GUILFORD — The atmosphere is tense at Calvin Leete Elementary School. Republican and Democratic candidates and their supporters, holding signs next to one another, periodically begin arguing.
“It’s a little heated here,” remarked Independent candidate Noel Petra.
Danielle Scarpellino, a Republican candidate, said the atmosphere had been very “uncivil.” She said she thought it would take the town a long time to recover.
“I don’t think there will be a winner today. Nobody wins,” she said. “I think it’s going to discourage parents who have a lot to offer.”
Meanwhile, the voters keep coming. A voter named Mary, who said she has three grandchildren in the schools, said that she believed the Republican candidates were “racist” and “narrow-minded.” She said she wanted her grandchildren “educated properly.”
“We’ve always had a great school system,” she said.
At about 9:50 a.m. just over 400 people had voted at Leete. At Baldwin Middle School, the voter count had reached 425 by 10:15 a.m. Moderator Hersch Sommer said the turnout had been constant, a steady flow that hadn’t stopped since the polls opened at 6 a.m.
Several voters at Baldwin voiced their support for the Democratic and Independent candidates.
“We’re very much against the current atmosphere,” said a voter named Valerie, adding that the Republican candidates were worrying about “something that doesn’t exist.”
Mike, who has a son in Kindergarten, also said he supported the Democrats and Independent candidates for Board of Education.
“I think they should know history,” he said.
MIDDLETOWN — A steady stream of voters were still arriving at Moody Elementary School after 9 a.m., with a group of candidates outside to greet them. You wouldn’t know it by how many signs she has around town, but Laura Morello didn’t have a lot of time to put together her campaign, deciding just two weeks ago to run as a write-in candidate after allegations that members of the school district’s senior administration harassed and intimidated school employees were made public by the Middletown teachers and paraeducators unions.
“I tell my kids all the time, you can’t sit around and complain if you’re not willing to do something about it,” Morello, a teacher in Cromwell, said. “Once all the people came forward with the claims of harassment, it was the tipping point where I really saw we were in dire need of new central office administration.”
Morello said she has a degree in administration, and had always avoided running for school board as it could jeopardize her chances of getting an administrative job, but Morello said she decided the education of her children and their peers was more important than career advancement.
David Booth, a Republican candidate for school board holding a “Row B” sign, said he has four children in school and was inspired to run because of how they were being taught.
“When I was in school, for math homework we would get 20 problems to do. These days, the kids are getting only 3 or 4 problems,” Booth said. “But not all kids will get the concept in 3 or 4 problems, and our daughter was struggling with math. Luckily my wife has a math degree and was able to help run her through the concepts.”
Booth said he was also concerned about the unions’ allegations about the school district’s administration, and was already concerned with why Middletown was losing teachers. Booth said he has also heard about a lack of respect by students for teachers, and about teachers handing out inconsistent punishments for bad behavior in class.
“It looks like the kids walk over the teachers, and that can’t happen,” Booth said.
Standing next to the Republican candidates was Democratic Planning and Zoning candidate Shanay Fulton, who was holding a sign for the Democratic “Row A” candidates. Fulton, who previously spoke to CT Examiner about her candidacy, said the turnout at Moody had been steady that morning.
Regardless of party, all the candidates were pleased that the sun was starting to come out and warm up their spot.
NEW HAVEN — “Voter turnout has been slow so far, but with my people, it’s going to be high, because we’re highly motivated,” said John Carlson, the Republican nominee for mayor of New Haven. “I was just talking to a gentleman from East Shore who came to vote who said, you knocked on my door last week, and you have my support. He was a Democrat, but he said he liked my policies.”
GUILFORD — A line is winding around the corner at the Guilford Fire Station.
A voter named Christine, who has two elementary school-aged children, said she wouldn’t have come out to vote in the election if it had been the incumbent Republicans running. She said she believed the previous school board had done a good job.
“I don’t want it to be radically different than it has been in the past year,” she said, adding that she didn’t want to mess with something that had been working well.
Another voter, Dave, said he was voting for the Democratic and Independent slate because he wanted Guilford’s current education system to remain strong.
“I’d like them to maintain the level of excellence they have in the Guilford system,” said Dave.
Former Board of Education member Mary Best said she was out supporting the Democratic and Incumbent candidates because the initiative to expand the curriculum was something the Board had worked on for over a year.
“This has really been a community driven effort,” she said.
A man named Getch is handing out cards urging voters to vote for the Republican candidates. An immigrant from Ethiopia, he said he was in favor of teaching kids the basic curriculum and not “indoctrinating them.”
“I don’t believe these people are racist,” he said. “I don’t really believe when people tell me white people are racist. You cannot categorize people.”
Republican candidate Nick Cusano said it was early on to tell how the day would go. He said, however, that he felt optimistic in the days leading up to the election.
“In the closing week, I felt really good about how things were going,” he said.
At about 9:00, nearly 400 voters had voted at the Fire Station, a number that moderator Cindi Preble said was unusually high.
NEW HAVEN — Three hours after polls opened at East Rock Community Magnet School in New Haven, less than 75 people had cast their ballots. “By this time last year, we had a couple of hundred people,” said Stephanie Ranks, assistant registrar.
“At 6 AM last November, we had lines out the door. This year, it was crickets.” Still, Ranks said people were trickling in slowly but surely, and said it was still “fun to be part of the democratic process” this time around.
GROTON (District 2) — About 20 to 30 people had voted as of about 7:30 a.m., at a polling spot in Groton, according to a group of candidates assembled out front.
“I decided to run because I think I can make a difference for Groton. I can be a good advocate for the students and staff — and when I say staff, I’m talking about everybody in the staff, not just teachers — parents, and the community,” said Beverly Washington, a Democratic candidate for Board of Education, who said she served on the board in 2013.
