Montinieri Stays in Office, Democrats Maintain Majority
WETHERSFIELD - Wethersfield Democrats maintained the Town Council majority in a Nov. 3 municipal election that saw incumbent Mayor Paul Montinieri lead the pack of candidates in total votes.

       Montinieri came in with 3,039 votes, just edging Republican incumbent Councilor Mike Hurley’s 2,845, according to election results posted on the town website the following day. Incumbent Deputy Mayor Steve Barry came in third with 2,835, with incumbent Republican Councilor Mike Rell right behind. Democratic Councilor Tony Martino and Republican incumbent Donna Hemmann also retained their seats.

       â€"We’re very excited,” Montinieri said the day after the election. â€"Your first win is nice, but your second win is a statement because you’re going on your record. I think it was a huge endorsement of the direction this town was going in.”

       The only incumbent not returning will be former Republican Councilor Stathis Manousos. Jodi Latina, a former Board of Education member who received a cross endorsement from the Republican and Independence parties, is among the Council’s newcomers.

       â€"Our team worked pretty hard. There were some casualties along the way, but we’ve pledged to work on both sides to move the town forward and that’s what we plan to do,” Latina said.

       The Democratic side will also see some new faces. Wethersfield residents Amy Bello and Anthony Spinella will be joining the Council for the first time. Montinieri said that he was surprised that Democratic candidate Frank Dellaripa was not elected.

       â€"I wish I got one more guy in,” he said. â€"Frank was such a hard worker. He hit so many homes. We certainly thought he was going to get in.”

       Latina is the lone Independence Party-endorsed candidate to win a Council seat. Party founder and Council candidate Paul Copp led a slate that included Ted Burhans, Gastone Colantonio and Charlotte Bailey, as well as former Board of Education member Chuck Carey.

       On the Democratic side, Bobbi Granato and John Morris won four-year terms on the Board of Education. Democrats Polly Moon and Kevin Hill were elected to two-year terms.

       Republicans will be sending Diane Fitzpatrick to the Board for a four-year term, while Republican Janet Vasel will serve for two years.

       Montinieri has stressed the Democratic Majority’s record on economic development--something he says that he has spent â€"70 percent of my energy on” during his time in office.

       The town has seen an influx of 60 new businesses over the past year and a half.

       Public officials from both sides of the aisle will be looking to build on that. It could mean addressing concerns pertaining to another hot button issue: property taxes. The Council has been pursuing economic development opportunities in order to bring in additional revenue that would curb yearly contractual and inflation-related property tax increases.

       â€"Wethersfield’s been struggling economically for years, and we’ve turned that around,” Montinieri said. â€"And we’re going to keep that going.”

       During the election, Republicans stressed the yearly tax increases, and ran on a promise to more closely scrutinize the budget process in an effort to curb them.

       â€"That’s not to dismiss their point,” Montinieri said. â€"We have to do a better job giving tax relief, [especially to] our seniors and the way to do that is to shift it over to the commercial arena.”
MORE WETHERSFIELD NEWS  |  STORY BY MARK DIPAOLA  |  Nov 11 2015  |  COMMENTS?