Generators Ready To Keep Branford Polls Open

Town officials are taking firm steps to ensure that Branford voters will be able to cast their ballots as usual on Tuesday, despite the havoc caused by Superstorm Sandy.

“No matter what, election day is going to happen,” said Branford Town Clerk Marianne Kelly.

First Selectman Anthony ​“Unk” DaRos echoed her words, saying ​“We are having an election, no matter what.” He told the Eagle that voters will vote in their districts, in the same buildings they have cast ballots in the past. 

“It is much easier for us to have the polling place where it belongs. On such short notice you could not notify the people of an alternative. It would be impossible. What we did and we worked it out with the registrars of voters is that no matter what the power situation is we are having this election. And we will have it in the buildings we normally do it in “

Some of the voting places, including St. Therese’s Church at 101 Leetes Island Rd., which serves District 2 in Stony Creek, were without power Thursday and contingency plans are under way for Election Day if power is not restored to the Creek. 

“We are bringing in enough generators to run the voting machines and if need be the lights. We will also have space heaters if we need them,” DaRos said in an interview. ​“We need to keep the volunteers and the staff warm. They have to sit there from 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.to run the voting operation. This is our contingency.” 

Kelly told the Eagle Thursday that is indeed the plan if electricity isn’t completely restored. ​“It’s business as usual,” she said. ​“We will not be changing polling places.”

Click here for a list of polling locations. 

VOTER REGISTRATION EXTENDED

Because of the storm, the deadline for voter registration statewide was extended until 8 p.m. Thursday. Branford residents could register at the clerk’s office or at the registrars’ office. Kelly said people were waiting in line to register when she arrived at work Thursday. ​“We’ve been inundated all day.”

At 6 p.m. Thursday, voters were lining up at the counter in the clerk’s office to fill out their registration form.

Anthony DeLucia was on line with his daughter, Cara, a freshman at Branford High. (Top photo) He told the Eagle that in the last year he had moved from New Haven to Branford. He wanted very much to vote, he said.

“There is a political process that is extremely important. It is a wonderful thing and I want my daughter to see it,” he said.

Marion Burkard, the Republican Registrar of Voters, was at a computer in the clerk’s office. As soon as a registration was completed and reviewed, it was given to Burkard, who entered the information into the computer and onto the voting rolls. ​“It’s been very steady,” she said of the voter registration turnout Thursday night. Burkard’s Democratic counterpart, Dan Hally, was at their Kirkham Street offices registering voters there.

“We are putting their names in as fast as we can. We are trying to stay ahead of it,” she told the Eagle. .

She said discussions had taken place about what would happen if voting places did not have power back in time for Tuesday’s election. ​“Everything looks good right now. We don’t want any more storms.”

Election officials are expecting a heavy turnout because of the presidential race. ​“People come out of the woodwork for presidential elections,” Kelly said. She noted a steady stream of absentee ballots arriving daily at her office, which is often the case in a presidential election year. 

During the presidential race in 2008, the total voter turnout in Branford was 15,273, with Barack Obama taking 9,062 votes and John McCain taking 5,906. Of the registered voters in Branford, Democrats typically outnumber Republicans by a 2 – 1 margin, but the largest block is unaffiliated. 

In addition to the presidential race, Branford has two local races — - a state representative in the 102nd District, and a state senator in the 12th District.

State Rep. Pat Widlitz (D‑98th District), who represents Guilford and a portion of Branford, is running unopposed.

102ND DISTRICT

Incumbent State Rep. Lonnie Reed (D) is seeking her third term in the 102nd District, which includes most of Branford. Her Republican challenger is Lori Fogler Nicholson.

During a recent debate, the candidates expressed markedly different opinions about the role of government in attracting business to the state. Reed said the state should take the lead in courting business and industry, especially in target areas where there are existing clusters. Nicholson said government should get out of the way of business and create a business-friendly climate that would spawn growth from the ground up.

The candidates discussed their views during a debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters. The debate was filmed at the BCTV studio in Branford and is being aired on the public access station.  Questions were posed by Marcia Chambers, editor of the Branford Eagle; Pam Johnson, a reporter for The Sound; and Jennifer Swift, a reporter for the New Haven Register.

The business discussion was sparked by a question about whether Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s life science initiative is the best way to help Branford businesses.

“This is only one of the sectors we’re trying to energize,” said Reed, who is a member of the governor’s Life Sciences Advisory Group. “This is something we’re really good at in Connecticut. When you take a look at who we really are, we are precision manufacturing, we are life sciences, we have several other categories we excel at, and we have quite frankly been out hustled in past years.” 

Reed spoke about how she worked with state and local leaders to help bring Durata Therapeutic Inc. to Branford, a move which will create 80 jobs and a potential for additional growth. The governor announced in September that the state will provide up to $2.25 million in grants to Durata to support relocating its company from New Jersey to Branford.

Nicholson said she disagreed with the methodology in the governor’s life sciences initiative. “Not that we can’t be a biogen hub, but I don’t really believe in a top-down economic plan,” she said. “You cannot establish what’s called a cluster zone when one doesn’t exist already.”

