NEWINGTON - The Newington Town Council majority has shifted to the Republican side of the aisle with the election of resident and former town employee Roy Zartarian to the position of mayor.

       He edged Democratic candidate Chris Banach, who served on two previous Councils, by around 500 votes at the polls last Tuesday night.

       â€�"To tell you the truth, I had no idea what the final outcome would be,” Zartarian said the day after the election. â€�"I was completely blown away.”

       Zartarian got 3,165 votes to Banach’s 2,782, according to unofficial results posted on the town’s website late that night.

       â€�"We were getting a lot of good responses going door-to-door, but I wasn’t sure if they would translate [on Election Day],” Zartarian said. â€�"Obviously they did.”

       No Democratic candidate for Council had more votes than any of their Republican counterparts.

       â€�"This is a radical change in terms of a complete flip,” said incumbent Councilor David Nagel, the minority leader on the last Council. â€�"I’m not surprised we did this well. I’m more than gratified that we did to the extent we did.”

       Throughout the election, both mayoral candidates ran on similar platforms, pledging to keep taxes low, maintain local control of Transit Oriented Development (TOD) and protect open space--a rarity in a town that is mostly developed.

       But it was the tax issue that set the two apart in the minds of voters, Zartarian said.

       â€�"That was the most frequent issue when we were going door-to-door,” he said. â€�"It’s hurting people, so we have to do something about it.”

       While both agreed that growing the Grand List should be a priority when it comes to providing property tax relief, Zartarian stressed what he feels is a need to focus on eliminating â€�"redundancies” and finding ways to consolidate services. Banach said that he would be willing to examine that as well, but was far less optimistic as to how much he thought could be saved that way.

       Banach’s position has been that there will be more potential to bring in additional revenue through development, while Zartarian’s early campaign â€�"chill with the Mill” slogan voiced a desire to strive for property tax increases under 3 percent.

       On economic development, Zartarian has pledged to pursue initiatives to aid existing businesses and make the town a â€�"destination” for foot traffic in order to grow their customer base.

       â€�"They’re really your base,” Zartarian said. â€�"The [Berlin] Turnpike is another opportunity. We have to do what we can to add businesses that grow the Grand List without adding burdens to services.”

       Banach focused his attention primarily on 21 acres of developable land along Alumni Road, suggesting that a standing Department of Transportation (DOT) gate be moved further west to allow access to the area from Willard Avenue. He also stressed development opportunities at the recently remediated former National Welding site.

       Zartarian will be joined by incumbent councilors Maureen Klett, Nagel and Beth Delbuono, as well as newcomers Tim Manke and Gail Budrejko. The Democratic side is made up of incumbent Councilor James Marocchini, Carol Anest and Diana Casasanta-Serra.

       Banach did not respond to requests for comment.