“I want to help close the achievement gap that we have, that’s really important, and increase staff diversity,” she said.
Edward Jacome, a Democratic candidate for Town Council, said he was excited to see the final numbers tonight.
Robert Boris, a Republican candidate for Town Council, said that during his campaign door-knocking, many voters expressed an interest in a bipartisan town council.
“People talked about issues in the town and I did get a sense that everyone would like a little more bipartisan representation — the idea of any one party having all the seats — that was the theme, even among the Democrats,” said Boris.
EAST HADDAM — Voting was “slow but steady” at 9 a.m. after an early rush of activity just after polls opened three hours earlier, Moderator Ed Blaschik said, as voters filed into Town Hall.
Democrat Registrar of Voters Martha Hansen said about 300 absentee ballots had been cast, roughly half of the total from last fall’s presidential-year election.
GROTON (District 1)– By 6:30, about 25 or 30 people had come out to vote according to bipartisan group of candidates standing outside of a polling place in Groton.
“Definitely more than in the Democratic primary,” said Democrat Bruce Jones, who is running for Town Council.
Jones, who consulted a small notebook he kept in his pocket, said that he had knocked on 1,741 doors and walked 263 miles during the campaign.
“What was great about it — I’ve been here about 5 years — is I went into every single community in the town, so I got to see all the different sides of Groton that I never knew,” he said. “We have such a difference between very, very wealthy people and people who are marginal.”
Diane Barber, a Republican candidate for town council who served on the council from 2015 to 2017, said the high school is effective in bringing all parts of the town together.
“We lump all the kids together so they realize there are all these different cultures and groups that they have to learn how to negotiate through it all — and that’s how life is.”
State Rep. Joe De La Cruz, D-Groton, said that families move in and out of Groton depending on the timing of submarine and Navy projects.
“It’s about transience versus permanency,” said Matt Shuman, Democratic candidate for Board of Education. “It’s a challenge for the schools because we have kids coming in who may have had a great education or may have a less than great education — and we work on that and then they leave before the end of the year.”
NEW HAVEN — Incumbent Mayor Justin Elicker cast his ballot at 8:45 AM at Wilbur Cross High School, joined by his wife and children. The quiet morning, with only a few other residents voting, was a far cry from last November’s record turnout.
“I’ve had conversations with people standing outside the polls about how just a year ago, there was a line around the corner, and then it’s quieter on a day like today,” Elicker said. “There’s so much interest in national elections but the reality is that municipal elections have way more impact on your day-to-day life. That’s everything from influencing how the schools are run and controlling how public safety occurs in the city to fixing the sidewalk and the street in front of your house.”
GUILFORD — Early voters are coming out in force to cast ballots in Guilford. Parking lots at A.W. Cox Elementary and Melissa Jones Elementary Schools are packed.
Candidates on both sides say they are optimistic about the election and happy about the sizeable turnout.
By about 7:50 a.m, nearly 150 people had voted at Cox, and Jones had clocked in just over 200 at 8:30.
“It’s amazing for a municipal election,” said Board of Education candidate Jennifer Baldwin, who is running on the Independent ticket.
Baldwin said she was feeling nervous and excited – “happy to see it come to fruition.”
In both polling places, Democrats and Independents had about 5 people with multiple signs standing outside the schools. In contrast, Republican candidates stood solo.
Republican candidate Aly Passarelli said she was disheartened by the behavior of the opposition. She said she had moved her sign twice, but the Democrats and Independents kept standing in front of it.
“A little respect goes a long way,” said Passarelli. “Tomorrow, we’re still going to be neighbors.”
MIDDLETOWN — Linda, a voter at Spencer School early on Tuesday, said she voted for all Democrats, and she said it was important to vote in local races.
“Local changes start at the local level, and if you don’t get the people in that you want, nothing is going to change,” Linda said. “I think some of the people who are [on school board and planning and zoning] are good, but sometimes we need change, new ideas, new thoughts.”
Emily Jackson, a first time candidate for Middletown Board of Education, was out with her two children to promote the Democratic “Row A” ticket.
Jackson, who works in operations, financing and Human Resources at a K-8 school in New Haven, said communication and collaboration between the schools and the community are extremely important and can be strengthened in Middletown schools.
“That means parent involvement, community involvement, collaboration with community agencies, whatever it may be to provide the most challenging and equitable opportunities for all students,” Jackson said.
Jackson said her experience working in a school, as a parent, and being married to a teacher have all given her different perspectives into the school system.
MIDDLETOWN — More voters began to arrive before 8 a.m., but still no more than a few at a time, and not enough to build up a line.
Dave Stott, one of the few voters at Spencer School at dawn, said he always votes, and was particularly interested in the Planning and Zoning Commission this year. Stott said he voted for current chair Stephen DeVoto — who is running as an unaffiliated candidate — and two Republican candidates.
Stott said he thought DeVoto had the best interests of the city because of his support for expanding walking and cycling paths, noting that sidewalks and bike lanes in Middletown are inconsistent at best, and nonexistent in other areas.
“Just take a look down Camp Street,” Stott said, referencing a short residential street around the corner from Spencer School. “That’s a perfect example of a street that’s neither pedestrian or bike safe. There are a lot of areas where they’re haphazard, like Washington Street. Or go to East Street — there are sections of it where there are new houses that have sidewalks, and there are other sections where there’s nothing.”
MIDDLETOWN — No one was waiting at the McDonough School in Middletown’s North End at 7 a.m. Election officials said 8 people had voted at the school in the first hour polls were open. The door to the gymnasium where polling was locked, and has been propped open to let voter in
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