Nicholson said she has a reverse plan that would be a more organic approach. “We should start from the bottom up and if you create a business climate, the environment and the soil …things will seed on their own.” She said clusters can’t be engineered from the top down.

Reed disagreed, saying. “I think we’ve had a cluster for quite awhile. We just haven’t talked about a cluster. And that is one of the things that is really upsetting to me as a business woman who has to go out and hustle. We have not in the state hustled for years. And we haven’t blown our own horn for years. We have clusters. ….we have lots of bio-sciences right here in Branford.”

REED’S BACKGROUND

Reed served three terms on Branford’s Representative Town Meeting (RTM) prior to running for the state legislature. She has served two terms in the House of Representatives, where she was appointed vice chair of the Energy and Technology Committee.

Reed is co-chair of the legislature’s Long Island Sound Caucus, and is a member of the bipartisan Shoreline Preservation Task Force. She was selected as a 2012 Henry Toll Fellow, one of 40 leaders nationwide who were chosen for the program.

Prior to entering politics, Reed was an award-winning investigative journalist and documentary producer, having won four Emmy Awards.  She was a television news anchor at WFSB in Hartford and WNEW in New York. She owns her own television production and filmmaking company, LRP Inc. She has written, produced or directed projects for television networks including NBC, The History Channel, and A&E.

Click here to read her campaign website.

Nicholson has been a professional singer and songwriter most of her life. She performed in five USO tours, entertaining military troops overseas from 1981 through 1997.

She graduated in 2011 from Southern Connecticut State University with a degree in political science. During her college years, she served a two-year legislative internship with State Rep. Diana Urban (D-Stonington). 

Nicholson told the Eagle she was formerly an Independent, but joined the Democratic Party when Hillary Clinton ran for the presidency. However, Nicholson said she became disenchanted with the Democratic Party during her internship in Hartford and then joined the Republican Party because she believes it is more fiscally conservative. She waged an unsuccessful run in 2011 for the Board of Education on the Republican ticket. 

Nicholson is a member of the Education Committee of the Branford Early Childhood Collaborative, and serves as chair of the Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter Commission.

Click here to read about the platform on her campaign Web site.

NICHOLSON’S FAMILY BUSINESS

During the debate, Nicholson labeled herself as a job creator based on her family’s business history. “I come from a family history of 50 years of entrepreneurship and job creation,” she said. 

In response to a question about how to increase jobs, Nicholson said, “I would definitely lean on my background in precision manufacturing” She talked about her cousin’s business, Stevens Manufacturing Inc. in Milford, which supplies parts to Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.

Nicholson told the Eagle that although she never worked at the company, she learned a lot about the business world. “You don’t get something for nothing. Everything takes hard work,” she said. “Government does not create jobs, people create jobs,” she said. Recently Stevens Manufacturing announced new jobs as a result of a government contract. 

Nicholson later said, “I have 50 years of business history in this state as a job creator.” She did not explain what jobs she has created.

When later asked by the Eagle about her connection to the family business, Nicholson explained that her late uncle Stephen Fogler Sr. and his wife founded the company, and that her father was one of the co-partners. The business is now run by her cousin and his wife. Nicholson told the Eagle that although she never worked at the company, she learned a lot about the business world.

Reed said she has a history of job creation and of supporting the business community.  “I’ve actually hired people and I have people working for me. And I have for many, many years.” 

Reed was recently endorsed by the Connecticut Business and Industry Association (CBI A), which is the largest business and industry association in the state. She has also been endorsed by the environmental and education communities.

“I’m proud of my voting record,” Reed said during the debate. “I’m very pro-jobs and I’m very pro-business and I’m very into negotiating with the business community in terms of how to create laws that help them and programs that help them.”

12th SENATE DISTRICT

Incumbent Democratic Sen. Edward Meyer is being challenged by Republican Cindy Cartier in the 12th District, which includes six towns: Branford, Durham, Guilford, Killingworth, Madison and North Branford. 

Meyer, who is seeking a fifth consecutive term, is chair of the Senate environment committee which he describes as “a real joy for me.” In a previous interview, he described major changes he has fought for and won in the areas of open space, the quality of the state’s waterways and air quality.

He continues to press for jobs in Connecticut and lauded the governor’s commitment to growing jobs, including the move of Jackson Labs to the state. “We needed to take a chance, so we invested in this. It is for better jobs and for our health.”

He earned his undergraduate and law degrees from Yale University. His first foray into politics was in 1970 when he was elected to the New York State Assembly. He also served 23 years on the New York Board of Regents.

See his legislative Web site.

Cartier currently serves on the board of selectmen in Guilford, and previously served on Guilford’s Board of Education. She has 20 years experience as an attorney, primarily in the insurance industry. She received a bachelor’s degree from Upsala College and her law degree from Widener Law School.

In a previous interview with the Eagle, she described herself as socially liberally but fiscally conservative.  She said that under Republican leadership, Guilford has finally implemented a long-range capital planning plan and reduced costs without sacrificing services. She ran against Widlitz two years ago for State Representative and lost.

See her Web site. A debate between Meyer and Cartier is being aired on BCTV.

Marcia Chambers contributed reporting for this story.

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