The GOP primary in Oxford is on.
Republican First Selectman hopeful David Yish turned in 155 valid signatures at the Registrar of Voters office Wednesday, the last day to file signatures to force a primary with George R. Temple, who won the Republican nomination during a GOP caucus last month.
Yish also turned in 140 valid signatures for Lila Ferrillo, the Board of Finance chairman, who will be his running mate for a seat on the Board of Selectmen. The validations were made by Linda Crowe, the GOP Registrar.
Yish and Ferrillo needed 126 valid signatures each to qualify for the primary, Crowe said.
“Yes, there will be a primary on Sept. 13,” Crowe said at 5 p.m., after validating the signatures. Five of those Yish brought in were invalidated, she said.
Yish was confident earlier in the day he and Ferrillo had the required number of valid voters to force the primary.
“We put in a big push the first week and the response was terrific,” Yish said. He said even Democrats and unaffiliated voters he spoke with understood why he was pushing for a primary with Temple.
“I was encouraged,” Yish said.
Temple said Yish and Ferrillo are entitled to a primary, but the race is about qualifications. He believes he is the better qualified candidate.
“He spent two years as Mary Ann’s (First Selectman Mary Ann Drayton-Rogers) apprentice, and that is amateur night when it comes to running the town. I don’t think we can afford it,” Temple said. “I pretty well know my way around Town Hall. It is not the time to experiment. The town is going to need somebody that knows what they’re doing.”
Time will tell who will be victorious at the polls, Temple said. “(Yish is) a very popular guy, very well liked, but it’s about a lot more than personality. It’s about ability and experience,” Temple said.
The Democrats are running Joseph Calabrese to replace fellow Democrat Drayton-Rogers, who opted not to seek a third term.
The primary will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 13.
“It will be interesting to see what happens in the Republican primary. I’ll wait to see what happens at their primary and who my opponent ends up being,” Calabrese said Wednesday.
