What does First Selectwoman Mary Ann Drayton-Rogers’ decision not to seek re-election do to the political landscape in Oxford?
Well, for starters, at least two Republicans have told the Valley Indy they’re interested in replacing the two-term Democratic incumbent.
Both George Temple, Oxford’s former town counsel, and Thomas Kelly, a member of the Board if Finance and veteran politico, told the Valley Indy they want to run.
Earlier this year former First Selectman August Palmer III, also a Republican, said he’s thinking about running — but he didn’t return calls for this story.
Meanwhile, leaders in the town’s Democratic Party said they are busy lining up candidates to replace Drayton-Rogers.
Naturally, both parties have different views of what the First Selectwoman’s departure means to the political landscape in Oxford.
Both sides say their parties will prevail come Election Day.
But . . .
Last Time
The last municipal election was in November 2009.
The top vote getter in town was a Democrat — Town Clerk Margaret West, who received 2,150 votes, according to information posted on the town’s website.
However, Republicans were elected to 15 positions in town government, compared to the Democrats’ seven — and two of the Democratic seats were due to the minority representation rule as per the Town Charter.
The bright spot for the Democrats was on the Board of Selectmen, where Drayton-Rogers was re-elected — by just 27 votes. David McKane was re-elected, giving the Dems two out of three seats.
However, the GOP controls the Board of Education and the Board of Finance.
So Who Has The Mojo?
Will Drayton-Rogers’ decision not to run give the GOP even more momentum this time around?
No, said Democratic Town Committee chairwoman Carol Georgette.
“Passing the torch is what we’re looking to do, to have somebody who can certainly pick up from where she (Drayton-Rogers) left off. And I believe a couple of our candidates can do that,” Georgette said.
She said the Democrats are probably a month away from naming possible candidates.
However, there are more registered Republicans in town — 2,520 — compared to registered Democrats — 1,501. But the number of independents — 4,215 — blows them all away.
West, the town’s most popular politician based on votes from 2009, said First Selectman races depend more on the individual candidate — and it is far too early to try to predict which party has an advantage heading into the political season.
“We don’t know who is running yet,” West said.
Georgette also said success in the First Selectman race comes down to the individual candidate.
Oxford has shown strong support for Democrats in the past, Georgette said.
In addition to their support for Drayton-Rogers, former First Selectwoman Kathy Johnson, who served from 2001 to 2003, was also a Democrat.
“I know the Republicans will go into it confident, and I know that I will too,” Georgette said.
GOP Ready To Pounce
Republicans certainly have an edge coming off the last election, according to David Haversat, a Republican who tried to unseat Drayton-Rogers in 2009.
In addition to momentum, Haversat said the large number of independent voters in Oxford lean toward the Republicans.
Here’s proof — in the last governor’s race, Oxford voters favored Republican candidate Tom Foley over Democrat and eventual Gov. Dan Malloy by a large margin — 3,314 to 1,700.
“Yes, we have a definite advantage. Whether it’s me or someone else, the Republicans will have a good candidate. I don’t know who the Democrats will pick, but whoever it is, I’m sure the Republicans will win,” Haversat said.
Democrats, however, point to a fractured Republican Party on the local level. In fact, some inside the Republican Party also point to a fissure.
Earlier this year Republican Pat Cocchiarella said he lost the chairmanship of the town’s Planning and Zoning Commission because he was not in step with certain “radical” parts of his own party. He didn’t name names.
In 2007, Palmer, then the Republican First Selectman, was challenged to a primary from within his own party.
“I think there is still a split between Augie Palmer and the others,” said Maura Satkowski, a member of the Oxford Democratic Town Committee.
William Neary, the chairman of the Republican Party, did not return several calls for comment. On the Democratic side, McKane, a Selectman, didn’t return calls for comment.
Political Poison?
The Valley Indy asked everyone we interviewed whether they were considering a run for First Selectman.
John Fertig’s answer was interesting:
“I wouldn’t run for a million dollars,” said Fertig, a Democrat and former probate judge. “It’s very difficult, it seems you can never win.”
Fertig was referring to the mud slinging and personal attacks that have come to define Oxford politics.
Kathy Johnson, the former First Selectwoman, said she switched her political affiliation to independent because Oxford politics are so ugly.
Members of both parties said recruiting candidates has become more difficult because of the acrimony.
The two Republican hopefuls this month said the average resident is turned off by the constant bickering.
Temple, for one, believes he can change the atmosphere.
“The thing now is there is so much negativity in the town, everybody fighting with everybody, that it turns people off. That has to be turned around,” Temple said.
Kelly said he believes he can do a better job than has been previously done.
“The time I have spent on town boards has taught me the needs of the town,” Kelly said Wednesday. His work experience is as a senior technical team leader in software for AT&T, where he has worked 41 years.
“I think I can do a better job,” he said.
