Voters back Chatfield for 19th term

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Republican Mayor Robert Chatfield, right, and his wife, Ginny, listen as election results are announced Tuesday night at Community School in Prospect. Chatfield was reelected for a 19th term. –LUKE MARSHALL
Republican Mayor Robert Chatfield, right, and his wife, Ginny, listen as election results are announced Tuesday night at Community School in Prospect. Chatfield was reelected for a 19th term. –LUKE MARSHALL

 

PROSPECT — Republican Mayor Robert Chatfield toppled both his opponents Tuesday to win his 19th straight term in office.

Chatfield, who received 2,293 votes, beat Democratic challenger Louis Booth, who received 354 votes, and Louis Mirabelle, a Democrat who petitioned his way onto the ballot and received 182 votes.

“I thank the people for their support. I thank the taxpayers, my family, the voters and especially the workers who have been here since 5 this morning,” Chatfield said after the results announced.

Chatfield, 70, is a lifetime resident of Prospect and has been mayor since 1977.

Leading up to the election Chatfield said he has faced a few severe storms in the past three years that he hadn’t seen in all his previous years as mayor. After being reelected, Chatfield reiterated the fact that he was preparing the town for the possibility of an upcoming storm.

“I’ll sit down and talk with my public works guy, Gene McCarthy. We’re still getting ready for winter. We had all of our sand delivered,” Chatfield said.

Chatfield said he will be back in the office at 5 a.m. Wednesday, ready to take on the job that the residents voted him to do.

“The people in town have confidence in me. I’m very humbled by that fact,” Chatfield said. “The town will stay the course. I’m just going to keep working and be available.”

Incumbent Republican Town Council Chairman Tom Galvin, who was reelected, said he was pleased with the outcome of the vote.

“We’re obviously very happy that everyone on the [Republican] ticket won and won convincingly. I think it was basically a conformation from the people in Prospect that they liked the way things are going and kept everybody in place,” Galvin said.

With the election behind him Galvin said he has already turned his thoughts to creating the best possible budget for the town.

“The budget season starts just after the last one finished. So we’ll be looking at trying to do our budget and we’ll keep it as lean as possible. We’re looking forward to managing our costs and hoping that the winter cooperates with us,” Galvin said.

Republican incumbent council members Stanley Pilat, Douglas Merriman and Jeffrey Slapikas were all reelected. Republican newcomer Alexander Delelle was also elected to the council.

Democratic incumbents Theresa Cocchiola-Graveline, Carl Graveline and Patricia Sullivan Geary were all reelected to the council, as was Democratic newcomer Carla Perugini-Erickson.

Incumbent Republican Region 16 Board of Education members Robert Hiscox and Nazih Noujaim were running unopposed and both reelected to a four-year seat on the board.

Republican political newcomer Roxann Vaillancourt beat Democratic political newcomer Larry Fitzgerald for a two-year seat on the school board to fill a vacancy.

“I’m just thrilled. I’m thrilled to be here, I’m thrilled to have gotten the votes. I had absolutely no idea how it was going to turn out tonight,” Vaillancourt said.

Incumbents Town Clerk M. Carrie Anderson, Town Treasurer David Young and Tax Collector Diane Lauber, all Republicans, were each reelected.

See election results here.