WETHERSFIELD - The 28th Assembly District rematch between Russ Morin a Republican challenger Mike Hurley saw the incumbent democrat retain his seat, tallying 6,621 votes to the current Town Councilor’s 5,901.

       The last time the two faced off, Morin edged Hurley by a 6 percent margin. Petitioning candidate Lee Johnson, a local attorney and former Board of Education and Town Councilor, got 151 votes.

       Morin has served in the House for the past 10 years.

       â€�"I’m thankful that the people chose me again to serve them-it’s quite the privilege,” Morin said over the phone today. â€�"I’m glad this part is over, and that we can get back to working for the people.”

       "I thought it could go either way," Hurley said over the phone. "I was hopeful. We were both [he and Russ] out there working hard."

       Hurley looked to the eight House seats Republicans took as more than a silver lining. Republicans also drew a Senate stalemate.

       "The gains in both the House and the Senate reflect the failed policies of Malloy," Hurley said.

       Morin, who voted against the last state budget while saying that he felt that it cut too deep in areas that impact Connecticut’s most vulnerable, has been an advocate of preserving funding for Human Services areas that saw layoffs this past spring.

       While the state needs to find ways to reduce spending, it needs to be done while minimizing the impact on those least able to afford a cut in services, Morin has said.

       Hurley, who ran on a pledge to control spending and oppose new taxes, has called for the legislature to seek more creative fixes that would mitigate the growing impact on state residents while providing the same services for less.

       Early in the campaign, he set his sights on union contracts, calling for them to be aligned with trends in the private sector. He also sought to halt the flow of new business regulations that he said were driving businesses-and jobs-from the state.

       Shortly after his nomination this past spring, Morin renewed a pledge to fight for Wethersfield’s â€�"fair share” of school funding under the Education Cost Sharing formula.

       He’s credited with obtaining the $10 million space waiver that closed an unexpected Wethersfield High School renovation project cost increase.

       Throughout his campaign, Morin has fielded questions pertaining to his employment with the CEIU union and a perceived conflict of interest. Morin has said that he does not vote on union contracts, even though state ethics provisions allow him to in the absence of clear â€�"unfair gain”.

       Morin’s role with the union is to represent members in disciplinary hearings.