New Haven Independent

Like the state of Connecticut, Branford went for Barak Obama, who won 8,016 votes to John McCain’s 5,324. The largest win went to neither presidential candidate nor state office seeker but to Democratic Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro who took in a whopping 10,873 votes. In general, election officials expected a larger turnout. What started off as a bang turned to a whimper by dinner time and the reasons are still being analyzed. Click here to read the official results compiled by Marianne Kelly, the town clerk.

Meyer, 73, won Madison where Suerth lives, although Suerth won his home district within the town by a tiny margin. In all, Meyer won 32,368 votes to Suerth’s 21,502. (This tally includes absentee ballots.) Reed, who represents four of five election districts in Branford, garnered a total of 7,854 votes, more than Meyer received for the same districts.

Meyer, who won his third term in office, represents six towns: Branford, North Branford, Madison, Guilford, Durham and Killingworth. In recent weeks he made inroads with the unaffiliated voters, which make up the majority of voters in these towns.

Voter turnout was high. As the numbers came into his headquarters in Guilford, Meyer began to relax and to smile broadly. Although an incumbent, he took the race seriously. Suerth, 33, was an attractive candidate: enthusiastic, smart, and, like Meyer, a lawyer. He is an Iraq War veteran, but did not face combat; he served as an attorney.

Meyer took Branford by a 2-1 margin. He has been a popular senator. In 2006, Meyer also swept all six towns in his district, including Madison and Killingworth, an election held without benefit of a presidential election. When Branford’s numbers were relayed to Meyer’s campaign headquarters, a whoop and a round of applause moved through the room. When it was clear he had won, Meyer thanked the many workers who helped him in the long campaign and said he would move forward to focus on the key issues Connecticut faces. They center on the economy, the environment and the way education funding affects the shoreline towns he represents.

Hours before the election, Suerth told the Eagle that regardless of how the race ends, he was going to be upbeat. “I have run the best campaign I could have run and I think a lot of people recognize that.”

Both Meyer and Suerth said the key to victory was who would get the unaffiliated to vote their way. The unaffiliated make up the largest category of voters in the 12th Senatorial district.

Meyer said he looks forward to working with Reed who ran unopposed for the 102nd Assembly district in Branford.
Reed, a Democrat and the current chair of the RTM’s education committee, found herself alone on the campaign trail after the Republicans chose not to put up a challenger and Peter Panaroni, who held the post for 10 years, did not primary her or run an independent campaign.

She told the Eagle that she campaigned because she wanted to meet the voters and assess their needs and issues. She is a former investigative reporter and Emmy award winning television documentary producer.

The election numbers obtained today show that Reed received 2,067 votes in the first district, 940 votes in the third district,(Short Beach), 2,938 votes in the 4th district and 996 in the 5th district. Democrat Pat Widlitz, who represents Guilford and District 2 in Stony Creek, which borders on Guilford, received 1,531 votes.

Reed said property tax reform is at the top of voter’s lists. “It is the first thing they say. And when times get tougher, it gets harder.” She said the current economic meltdown globally as well as in the states, including Connecticut, provided “more incentive than ever to seize opportunity from chaos and fear and to take a new look in the way we are functioning in the state.”

“I have built coalitions. If there is any time in history that we need to pull together it is now. We need to get rid of petty distractions, petty stuff, petty politics and pull together and re- envision a new future for Connecticut. We can do it. This is a state that is filled with smart people and people who love this state and love the environment and love their communities. It has a huge history and it is really something we can tap into”

In going door to door in recent weeks, Reed said she has found a group of people who are facing economic difficulties never before encountered.

“I have found a whole constituency of people who never suffered before in terms of economic downturn. Suddenly they are worried about paying heating and electrical costs, paying their taxes, paying their mortgages, holding onto their homes, holding onto their jobs. It is frightening. We know how diverse Branford is. It is not just a lot of wealthy people living along the ribbon on the water; we have a much deeper, more textured population, which we love and which we want to keep….I want to protect the programs that protect the vulnerable as we know them but also the new vulnerable .”

But how will towns fare in this economy? Reed said “we will have to go through the budget line by line. We will review programs. That will be more intense I am guessing. We have a rainy day fund. There is a debate about whether to tap into it or leave it alone.

“I was in Hartford a few days ago talking to people about financial and budget items. The reality is no one knows. We have to go in with a clear sense of our priorities and who needs protecting and what needs to go to top of the list. Federal funds headed our way, headed for our state, we don’t know if they will get here. Certainly we think there may be projects that will be put on hold,” she told the Eagle.

In the end, this was a night for Democrats. Meyer was especially pleased when he won Killingworth, traditionally a Republican town. He had campaigned there a few weeks back, going door to door in a residential trailer park.

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