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07/27/2021 12:00 AMThe Madison Republican Town Committee has announced it slate of candidates for the November elections, offering many familiar candidates as well as a couple surprises.
Incumbent Selectman Bruce Wilson had declared his candidacy for the first selectman seat on June 18; that candidacy was confirmed at caucus by the RTC. The RTC announcement, carrying the motto “Names you know, people you trust,” also returned a very familiar name for Board of Selectman (BOS) contention: Noreen Kokoruda.
Kokorudu, who will campaign alongside selectman candidate Planning & Zoning Commission member Joe Bunovsky, is a longtime former state representative and selectman. She previously served as a selectman for more than a decade between 1997 and 2011.
Republican Selectman Erin Duques, who was first elected in 2019, will not be seeking a second term on the BOS, she said, moving to focus on other things.
“I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to serve the town and hope to return at some point in the future,” Duques told The Source via email.
Kokoruda had sought a sixth term last fall representing the 101st District, which includes Madison and part of Durham, but was defeated by Democratic challenger John-Michael Parker. She had held leadership positions for the state Republican Party, most recently as deputy leader at large, and was notably one of the highest rated Republicans by the state’s teachers union.
“It’s all about working together,” she said. “I’ve been in the minority, majority [party], and I see how it can work.”
Kokoruda, who has cultivated a reputation for working across party lines, said she was inspired to get back on the BOS after seeing what she described as increasingly bitter and unproductive divisiveness specifically among Madison’s elected officials.
For the Board of Finance, Republicans will run current Chair Jean Fitzgerald and Board of Education member Happy Marino.
On Board of Education, the RTC selected all-new members Mary Ann Connelly, Jennifer Gordon, and Christine Maisano to run for the seats.
For the Zoning Board of Appeals, the RTC nominated Ernie Lacore and for the Board of Assessment Appeals, current Chair Bill Lewis.
Look for coverage of the Madison Democratic slate in the next issue of The Source.