In a recount Monday, West Haven state Rep. Lou Esposito held onto his seat in the state’s 116th General Assembly district, thanks to a few vital votes from New Haven.
Esposito will be heading back to Hartford with the help of a dozen voters in the Hill, the only part of New Haven he represents.
After redistricting last year, the 116th district covers West Haven and a tiny sliver of 452 registered Democratic voters in the Hill. Esposito captured 12 votes there, and one absentee ballot, at last Tuesday’s primary. He added those to the 535 votes he received in West Haven.
At the end of the night, he was up 11 votes over his challenger, West Haven city councilman David Forsyth, who earned only three votes in the Hill and 534 in West Haven. That margin was small enough to trigger a recount.
The recount took place Monday night and affirmed the initial result, keeping Esposito on top and headed for another term in Hartford, according to the West Haven registrar of voters office.
An election-day visit to Esposito’s constituents in the Hill found he has his work cut out for him to build a name for himself there. Many voters didn’t know who their representative is and had never heard of Esposito.
