Reprinted from The Trumbull Times © Copyright 2009
November 5, 2009

By Donald Eng

A dedicated staff, strong fund-raising and good old-fashioned hard work were the keys to a dominating Republican victory Tuesday, according to the man who led it.

Tim Herbst, the newly elected first selectman, told a packed room of jubilant supporters that it took the efforts of an entire team to deliver the win over four-term incumbent Ray Baldwin. He also took time to thank the voters for entrusting virtually every town board and commission to the GOP.

"Tonight, I say to all of you, thank you for believing in what this team stands for," Herbst said. "We understand the trust you've placed in us, and we will never forget that we are the employees and you are the employers."

Herbst led a Republican sweep of every contested race on the ballot, defeating Baldwin with 6,906 votes, or 55.3%, to 5,572 votes, or 44.7%. The other two candidates at the top of the ticket also won big. Turnout was 51.2%, far higher than the 40% benchmark that usually indicates solid voting numbers.

Suzanne Monaco, who was town clerk from 2003-05, defeated Rose Lodice to reclaim the post. She said she was looking forward to getting reacquainted with her old office after the newly elected candidates get sworn in next month.

"I'm back!" Monaco told the GOP faithful inside Marisa's. "Now, it's on to Dec. 7." Republican John Ponzio unseated incumbent Robert Wright to become the new town treasurer.

On the underticket, every Republican candidate for Town Council won, giving the party a dominating 14-7 advantage. Only the Town Charter, which mandates one minority representative in each of the seven districts, saved the Democrats from being swept completely out of office.

Republicans Andy Palo and Ted Lovely also won seats on the Board of Finance and Board of Education, respectively. Palo topped the four candidates for finance board, winning a seat along with Democrats Steve Lupien and Tom Tesoro, themselves former Republicans.

Lovely, the former principal of St. Theresa School and a veteran of the town's public school system, defeated Vicki Tesoro, a long-time PTA official and school volunteer. The GOP now controls both boards.

It was the same story for the rest of the ballot as the GOP candidates trounced their Democratic opponents on the Planning & Zoning Commission, Zoning Board of Appeals and in every other contested race.