Printer Friendly Version - North Branford Democrats Endorse 2017 Candidate Slate

On July 25, North Branford's Democratic Party endorsed 2017 municipal election candidates including a Town Council slate with incumbents (left) Dan Armin and Marie Diamond; new candidate (center) Vincent Mase Sr., and incumbents Joseph Faughnan (right), Chris Manna (not available for image) and George Miller (not available for image). Pam Johnson/The Sound

With hopes to return incumbents and include newly-named candidates in town government, North Branford's Democratic Party has endorsed its slate of candidates for the November 7, 2017 municipal election.

At a July 25 caucus of the North Branford Democratic Party, a voice vote of about a dozen electors registered as Democrats in the town's two voting districts unanimously endorsed the party's recommended list of six candidates for Town Council and two candidates for three open seats on the Board of Education (BOE).

North Branford's 2017 Democratic municipal election ticket will be topped by Town Council incumbent members Dan Armin, Chris Manna, Marie Diamond, Joseph Faughnan and George Miller together with new candidate Vincent Mase Sr.

Democrats endorsed two candidates for the three open seats on North Branford's seven-member BOE, including incumbent Marcey Onofrio and new candidate Tricia Mase. BOE members serve four-year terms with staggered elections creating three open seats for each election cycle. Members elected in the upcoming election cycle will serve from November 14, 2017 through November 9, 2021.

The town's Democrats are currently in the majority on the nine-member Town Council, holding five of the nine council seats. The other four seats are held by Republicans. Town Council members also serve as the members of the town's Finance Board and as the members of the town's Water Pollution Control Authority. Following an election, Town Council members serve two-year terms. The upcoming　election will seat nine council members to serve a term which begins November 14, 2017 and ends November 12, 2019.

All members of the Town Council and BOE are elected to serve without compensation. The Town of North Branford employs a Town Manager to report to the nine-member Town Council and manage the daily business of the town. North Branford's town charter calls for the Town Council candidate receiving the most overall votes during an election to be recognized as Mayor.　In the current term, Republican Michael Doody serves as North Branford Mayor while Democrat Joseph Faughnan serves as Deputy Mayor.