Democrats Sweep Windham Elections

Mathew Biadun | News-Editor

Democrats in Windham saw a strong showing on Election Day, re-electing Tom DeVivo to a fourth consecutive term as Mayor. Along with the mayorship, Democrats won a strong majority on the City Council and Board of Education, while offices lower down the ticket were more competitive.

It is important to note that elections in Windham use a minority representation rule, meaning that parties are limited in how many candidates they can run for a position. For the City Council, the party could only run candidates in three out of four at-large seats, three out of four Willimantic seats, and one of two Windham seats. For the Willimantic Taxing Board of Directors, parties could run candidates in four of six seats, while for the Board of Finance, it was five of seven. The Board of Education uses staggered elections, meaning that only half of the nine total seats were up for election. Of those, parties could have no more than six seats total, with five up for election. Parties could run candidates in four out of five seats in the Board of Assessment Appeals. In the Zoning Board of Appeals, only two of five seats were up for election, with parties unable to hold more than four seats. Two of three seats for Alternates in the Zoning Board of Appeals were up for election, with parties unable to control more than two.

That being said, here are the results.

Incumbent mayor Thomas DeVivo won a fourth term, defeating Republican challenger Hailey Desaulniers 2000-to-1268. Desaulniers later told the Chronicle, “I got a lot of experience throughout the campaign, and I’m grateful for the opportunities that I did…I’m grateful for having run, and I learned a lot throughout the campaign.” She said she would ‘probably’ run again.

For the four At-Large Town Council seats, three Democrats were elected: Dawn Niles, Randall Prose, and Bill Sayers. One Republican, Steven Edelman, was also elected.

For the four Willimantic Town Council seats, three Democrats were also elected: Edelmiro Rios, Clinton Adams, and Rodney Alexander. One Republican, Joshua Holman, was also elected. 

For the two Windham Town Council seats, one Republican, Mike Desaulniers, was elected, along with third-party candidate Suzanne Blancaflor, who was elected from The Bottom Line party. 

The new composition of the Town Council is six Democrats, two Republicans, and one Bottom Line.

Out of six seats on the Willimantic Taxing Board, four Democrats were elected; Dennis O’Brien, Kayla Postler, Adam Richardson and Jared M. Leitzel. One Republican, John McCommas, and one candidate cross-endorsed by The Bottom Line and the Greens, Michael Westerfield, was also elected.

Out of seven seats on the Board of Finance, five Democrats were elected: Kevin Donohue, Garnet McLaughlin, Mary Ann Daly, Peter Hughes and Tyler Griffin. Two Republicans, Charles Pennewill and Pazit Edelman, were also elected. 

Out of the five seats on the Board of Education up for election, three Democrats were elected: Catherine Aillon Pomo, Paula Hanzy, and Gary Fetzer. One Green, Mia Mitoma, and one candidate from The Bottom Line, Mark Doyle, were also elected. The composition of the Board of Education will be six Democrats, one Republican, one Green, and one Bottom Line.

Out of five seats on the Board of Assessment Appeals, three Greens were elected: Sarah Winter, Anna Parker and Daniel Phipps. Two Democrats, Susan A. Hunter and Murphy A. Sewall, were also elected.

Out of two seats on the Zoning Board of Appeals up for election, one Democrat, Barbara McGrath, and one Republican, Roger Morin, were elected. The board now has four Democrats and one Republican. 

Out of two seats for Alternates on the Zoning Board of Appeals up for election, one Republican, Dustin Road, and one Green, Jessica Watson, were elected. The Alternates now have one Democrat, one Republican, and one Green.

Both budgets for the year, the General Government budget and the Board of Education budget, were approved. However, voters rejected the School Consolidation Plan, 1625-1251.