ethan fry photo
David Papcin is congratulated by supporters after claiming victory in the Ansonia Republican Registrar of Voters primary Aug. 14.
ANSONIA — The 20-year-old chairman of the Republican Town Committee claimed victory over a four-term incumbent registrar of voters in Tuesday’s primary.
David Papcin Jr. defeated former Mayor Nancy Valentine by a vote of 371 – 303, according to results posted on the Secretary of the State’s website.
Though Valentine congratulated Papcin moments after he claimed victory at City Hall Tuesday, she had not officially conceded the race as of roughly 9 p.m., nor had results been released.
“I haven’t seen results yet,” she said while sitting in her office.
The Valley Indy emailed Valentine about 9:30 p.m. seeking comment.
According to the unofficial results, turnout was roughly 42 percent, with 678 of the city’s 1,600 Republicans casting ballots in the race.
Moments after claiming victory, Papcin appeared on a Valley Indy livestream to discuss the results.
Click play on the video below to watch.
Papcin brushed off many critical comments from viewers saying he is too young and inexperienced for the job, answering that he’ll work hard to gain the voters’ trust and try to improve turnout in future elections.
But he now occupies two of the most important GOP posts in the city — Republican Town Committee chairman and registrar of voters.
The first typically serves an important role in planning and executing campaign strategy, while the second calls for performing a more nonpartisan role in officiating and counting votes.
Isn’t there an inherent conflict?
Papcin said he will be able to keep the two roles “entirely separate.”
“I don’t think there really is an issue but I can understand where people are coming from,” he said. “What I will say is that I am committed to the job. Whoever walks in that door, whoever wants to be a candidate, whoever wants to register to vote, I am not there to influence.”
The registrar’s race pitted Papcin, a relative political newcomer, against Valentine, a former two-term mayor and the Republican registrar of voters for the past eight years.
But it wasn’t the 20-year-old’s first contest with a longtime incumbent.
Papcin’s stock has risen quickly since his appointment by Mayor David Cassetti to the Board of Apportionment and Taxation last May.
In the registrar’s race, Papcin carried the local Republican Town Committee vote 27 – 2 at its caucus in May.
Some Ansonia Republicans saw the race as an extension of a long-running struggle within the local GOP between Cassetti — who backed Papcin’s candidacy — and his critics.
Alderman Phil Tripp, who has led a bloc of Republicans opposed to the mayor, said “It’s called kiss the ring or get the boot” in a comment on Facebook.
In separate Q&As with the Valley Indy, the candidates offered differing takes on the contest.
Papcin, calling for a “fresh perspective” in the registrar’s office, cited the mayor’s recent landslide re-election.
“I am a full supporter of Mayor David S. Cassetti and judging by the last election so are over 70 percent of the voters,” he said. “It’s important to be on the same page. The voters expect that the Mayor and his team are on the same page.”
Valentine said “the office of Registrar should not be tossed around like a football,” and cited her many years of experience learning the job as an assistant registrar.
“The integrity of elections is crucial to good government and politics has no place in this office,” she said. “So let’s let the democratic process come into play with one man/woman casting one vote.”
The candidates also offered differing views on reducing the number of political wards in the city. Valentine proposed revising the charter to do so in 2014, but voters narrowly rejected the measure in a 2014 referendum.
“Experience tells me, as I have done extensive research statewide, that the size of our city, being only 6.2 square miles, and a declining voter population (right now below 9,000 voters) calls for 1 to 3 polling locations, i.e., the Town of Oxford has 10,000 voters and has worked well with only one voting location,” Valentine said. “The savings of tax dollars, reduction in staffing and the expeditious reporting of elections would be a significant improvement.”
Papcin said the city should stick with seven wards.
“I am in favor of the current model of seven wards, which increases voter representation on the Board of Alderman, and retains the current polling stations, so that voters may have increased access to the polls, not decreased,” he said. “We need to be focusing on what’s best for Voters. Reducing the number of wards and polling locations is not.”
