Chatfield wins 18th term as Prospect’s mayor

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Mayor Robert Chatfield, center, enjoys the company of friends and family as he waits for election results Tuesday night. Chatfield was elected to this 18th term in office.

PROSPECT — Incumbent Republican Mayor Robert Chatfield swept into his 18th term in office Tuesday night, defeating challenger Anthony Dorso.

Forty-four percent of voters turned out to held usher Chatfield back into to office. Chatfield defeated Dorso by an unofficial count of 2,025 to 886.

“I’m very happy with Mayor Chatfield and that’s who I voted for,” said Prospect resident Pamela Wright as she headed out of the polls.

Chatfield started his 35th year in office on Monday. He is the longest-serving chief elected official in Connecticut.

Following his win, Chatfield addressed a small crowd of supporters, including many family members.

“I want to thank all the people who campaigned for me and with me,” Chatfield said. “I’m not going to change. I’m going to be the same Bob Chatfield I’ve always been.”

Chatfield said, however, he would have to work a little harder in his next term because media organizations have accused him of slowing down.

There’s no chance of that happening any time soon, Chatfield said.

“I’ll be the energizer bunny,” he said.

Chatfield said his biggest challenge in his next term will be helping Region 16 to get an affordable replacement for Community and Algonquin Schools. He said he would push to make sure the new school, which is going to referendum in early December, has a generator. If last week’s snow storm had come a month later, Chatfield said, it could have been a disaster.

Dorso, an unaffiliated candidate endorsed by the Democratic party, didn’t have much to say after the votes were tallied.

“It is what it is,” he said.

Dorso ran on a campaign of increasing transparency, decreasing town spending and taxes, and working closer with Region 16. He was unsure whether he would run again.

“Right now, I need to focus on my new baby coming in April,” he said.

As usual, Chatfield ushered the entire Republican ticket in behind him. He said Democrats haven’t won an election since he took office in 1977.

“I would like to think I had something to do with that,” Chatfield said.

He said voters value his hard work and continuous availability.

“They appreciate what I do. They know what I stand for,” Chatfield said.