With a more than 2-to-1 edge in early voting — and strong leads in all 9 voting districts — Kevin Christie and Amy Wistreich were elected 1st and 2nd selectpersons today. The pair received over half the votes — 53% — in a 3-way race.
With all 9 districts, early votes and absentee ballots counted, Christie and Wistreich polled 4,952 votes. The O’Day/Moore ticket got 3,249 (35%); Rosenwaks, 1,174 (12%).
The Democrats return to power in Town Hall for the first time since 2013. Republicans Jim Marpe (2 terms) and Jen Tooker (1) have been in office since.
Don O’Day and Andrea Moore finished second. The race was not as close as 4 years ago, when Tooker defeated Jonathan Steinberg by 69 votes. As the runner-up, O’Day becomes 3rd selectman.
David Rosenwaks, running on the Independent Party line, finished a distant third.
1st Selectman-elect Kevin Christie. (Photo/Catherine Campagnino)
All 3 1st selectman candidates have Democratic ties. O’Day — who becomes the 3rd Selectman — left the party this year, to become unaffiliated. He was endorsed by the Republicans.
Rosenwaks is also a former Democrat.
Many observers had called the election too close to call. Rosenwaks was seen as a potential spoiler for the Democrats. A lingering question was how O’Day would be treated by both Democrats (for leaving the party), and Republicans (for not joining the party).
Democrats — who have a more than 2-to-1 advantage in registration over Republicans, with unaffiliated voters numbering close to Democrats — led in all other races. They retain control of town boards, including Education, Planning & Zoning, and Finance.
In the closely watched contest for Board of Education, Democratic incumbent Abby Tolan led, with 5,702 votes.
Two petitioning candidates, Stephen Shackelford and Jodi Harris, were next, with 5,668 and 5,657 respectively. Because only 2 Democrats can be seated on the 7-person board — the Town Charter limits one party to a bare majority — Harris lost her race.
Republican incumbent Dorrie Hordon retained her seat on the BOE, with 3,020 votes. The second spot went to Andy Frankel (2,866), who beat fellow Republican Michelle Hopson by 44 votes. Kaitlin Zucaro trailed. Write-in candidate Robert Harrington was last, with 300 votes.
Three Democrats — Michael Cammeyer, Bre Injeski and Craig Schiavone — were elected to the Planning & Zoning Commission. Schiavone also ran on the Coalition for Westport line, and was endorsed by the Alliance for Westport.
The Board of Finance was uncontested. Democrats Elaine Whitney and Allyson Stollenwerck, and Republican Brian Gaines, all won seats.
Speaking at a packed Little Barn celebration, Christie said, “This race wasn’t about me and Amy. It was about you.”
Wistreich added, “We’re ready to get to work.”
Christie then fielded a congratulatory call from Governor Ned Lamont.
His first tasks, he told “06880” reporter Catherine Campagnino, will be “spending time with department heads, and meeting with town boards.” He, Wistreich and other officials will be sworn in later this month.
Wistreich said, “This means so much, because I have been working in land use for Westport for 6 years. This means I get to put the shovel in the grond in some of these projects.”
Kevin Christie (center rear) addresses the Democratic crowd, at Little Barn. (Photo/Catherine Campagnino)
O’Day said the results “reflect the will of the people. I wish Kevin well, and I will do whatever I have to to help him out.”
O’Day and Rosenwaks headed to Little Barn, where they spoke with Christie. The conversations were constructive and affable, said Democratic Town Committee chair Michelle Mechanic.
Complete results, including the Representative Town Meeting (RTM), will be posted tomorrow morning.
(Reporting by Dylan Robbin, Catherine Campagnino, Will Enquist and Zara Saliba)