FILE
Seymour Selectman Stephan Behuniak and First Selectman Kurt Miller were both re-elected Tuesday.
Seymour First Selectman Kurt Miller strode unopposed to a fourth two-year term Tuesday.
And though supporters cheered as he noted that “the Valley is now all red” with Republican Rich Dziekan’s win over Anita Dugatto in Derby, Miller said the local GOP can’t rest on its laurels.
Democrats in Seymour are “young, hungry, and ready, and we have to make sure we match their intensity,” Miller told a crowd inside Hot Tamale restaurant.
Miller, who received 2,071 votes, was also the highest vote-getter on the ballot.
The composition of the Seymour Board of Selectmen remained four Republicans and two Democrats.
Selectman Stephan Behuniak, who is also Democratic Town Committee Chairman, was re-elected, as was Democrat Karen Stanek.
The Republican incumbents were all re-elected to the Board of Selectmen, along with Republican Trisha Danka, a newcomer to the position.
Seymour leans Republican, having voted for Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton, and Tom Foley over Dannel Malloy.
But unlike the national parties, the Seymour’s local parties are not at each other’s throats.
Behuniak and Miller often appear together to talk Seymour issues on the Valley Indy podcast.
And Miller has credited Naugatuck Valley Young Democrats — of which Behuniak is a leader — for recruiting new blood into the Valley’s political scene.
Though she lost her re-election battle with Dziekan, the young Democrats have played a crucial role in Derby Mayor Anita Dugatto’s Democratic primary campaign win over Carmen DiCenso in September.
In the weeks leading up to Election Day, Seymour Democrats stressed economic development.
In two letters to The Valley Indy they said the town’s part-time economic director is spending too much time planning a walking trail instead of attracting new businesses to town.
But Miller and the GOP counter that Seymour is on its best financial footing in years, and they point to Connecticut Basement System’s massive expanded complex in town.
Behuniak said he is committed to developing a competitive slate of Democratic candidates for future elections.
Results below.
Bold denotes winner
FIRST SELECTMAN
W. Kurt Miller — R (incumbent) 2,071
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
Stephan Behuniak — D (incumbent) 1,090
Al Bruno — R (incumbent) 1,406
Trisha Danka — R 1,347
Annmarie Drugonis — R (incumbent) 1,458
Len Greene — R (incumbent) 1,583
Karen Stanek — D (incumbent) 1,039
Robert VanEgghen – D 808
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Christopher Champagne — R 1,222
Edward Hendricks — R 1,080
Peter Kubick — R (incumbent) 1,212
Lori Robinson — D 1,036
Edward Strumello — D (incumbent) 1,152
Frederick Stanek — D (incumbent) 1,182
BOARD OF FINANCE
Richard Demko — R (incumbent) 1,640
Beverly Kennedy — R (incumbent) 1,707
John Stelma — D (incumbent) 1,262
BOARD OF FINANCE TO FILL VACANCY FOR TWO YEARS
(vote for one)
William D. Sawicki Sr. — D 1,528
BOARD OF FINANCE ALTERNATE
Kristyn Hanewicz — D 1,300
Gary Popielasz — R 1,583
Robert Pagliaro — R 1,766
BOARD OF ASSESSMENT APPEALS
(vote for any two)
Bruce Baker — R (incumbent) 1,422
Christopher Drugonis — R (incumbent) 1,360
Kwame Dunbar – D 855
Thomas LaPaglia — D (incumbent) 994
PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION
(full term)
Jamie Brennan — D 1,026
Jeffrey Hanewicz — D (incumbent) 848
Thomas Lavranchuk — R (incumbent) 1,283
Joseph Ziehl — R (incumbent) 1,126
PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION
(to fill vacancy for two years)
Joseph Niezelski — R (incumbent) 1,692
POLICE COMMISSIONERS
Francis Conroy — D (incumbent) 1,316
Colleen Fries — D 1,027
Robert Koskelowski Sr — R (incumbent) 1,400
LIBRARY TRUSTEES
Audrey Lenhard — D 1,072
Paula Chapla — R (incumbent) 1,367
Joyce Koslowski — R (incumbent) 1,491
