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11/04/2021 12:00 AMOn a cloudy and cold Election Day, Clinton voters turned out to elect Republican Tom Hollinger as well as Democrats Carrie Allen and Chris Passante to the Town Council. Hollinger’s win ensures Republicans will control the council another two years.
All three elected will serve a four-year term. They will join Republicans Chris Aniskovich, Carol Walter, and Dennis Donovan and Democrat Christine Goupil on the Town Council for the next two years. All elected will have their terms start Monday, Nov. 15
At the polls Hollinger won 1,458 votes, Allen won 1,360, and Passante won 1,378. The unsuccessful candidates were Paul Gebauer (D) with 1,289 votes and incumbent Green Party member Eric Bergman with 941.
Hollinger told the Harbor news he was “humbled” by receiving the most votes.
“I knew people would remember me from my days on the Board of Finance but I had been out of the spotlight for a few years so I didn’t know if that would effect things,” Hollinger said. “I enjoyed public service and I’m happy to get back into it.”
Hollinger said that while he didn’t personally know Passante and Allen, he congratulated them on winning and said he looked forward to working with them.
“It’s always nice to see new ideas and fresh people getting involved. I think we can be a positive influence and work together,” said Hollinger.
Passante said that for him it was “bittersweet” that he and Allen won but Gebauer didn’t. Nevertheless, he said he was excited to work with the council and “put politics aside.”
“I look forward to working with Tom, Carrie, and the existing council to do what’s best for the town,” said Passante.
The unsuccessful candidates also weighed in. Bergman was the only incumbent on the ballot, but the Green Party candidate received the least number of votes of the council candidates, which he said left him feeling “shocked.”
“I’m quite disappointed. I really thought I brought a lot to the table. I did the research, I asked the right questions, I thought maybe my record would speak for itself with voters but maybe I didn’t work hard enough to get the word out about myself,” said Bergman.
Two years ago, Bergman and a few other Green Party members were successful in their election bids, but this year not one Green Party candidate came close to winning a race. Bergman said that surprised him, too, and added that he thinks people are committed to their “tribes” of the two major parties.
“I think perhaps we were just the unknown. It’s hard, I think people sticking to the two parties is a problem. I’ll continue to run as an outside party and be that different voice,” said Bergman, concluding, “The people have spoken and I respect the results. I hand over the reins and I wish the winners well.”
Gebauer said that as he reflects on the campaign, he can “hold my head high” knowing he gave it his best shot.
“We wouldn’t have done anything differently about the campaign. We did everything in the manual so to speak. We ran a good race and I congratulate Tom, Carrie, and Chris,” said Gebauer.
Gebauer pointed out that with the Green Party struggling on the ballot, he believes that party might not be as big a factor in Clinton politics going forward, which he said could help make races more competitive as there would theoretically be fewer candidates vying for open seats.
The Rest of the Ballot
Besides the Town Council, voters also decided other important races down ballot.
For the four seats on the Board of Education, voters chose Republicans Mike Hornyak with 1,402 votes and Peter Nye with 1,612 votes as well as Democrats Erica Gelven with 1,497 and Jack Scherban with 1,596 votes. Green Party candidate Jason Feeney received 835 votes.
For the Board of Police Commissioners, voters chose Democrats Lynn Hidek with 1,579 votes and Ed Tessman with 1,351 votes. Republican Dom Morrelli also won a seat with 1,146 votes. Unsuccessful candidates included Republicans Wayne Buchanan with 995 votes and John Harrington with 944 votes and Green party candidate Phil Sengle with 902 votes.
For the five Planning & Zoning Commission full seats, voters chose Republicans Mike Florio and Mike Knudsen with 1,365 and 1,448 votes respectively. Democrats won three seats: Will Benoit with 1,349 votes, Ellen Dahlgren with 1,463 votes, and Michael Rossi with 1,493 votes. Unsuccessful candidates included Republican Walter Beau Clark with 1,176 votes and Green Party candidate Tania Abbatello with 938 votes.
For the Planning & Zoning Commission alternate seats, voters chose Democrat Jay S. Mandell with 1,401 votes and Republican Brendan Saunders with 1,393 votes. Republican Jim King will not be seated with 1,180 votes.
For the Board of Assessment Appeals, the voters chose Democrat Alyson Roberts with 1,361 votes and Republican Joe Alves with 1,176 votes. Green Party candidate John Escobales will not be seated with 190 votes.
For the Zoning Board of Appeals full seat, voters chose Democrats Laurie Jaffe with 1,449 votes and Bertram Schmitz with 1,292 votes along with Republican Dennis Irmscher, who got 1,408 votes. Green Party candidate Hugh Birdsall will not be seated with 877 votes.
For the Zoning Board of Appeals alternate seats, Democrat Tom Shultz and Republican Dylan Walter each ran unopposed. Shultz got 1,493 votes while Walter got 1,482 vote.
In total 2,849 out of 10,095 of registered voters cast a vote, which is a turnout of 29 percent. That number is down sharply from the 2019 elections, which had a turnout of 36 percent, and is well below the 2017 municipal elections that saw 3,911 people vote for a turnout of 40 percent.