Photo By Brian Koonz
Seymour First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis celebrates her election night victory with her daughter, Alana.
SEYMOUR — A year ago, First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis was unanimously chosen by the Board of Selectmen to complete the term of Kurt Miller, the outgoing GOP first selectman.
On Tuesday, Drugonis was elected to her first two-year term by another unanimous vote, only this time, it was with 1,977 votes. The Republican incumbent ran unopposed, but still knocked on plenty of doors.
The most important one, however, might have been her own front door.
“I do what I do for my daughter. She’s my world, and I want her to know that women can do anything we put our minds to,” Drugonis said, hugging her 17-year-old daughter, Alana. “We can run companies, and we can run towns. What we do, we do for our children and our communities.”
Drugonis led a landslide night by the Republicans, who also picked up a seat on the Board of Finance with Karen Lombardi’s victory. For Republican Town Chairman Rich Demko, the outcome was a reward for the GOP’s record in Seymour.
“We truly work hard for the people of this town, and we put up incredibly intelligent and talented candidates,” Demko said. “That’s really what it’s all about. That’s by design. We want the best people serving the voters.”
Demko also said this was the first time in his 10 years with the GOP that the Republican Town Committee fully funded every candidate in town. It was one more milestone on a night for milestones.
More than 70 people turned out at the Hot Tamale Mexican Grill & Bar to celebrate the victories by Drugonis and the rest of the GOP slate. Miller, who served as Drugonis’ campaign manager, and State Rep. Nicole Klarides-Ditria, the town’s former Deputy First Selectwoman, were among those in the crowd.
Klarides-Ditria, another longtime friend and Republican ally, said hard work on the campaign trail paved the way for the party’s victory and Drugonis’ victory. The Democrats have not nominated a candidate for the town’s top office since 2015.
“We had a big win tonight, and we’re not surprised because Seymour and the Valley represent Republicans well,” Klarides-Ditria said. “Annmarie and her team worked tirelessly door-to-door, the phone banks — you name it, we did it. Everybody worked well together.”
Stephan Behuniak, chairman of the Seymour Democratic Town Committee, said the results, with the Democrats failing to pick up any seats, show he didn’t lead the party to where they need to be.
However, Behuniak pointed to a bright spot — the election of Fred Stanek, a respected Seymour community member, to the Seymour Board of Selectmen. Stanek, a longtime school board member and attorney, will now serve on the board his late wife, Karen, served on for many years.
The following results are unofficial and do not include absentee ballots:
Bold indicates winner
First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis: (1,977)
Board of Selectmen
(vote for up to four)
Democrat Richard Luby: 716
Democrat Fred Stanek: 1,002
Democrat Christopher Bowen (incumbent): 754
Republican Al Bruno (incumbent): 1,562
Republican Patrick Lombardi (incumbent): 1,535
Republican Trish Danka (incumbent): 1,558
Republican Roberty Findley (incumbent): 1,471
Board of Finance
(vote for up to four)
Democrat Zani Imetovski (incumbent): 991
Beverly Kennedy: 1,681
Karen Lombardi: 1,780
Richard Demko (incumbent): 1,717
Board of Finance Alternate
(vote for up to three)
Democrat Kristyn Hanewicz: 969
Democrat Jeffrey L. Hanewicz: 909
Republican Lucy McConologue: 1,757
Board of Education
(vote for up to three)
Democrat Stephan Behuniak: 825
Democrat Antoine Billy: 596
Democrat Edward Strumello: 872
Republican Shannon Levey: 1,450
Republican Christopher Champagne: 1,436
Republican Kristen Bruno: 1,479
Board of Assessment Appeals
(vote for up to two)
Democrat Nicholas Cass: 741
Democrat Saundra Gesek (incumbent): 908
Republican Gregory Kszywienski: 1,388
Republican Thomas Schutte (incumbent): 1,378
Planning & Zoning Commission
(vote for up to two)
Democrat Robert VanEgghen: 806
Democrat John Stelma: 891
Republican Joseph Ziehl (incumbent): 1,563
Police Commissioners
(vote for up to two)
Democrat Collen Fries: 782
Democrat Thomas LaPaglia: 760
Republican John Duke (incumbent): 1,479
Republican Robert Koskelowski Sr. (incumbent): 1,427
Library Trustees
(vote for up to two)
Democrat Michael Flynn: 890
Republican Alex Danka (incumbent): 1,519
Paula Chapla (incumbent): 1,577
