Updated: BOE Incumbents Defeated by Republican Candidates; One Dem Wins (Maybe)

The three Democrat incumbents on the Board of Education were defeated in Tuesday's election by their Republican challengers who were running under the "Parents Not Politicians" banner. However Democrat newcomer Heidi Keyes squeaked out an 11 vote win over Republican Artie Kassimis. As a result of the small margin of victory a recount of all of the votes will be required within 10 days.

Board Chairwoman Rosa Murray (D), Amy Jimenez (D) and Shirley Mosby were voted off of the BOE by Norwalk voters. In their place Steve Colarossi (R), Sue Haynie (R), and Erin Halsey (R) were elected to four year terms.

Here are the numbers (an example of how every vote counts!):

* Steve Colarossi 6,671 votes
* Sue Haynie 6,400 votes
* Erin Halsey 5,947 votes
* Heidi Keyes 5,908 votes
* Artie Kassimis 5,897 votes
* Amy Jimenez 5,486 votes
* Rosa Murray 5,469 votes
* Shirley Mosby 4,597 votes

Democrats were also defeated in other city contests including mayor and several common council seats. The poor results for the party was attributed to voter dissatisfaction at the existing BOE candidates. "The driver of the election was on the back of the ballot," said a senior Democrat explaining the day's results.

Democrats gathered at a vacant store on North Main Street to watch the election results come in. As they milled about eating pizza and fried chicken, the mood turned gloomy as the results were announced.

"This is bad for the city," said Galen W. Wells, District E Chair. "There will be no minorities elected on to the board, and with Republicans you can expect to see cuts in the budget that will affect services."

None of BOE candidates would comment on the outcome.

In contrast, the Republicans gathered at a ballroom in the Norwalk Inn and a cash bar was was in full swing.

The "Parents Not Politicians" candidates were heartily congratulated by Mayor Richard Moccia who was in a jubilant mood having been re-elected himself.

Sue Haynie (R) said that the election showed that voters thought that it was, "a time for change."

Steve Colarossi an Independent who was endorsed by the Republicans said that he was eager to begin working. When asked how he would approach forming the 2010 school year budget he said that he and his colleagues would first look for efficiencies and then look for "administrator bloat and waste." He said that there may also be "better ways of doing things" referring to the school district's current approach to special education which involves $400,000 being budgeted towards legal fees.

Mr. Colarossi also said that the new BOE would have to decide how to provide interim leadership for the school district if a new superintendent cannot be found before Dr. Papallo has to leave in December. He said that the current Board's delay in hiring a search firm was "egregious." He suggested that an outside administrator would have to be brought in if there was money for that, or the Board would consider using the assistant superintendent as a fill-in.

Mr. Colarossi also acknowledged that the lack of minority representation on the BOE was a problem, but he also believed that individuals who used this argument overlooked his own background. He said that his children, adopted from Kazakhstan, were minorities.

"It's not a color issue, it's a kid issue," said Sue Haynie when asked about minority representation on the Board. "We are working for all the kids of Norwalk."

Fred Wilms, a member of the Republican Town Council's executive board said that he had tried to recruit some non-White candidates but they would not cross party lines and run as Republicans.

Erin Halsey (R) said, "I'm really excited to get to work. This ticket is great because we bring different things to the table. For example, I'm not a budget person. My strength is communication, and I want to advocate for kids who don't have anyone to advocate for them."