should have been addressed long ago. We hope that the council and the public don't view the unnacceptable performance of a few managers as representative of all employees.
Frustrated and glad to see a change
Zullo needs to go. The other 3 are ok, but Zullo doesnt care about the town or the employees. He thinks any complaint is petty nonsense that he does not need to be bothered with. Replace Zullo and see how things change in 3 months. Then we can look at the rest.
terrible news about Anne Giddings...she would have been wonderful...how was such a mistake possible???
Nice job now don't F#@* it up!
I don't think national politics affected Cheshire's Council election.
What made a difference is that the Republicans don't have candidates with hidden agendas or conflicts of interst, they just want to make Cheshire a better place for all.
On the other hand, the Democrats became firmly entrenched with the realtors, devlopers and other special interests. They owe their defeat to the fact that they forgot why they were first elected to a council majority. They basically became arrogant, didn't need any input from the public or other council members, they stopped listening, they knew all they needed to know, they had complete controll and they just pushed their agenda over that of the residents, they simply represented the special interest groups over those of the of the public, and the public just got sick of them pushing through all the things that the special interest groups wanted and giving the taxpayers the bill.
For this election the Democrats, under the leadership of Ernie Depietro, chose candidates without any concern about conflicts of interest or if they had close ties to developers or contractors and I think played in the voter revolt.
So, it's my feeling that the Democrats laid the foundation for their stunning defeated. They just defeated themselve. They took care of their friends before the interests of the town, and you just can't keep on doing that.
They really need new leadership that will set high ethical standards for their candidates. Cheshire should not be run by developers, or their handpicked candidates.
As for Hall and Esty, they must have seen the writing on the wall, because if they had tried to continued on the Council, they would have also gone down in a crashing defeat.
Don't understand this "minority representation requirement" - Why can't just 1 D represent the minority? Why does it have to be 2? Dumb rule!! We have to sacrafice Anne for Ecke - how crazy is that?? All he'll do while sitting there will be resting his head on his hand, eating, or texting who knows who.
It's just not fair. Anne deserves the seat more than he does.
:(
Anne, I hope you'll stay involved with the issues of Cheshire. It's a shame that you can't have that seat on the council when we all know you earned it. You surely would have contributed much more than the person who's going to be sitting in your chair.
Sue
Let the record show that only 8 of the 9 next council members were elected by the voters.
Ecke is an unelected, affirmative action appointee.
The previous obscene comment is an example of why the Dems lost big. Their supporters really have nothing to offer.
Make Schrumn the Chair of the Council, that way he will not make a fool of himself pontificating on issues and providing an excuse for the Dems to be mad at and blame. If the R's are smart they would give him the highest visible position to keep him the most low key possible.
746, I don't understand your logic. Dave's outspoken "activist" qualities are why he should not be chair. The chair (mayor) needs to be more a consensus builder and a good public face for the town and the council. Slocum, Sima, or Ruocco are better suited.
I'm still confused by this "minority representation" thing. I thought the CT state statutes say that the majority party can only have up to 2/3 of the seats, thereby guaranteeing the minority parties at least 1/3 of the total seats. Wouldn't that mean only 6 of the 9 seats can be held by Republicans (instead of the 7-2 everyone's been talking about). Thanks for any clarification that anyone can provide.
The town Charter specifically says, "no more than seven (7) Council members shall be from the same political party." There is no mention of two-thirds (2/3).
My question is, why couldn't Anne or Sylvia (whichever is to be bumped out by Ecke) resign her Republican registration and be seated as an independent?
"746, I don't understand your logic. Dave's outspoken "activist" qualities are why he should not be chair. The chair (mayor) needs to be more a consensus builder and a good public face for the town and the council. Slocum, Sima, or Ruocco are better suited.
No disrespect to Slocum or Ruocco but I think Jim Sima would make for an excellent chair on the town council. He speaks to the facts, is level-headed and can't be BS'd.
The GOP caucus needs to choose the Mayor/chair in the context of choosing its overall leadership team.
My thoughts on who is best suited to lead the two most important committees:
Budget: SCHRUMM
Personnel: RUOCCO
(the Personnel chair will be the lead man for dealing with the TM, DPW, and CPD messes).
Which leaves as the best candidates for
Mayor/Chair: SIMA, SLOCUM, or GIDDINGS
(assuming Anne is seated).
As I said previously, I think the Mayor/Chair needs to be a facilitator and 'positive' public face for the town and party, more than an 'activist'.
Schrumm is better suited to be Budget chair, and White is better suited to be the pointman on energy, performance contracting, and solving the pool, and to make significant contributions to Budget & Personnel.
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