Photo by Jean Falbo-Sosnovich
Seymour First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis and her daughter, Alana.
SEYMOUR — First Selectwoman Annmarie Drugonis received the unanimous nod Wednesday to seek the town’s top office this November, along with a slate of fellow Republicans to share the ballot with her.
More than 80 people were at the Seymour Community Center for the Republican Town Committee’s nominating caucus.
Drugonis, 51, took over in the midst of former First Selectman Kurt Miller’s term last October. Miller stepped down and took a full-time job in neighboring Ansonia as that city’s chief financial officer. Drugonis received the full support from the Board of Selectmen to finish out Miller’s term, which is up in November.
And on Wednesday, Drugonis received the full backing of the GOP to seek her first official term.
“It isn’t that she is owed this position. She earned it,” said former First Selectman Robert Koseklowski, Sr., who nominated Drugonis for the seat. “She’s done an outstanding job. She’s a person who tells it like it is. She doesn’t tell you what you want to hear, but what is always in the best interest of the Town of Seymour.”
GOP Chairman Richard Demko seconded Drugonis’ nomination.
“I moved to town 13 years ago and Annmarie was one of the first people I met,” Demko said. “She made me feel like I’d been living here all my life. She’s a strong woman with old school values. She has sat on almost every board you can imagine and has sacrificed a lot.”
Drugonis received a hearty round of applause as she made a quick acceptance speech, taking time to thank her 17-year old daughter, Alana, for “having to share your mother with the town,” since Drugonis first got elected to the Seymour Board of Selectmen back in 2007.
“I decided to run because Seymour — the town I love — deserves someone who is here for them; someone with the courage to lead and willingness to listen,” Drugonis said. “Ultimately I believe every person who goes to the polls wants three things from their elected leaders: honesty, passion and the nerve to make the decisions they think are best for the town, no matter the difficulty or popularity. I love this job and I love helping people and I want to continue to do that. My door is always open.”
On the job nine months, Drugonis said she was proud to preside over her first budget, spruce up the town skate park, hire a new administrative assistant and is close to bringing a part-time Economic Development Director onboard. She’s looking forward to bringing several parties together to breathe some much-needed new life into the near-vacant Tri-Town Plaza. Drugonis envisions a restaurant or two, and a micro-brewery there to attract people to town.
“I’d love to grow our grand list to drive our taxes down,” she added.
While Drugonis was the sole candidate nominated for the town’s top spot, there were two boards that had more candidates interested in running, than seats available. On the Board of Education, there were five candidates vying for four open seats, while on the Board of Police Commissioners, four candidates were vying to fill just two open seats. The GOP members cast paper ballots which were then carefully hand counted to decide the top vote getters.
The school board candidates were incumbents Kristen Bruno (65 votes); Chris Champagne (66 votes) and Peter Kubik (54 votes), along with newcomers Shannon Levy (67 votes) and Lori Ann Nespoli (47 votes).
The police commission candidates were incumbents Koskelowski, Sr. (41 votes) and John Duke (58 votes), along with newcomers Robert Koskelowski, Jr. (20 votes) and Tom Schutte (38 votes).
Seymour Democrats are scheduled to choose candidates 7 p.m. Monday (July 26) at Seymour Town Hall.
Here’s a list of all the GOP-endorsed candidates for the November ballot:
Board of Selectmen:
Al Bruno (incumbent)
Trish Danka (incumbent)
Robert Findley, Jr. (incumbent)
Patrick Lombardi (incumbent)
Board of Finance:
Richard Demko (incumbent)
Beverly Kennedy (incumbent)
Karen Lombardi
Board of Finance Alternate:
Lucy McConologue
Library Board of Trustees:
Paula Chapla (incumbent)
Alex Danka (incumbent)
Planning and Zoning Commission:
Joseph Ziehl (incumbent)
Board of Assessment Appeals:
Greg Kszywienski
Board of Education:
Kristen Bruno (incumbent)
Chris Champagne (incumbent)Peter Kubik (incumbent) (explanation here)
Shannon Levy
Board of Police Commissioners:
Robert Koskelowski, Sr. (incumbent)
John Duke (incumbent)
