Election Day results are in. Several incumbents were reelected, while there were some upsets in the Greater Danbury area as well.
Democratic incumbents returned to office are the leaders of Bethel and Brookfield.
Democratic challenger Pat Del Monaco beat out incumbent New Fairfield First Selectman Susan Chapman while New Milford incumbent Mayor David Gronbach was ousted by Republican Town Councilman Pete Bass.
A man with a family history of leading Newtown has won election as the next First Selectman. Democrat Dan Rosenthal defeated two others yesterday. Rosenthal's father and grandfather also held the position.
Three people were vying for the open Monroe First Selectman seat with incumbent Steve Vavrek not seeking reelection. Republican Ken Kellogg beat out Democrat Dan Hunsberger and unaffiliated candidate Frank Bennett. Kellogg is a Town Council Member and current chair of that group's Strategic Planning Committee and chair of the EMS Facility Workgroup. He has over a dozen years of Public / Non-Profit Sector Experience and more than 15 years of Corporate/Business Experience.
Redding Democratic First Selectman Julia Pemberton was cross-endorsed by the Republican party for another term in office. In Ridgefield, the position of First Selectman is a four-year term and was not on the ballot Tuesday.
Incumbent Bridgewater First Selectman Curtis Read was re-elected to a second 4-year term. the Democrat garnered about 100 more votes than Republican challenger Nancy Hawley in a rematch. Before winning the 2013 election, Read served 26 years on the Conservation & Inland Wetlands Commission, the last few as the chairman. Read’s running mate, Alan Brown, and Hawley’s running mate, Laszlo Pinter, will round out the Board of Selectmen. Brown is the vice chair of the regional Board of Education. Pinter is Danbury’s deputy corporation counsel.
Democratic Selectman Don Lowe has unseated Sherman incumbent First Selectman Clay Cope. They faced off in 2015 with Cope beating Lowe by about 80 votes. This year, Lowe won by 90 votes. Lowe is a musician and adjunct professor of English. He served two terms as selectman, from 2004 to 2008, before again becoming a selectman in 2015.
