As reported last night, Kevin Christie and Amy Wistreich led a commanding Democratic sweep in this year’s town elections.
The 1st and 2nd selectperson candidates earned 53% of the vote, in a 3-way race. Democrats also retain control of all town boards.
Click here for last night’s story.
Turnout was near 50% — high for a local Westport election. In 2021 — the last Board of Selectpersons race — 43% of eligible voters cast ballots.
Below are the final results. Though all votes have been counted, the results have not yet been certified as official. Winning candidates are in bold.
1st and 2nd Selectpersons
Kevin Christie, Amy Wistreich – D (4,947 votes; 52.84%)
Don O’Day, Andrea Moore – R (3,256; 34.59%)
David Rosenwaks – I (1,184; 12.58%)
Board of Finance
Elaine Whitney – D (6,262)
Allyson Stollenwerck – D (6,101)
Brian Gaines – R (4,201)
Board of Education*
Abby Tolan – D (5,951)
Stephen Shackelford – D (5,668)
Jodi Harris – D(5,657)
Dorie Hordon – R (3,020)
Andy Frankel – R (2,866)
Michelle Hopson – R (2,822)
Kaitlin Zucaro – R (2,560)
Robert Harrington – R (300)
* Because one party can have only a bare majority on the Board of Education, Jodi Harris will not be seated.
Planning & Zoning Commission
Craig Schiavone – D, CFW (6,654)
Michael Cammeyer – D (5,757)
Breanne Injeski – D (5,489)
Michele Paquette – R (3,860)
Zoning Board of Appeals
Sheri Gordon – D (6,190)
Joseph Scordato – D (5,428)
Scott Schuster – R (3,298)
Board of Assessment Appeals
Ifeseyi Gayle – D (5,361)
Lynette Pineda – D (5,798)
Thomas Bloch – R (3,336)
RTM District 1
Chris Tait (497)
Matthew Mandell (488)
Kristin Mott Purcell (460)
Gail Coykendall (408)
Andrew Bloom (398)
RTM District 2
Jenna Petok (477)
Melissa Levy (434)
Louis Mall (424)
Jay Keenan (345)
Mike Perry (330)
Harris Falk (298)
RTM District 3
Jimmy Izzo (502)
Pamela Troy-Kopack (395)
Adam Drake (359)
Ross Burkhardt (357)
Srikanth Puttagunta (312)
RTM District 4
Andrew Colabella (491)
Jeffrey Wieser (447)
Charles Lucas (374)
Victoria Wylie (317)
Clarence Hayes (300)
RTM District 5
Dick Lowenstein (480)
Peter Gold (469)
Karen Kramer (458)
Claudia Shaum (445)
RTM District 6
Candace Banks (584)
Lauren Karpf (561)
Seth Braunstein (548)
Alma Sarelli (488)
RTM District 7
Brandi Briggs (533)
Ellen Lautenberg Hendel (517)
Jack Klinge (494)
Joseph Carson (445)
RTM District 8
Josh Newman (584)
Jill Grayson (503)
Wendy Goldwyn Batteau (499)
Rachel Steel Cohn (487)
RTM District 9
Nancy Kail (499)
Addison Moore (495)
Jennifer Johnson (473)
Kristin Schneeman (450)
Sal Liccione (447)
Rachel Precious (346)
1st and 2nd selectpersons-elect: Kevin Christie and Amy Wistreich.
Congrats to all the elected officials and thanks to all individuals that put themselves out there to offer their time to our community.
Congrats to all winners. Yet again 06880 was and is the best resource for election info. Can we start fresh with all these new people that we all focus on local needs and issues and stop bickering and protesting on national politics. Lets keep divisive protests off the bridge. Our core issues are traffic, overbuilding, schools, parking, high school facilities and town fields. Lets set an example for the nation and leave national mess to other towns. From my experience 90+% of the people in this beautiful town like each other, help each other, and genuinely care for others in need. Lets go!!!
Adam, with all due respect, public protest against government policy and actions is in the list of the most American acts I can think of. Sweeping important issues, national or otherwise, under the rug in the name of unity is un-American and counter productive to building a better town and nation.
Well John, while Westport issues have only gotten worse around the topics i mentioned, we are wasting time on protests that accomplish nothing but continued division for our community. Yes our Veterans fought for that freedom and i am not against it, i am merely suggesting lets keep our eye on the ball and fix local issues we can control rather than national issues we cannot.
Perhaps we can do both. I think we can.
national issues affect local issues. Anyone suggesting to hush protests is supporting the republican platform. Last night was a repudiation of Trump
yes it was.
Thats a stupid comment, you are exactly why we have silly back and forth vitriol in westport. The generalization of republicans hush protests is insane. If we put as much passion into fixing traffic and school facilities and athletic fields and parking and building/construction, we would accomplish far more, than the time spent in every comment section passive aggressively creating party warfare.
FOX NEWS admitted that there was a Trump factor in the Republican Party’s loses last night. Promises made; promises kept … and I saw Trump live on Bloomberg this morning blaming Biden and saying everything will be alright with the economy!
Adam, to be fair, you kicked things off today by asking us to stop “bickering and protesting on national politics. Lets keep divisive protests off the bridge.” Have there been Republican led protests on the bridge lately? Ever?
So your comments do appear to be attacking the largely Democrat-led protests. It does seem like you are also a prime player in what you call the game of “passive aggressively creating party warfare.” Own it.
I will tell you what I own. I own being involved in a number of philanthropies around this town to help all kinds of people. I coached many sports. I volunteer on different boards and booster clubs and town initiatives to make this town better. We are a mostly democratic town and thats great, which, by numbers leads to more democratic events. I have voted on both sides and look for the doers with pure intentions. There has been no shortage of assaults on both parties, generalizing each personally because of one’s political affiliation. My point is simple and not based on who had recent events. I was making a statement, hoping that we can focus on the things that we can change in our town that take priority and leave the national noise to other towns. That applies to left, right, up and down.
