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Several Competitive Races on 2019 Chester Ballot

When voters in Chester get to the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 5, they’ll be greeted by a big ballot, though 13 of the 18 ballot races are uncontested. The 2019 election features competitive races for Board of Selectmen, Board of Finance (BOF), Board of Education (BOE), and Planning & Zoning Commission (PZC).

For the seat of first selectman, incumbent Democrat Lauren Gister is up against unaffiliated write-in candidate Robert Galbraith.

Gister is a local attorney and retired Marine. She is a former municipal veteran’s representative, and lifetime member of the Women Marines Association, as well as the current president of the Lower Connecticut River Land Trust and long time Chester resident.

Galbraith, a five-year resident of Chester, was active with the merchants committee in the eight years he was running the Pattaconk 1850 Bar and Grille. He is an avid cyclist and enjoys spearheading charity events.

The losing candidate in the first selectman race will compete with the two selectman candidates for Board of Selectmen. Of the three, the two with the most votes will serve on the board alongside the winner of the first selectman race.

Incumbent Democrat Charlene Janecek and Republican Tom Englert are running for a selectman seat.

Janecek is a lifelong resident of Chester. She is a former registrar of voters who has served on the Main Street Committee, Economic Development Commission, Retirement Board, Chester Fire Department Auxiliary, and the Board of Fire Commissioners. The former owner of The Lunch Box, she is the treasurer on the Chester Fair Board of Directors and is active in St. Joseph’s Church.

Englert is a former, multi-term, Chester selectman and a current member of the Chester Board of Education. He is the chairman of Board of Trustees for First Church of Christ in Wethersfield and a long-time Chester resident. He and his wife work for Whelen Engineering.

Three candidates are running for two full-term (six year) seats on the BOF: incumbent Democrat Richard Strauss, Republican incumbent Charles Park, and Republican Gregory Merola.

Strauss is the former chair of the Board of Finance and a former member of Region 4 Board of Education, Zoning Board of Appeals, Water Pollution Control Authority, and Town Office Building boards and commissions.

Park is longtime Chester resident who raised his family in town and has chosen to remain in the town he loves for his retirement.

Merola is a lifelong Chester resident who obtained the rank of eagle scout with local Boy Scout Troop 13. He recently graduated from CCSU with a bachelors degree in finance and is working as a sales representative at Pella Corporation.

Incumbent Democrat Andrew Gardner and Republican Meredith Devanney are competing for an alternative Board of Finance seat.

Gardner is an independent financial planner, wealth manager, and accredited investment fiduciary and he is the treasurer of Chester Rotary and former treasurer of Glastonbury Arts.

Devanney is a lifelong Chester resident. She and her husband Ryan have two young boys, one of whom attends Chester Elementary School. She is the treasurer of the Chester Republican Town Committee and a bookkeeper for an Essex company.

Democratic incumbent Michael Joplin is unchallenged for an alternate vacancy seat on the BOF.

Running for one of the three open full-term seats on the Chester BOE are incumbents Dale Bernardoni (D), Charlene Fearon (D), David Fitzgibbons (D), and Theresa Myers (R).

Bernardoni is a retired teacher and principal. He is the managing director of the Connecticut Fund for Teachers and a member of Chester Historical Society and Land Trust.

Fearon has been a Chester BOE member since 2014 and serves on the Joint BOE Curriculum Committee. She is a retired special educator at Chester Elementary School. She has served on the LEARN Board of Directors and as a consultant for the State Department of Education.

Fitzgibbons, the current BOE chair, is and independent mental health care professional and previously served on the Board of Directors of Tri-Town Youth Services. He’s a former associate clinical professor of psychiatry at the UConn School of Medicine and earned his a PhD from New York University.

Myers is a retired elementary school teacher.

Incumbent Democrat Rebecca Greenberg-Ellis and Republican Kris Pollock will be elected to two-year seats on the BOE.

There is no candidate for an open Board of Assessment Appeals seat.

For PZC, Democratic incumbents Seth Fidel, Benjamin Krempel, and Jon Lavy will return to the commission. Republican Elizabeth “Betty” Perreault and Common Ground candidate Michael A. Sanders will be elected to two PZC four-year vacancy seats. Democrat Andrew P. Landsman is the sole candidate for PZC six-year alternate.

There is a race for PZC alternate to fill a vacancy (four-year term): Shubert Koong (D) and Patricia Bandzes (Common Ground/CG) both seek the seat.

For Zoning Board of Appeals, Democrats Mark Borton and Erik Anderson and Republican Bob Blair will be seated, as will Zoning Board of Appeals alternates Victor Fetter (D) and Alexander Stein (Common Ground). Democrat Michael Ruben Peck will take the open Zoning Board of Appeals alternate two-year vacancy seat.

Democrat Abigail Rice and Republican Jennifer Rice will fill the two Library Board of Trustees seats. Common Ground candidate Devin Chester will take the trustees’ four-year vacancy seat.

Democrat John Stack will take the open Region 4 Board of Education seat.

Find more information on the candidates and voter registration information in our Online Voter Guide at Zip06.com.