“… leave the national noise to other towns.”? You’ve got to be kidding! That is anti-American and a host of other negative things.
PLEASE say you don’t mean that.
Adam I wish to affirm your right to state your position about national politics and how divisive they are. But I will continue to exercise my right to protest weekly on the bridge. We CAN chew gum and walk, working both local and national issues as we see fit. The loyal weekly protestors (about 25 of us) feel strongly about our position on the national issues, but as a community a number of us are involved locally. I am actively involved in the community, and one example is working the last five elections as a poll worker. I volunteer in a number of local causes, including serving as the president of the Greens Farms Association. I do not see my devotion to the weekly protest on the Ruth Steinkraus bridge as detracting from my efforts to serve this wonderful town.
The rally on Jesup Green and the bridge on October 18 was one of the most joyful, unifying rallies I’ve been to. It was gratifying to know the citizens of Westport, and Connecticut, were among 7 million people across the USA coming together in peace and love. That day was an inflection point, I hope, for Westport and the country to return to a time of compassionate, lawful democratic governance. Our election results were an outcome of this ongoing unifying experience.
This is the Westport I love.
Thanks, Dan, for your coverage of all candidates throughout the election and for hosting several debates.
Congratulations to my Board of Education colleagues on your election victories — Kevin on becoming First Selectman, and Abby and Dorie on retaining your seats. I have been lucky to sit beside all three of you.
Congratulations as well to Stephen and Andy, our two new BOE members.
I am disappointed that Jodi won’t be joining the board — she would have been excellent, and she came so close.
It was a humbling result for me. I’d like to thank everyone who came out to vote yesterday. I have truly loved serving on the Board of Education for the past four years — it has been both an honor and a privilege, and I will miss it deeply. Thank you, Westport.
One race I likely did win was taking down all my campaign signs last night and again early this morning before catching the train to NYC. If I missed any, please let me know — robertharrington13@icloud.com or 203-916-2654.
Thank you.
— Robert
Bet you will be back, Robert, let alone continuing to contribute even without an official role.
Awesome work on your signs, based on what I’ve just seen out on the roads.
Congratulations to all the winners! I am very proud of you all. I am excited for what is to come. A blue wave indeed.
I want to thank David Rosenwanks for standing strong, belief in a third party, independence, and commitment to Westporters. He is an example of the kind of human we need in more leadership roles.
As always, Dan, thank you for all you continue to do and do so tirelessly well. Just wondering, do you ever sleep?
Thanks, Jo. And because Westport seldom sleeps … I try not to!
To all the winners, Westport emerged victorious. To all the runners, you put up an excellent campaign, particularly Don and Andrea. We’ve witnessed Kevin and Don collaborating effectively, and I have no doubt that with Don’s institutional knowledge and experience, the entire town will be in capable hands for the next four years.
I’m delighted to finally not be the youngest anymore. It’s about time someone stepped up and channeled their passion and dedication to their town.
Addison, welcome to the community!
However, District 4 now has two 36-year-olds and one 37-year-old. It’s a young district. Charlie and Victoria, welcome to the show as well!
To all the newcomers and those switching boards, your town employees are here to provide you with all the primary and scholarly data you need. They are experts backed by educational and institutional knowledge that will save you time, guide you, and help you as representatives of the public make informed decisions. Be mindful and respectful.
Congratulations to all the winners. Thank you to EVERYONE who threw their hat in the race and ran.
One very notable issue is that voters, by a nearly two-to-one ratio, indicated that they wanted Jodi Harris (D -5,657) to represent them at the BOE, over the next highest Republican vote getter, Dorie Hordon (R -3,020).
It seems pretty undemocratic that someone who loses by nearly a 2 to 1 ratio benefits from a guaranteed seat, despite voter opposition, simply because that person ran from an unpopular party that advocates for things that Westport voters say they don’t want.
At some point, maybe Westport should rethink and amend its system of guaranteeing each major party a minimum of three local board seats in elections. We don’t guarantee party seats at the state or national level, and never have!!! Why should we as a town value a party over ideas and individual merit?
Elections should be open and fair and based on merit. It should be a free and fair vote based on a competition of ideas. If one party’s ideas are so bad that even their best candidate loses by a nearly 2 to 1 ratio, how is that a merit-based system? For a party (the GOP) that is anti-DEI, it certainly appears that the local Republican Party is benefitting from affirmative action for people with radical or antiquated ideas, which most Westport voters have said they don’t want.
That ‘guaranteed-seats-for- local-Republicans’ approach may no longer be relevant or appropriate, when one party has become the “Party of Trump,” which most Westport voters have repeatedly voted to demonstrate–year after year, election after election, that they simply do not want here.
“the local Republican Party is benefitting from affirmative action for people with radical or antiquated ideas,”
Lol, a trophy for everyone….
Kris – I could not agree with you more on this issue. The vote difference was staggering. (And I say that as someone who got more crushed that anyone!). The current rules are obviously the rules – but it seems massively undemocratic for Jodi not to be seated given she got 2791 more votes than the person in 4th place. I think Westport should relook at this.
Unless I am very much mistaken, this is State Law, not part of the Town Charter.
https://www.cga.ct.gov/2019/pub/chap_146.htm#sec_9-167a
As I see it, you are correct.
State law is correct, as you can see through the link. But state law says the maximum of one party on a 7-member board is 5 members, as shown. Westport Town Charter threshold is different: a bare majority, or 4 members.