By LISA CAPOBIANCO
STAFF WRITER
Last Tuesday marked a victory for Bristol Republicans, who retained the 77th and 78th District House seats as well as the 31st District State Senate seat.
According to unofficial results from the Connecticut Secretary of State’s Office, Republican incumbent Henri Martin won the 31st District State Senate seat with a total of
13,668 votes in Bristol. He defeated Democratic opponent Mike Nicastro, who received 11,487 votes in Bristol.
The 31st District includes Bristol, Plainville, Harwinton, Thomaston and Plymouth.
The owner/broker of Henri Martin Real Estate, Martin thanked Bristol taxpayers, encouraging them to continue contacting him about any issue.
“Their ideas and their input have made me a better state senator,” said Martin, a former Bristol City Councilor. “I enjoy helping people and I will never forget that I work for them.”
For Nicastro, running for the state senate seat was something he welcomed because of his experience. A former president of the Central Connecticut Chambers of Commerce, Nicastro currently works as principal of his consulting firm, Coppermine Advisors, LLC and is an adjunct professor at Central Connecticut State University.
“Someone came to me and asked if I would consider it. I considered it because I think we have a lot of problems in Hartford. These are complex issues, and they require people who have experience well beyond that of the experience that could be handled within the four corners of the city of Bristol,” said Nicastro, adding that he had a wonderful team of people who were dedicated and hard working. “But…the people voted. They want something different to occur. I respect the vote. For me, I’ve moved back onto what I do best, which is growing companies and creating good things for those companies.”
Now that the election is over, Nicastro plans to focus on clients of Coppermine. He also has an opportunity to become the permanent CEO of a technology company in New Haven. For the past six to seven years, Nicastro served on the company’s Board of Directors, and most recently served as its interim CEO.
“There’s a lot going on, and those are the things I have a lot of passion for and I love,” said Nicastro, adding that he does not plan to run again in two years, but will help out behind the scenes.
During his second term, Martin said he will continue working to “control wasteful government spending and borrowing” while eliminating “burdensome unfunded mandates on businesses and municipalities” and fighting “to defeat any and all tax hike attempts.” He also hopes to protect funding for Bristol Hospital and services for Connecticut’s most vulnerable residents.
“We will put our state on a path toward long-term, predictable, sustainable economic growth. I will work with any legislator and taxpayer to accomplish that goal,” said Martin.
This goal also was echoed among Whit Betts, who retained the 78th District House seat.
Elected to the 78th District since 2010, Betts received a total of 3,167 votes, defeating Democratic opponent Krystal Myers, who received 2,259 votes.
“This is a real opportunity for real, strong, commonsense to be applied, which has been sorely lacking over the last ten years,” said Betts, adding how energized he feels to be re-elected.
Republican incumbent Cara Pavalock, who retained the 77th District House seat, received a total of 5,728 votes, defeating Democratic candidate Laura Bartok, who received 5,049 votes.
Jeff Caggiano, chairperson of the Bristol Republican Town Committee, said the magnitude of the incumbents’ victory was a mandate and appreciation for the job they have done.
“Clearly our fiscal conservative message has built a sustained momentum over the past three election cycles,” said Caggiano, adding how apprehension quickly turned into a real celebration on election night. “Although we have a healthy and diverse mix of social views within our party, we clearly have centered around the theme of trying to make government more efficient and business friendly.”
Caggiano added how Myers paid a personal visit to Nuchie’s on election night to concede and congratulate her opponent.
“That was a classy move and highlights the character and quality of so many in our town that step forward to give back to the community,” sad Caggiano.
Dean Kilbourne, chairperson of the Bristol Democratic Town Committee, said Nicastro, Bartok and Myers all “worked tirelessly” to get their message out, knocking on thousands of doors.
“We accept the outcome. Now our elected officials must be held accountable,” said Kilbourne. “We hope that they will all work together with their colleagues in Hartford, across party lines and with our governor to put Bristol first.”
Expressing gratitude for getting to know her hometown even better for the past ten months, Bartok said she was proud of the campaign she ran and wished the entire Bristol delegation the best.
“We came close in what seems to have been a really tough year for Democrats, even if in the end we did not come out ahead, said Bartok, who thanked voters and those who volunteered their time throughout her campaign. “I’m not sure what is next for me, but I’m not planning on going anywhere. I’m certainly not looking at this as a waste of time or effort, and I want to make sure I want to take some time to reflect on the campaign—what worked, what didn’t, personal strengths and weaknesses that were highlighted, etc. Outside of that, I’ll weigh my options and see what opportunities present themselves.”
Meanwhile, Bristol Democrats retained their seat for the 79th District House seat, which was up for grabs this year. Their candidate, Chris Ziogas, won with a total of 4,785 votes, defeating Republican opponent Peter Del Mastro, who received 4,031 votes.
Although the election results were disappointing, said Kilbourne, his party was happy to see a Democrat return to the 79th District where Frank Nicastro was a “champion” for his constituents while holding that seat over the last 10 years.
“Chris Ziogas will continue that fight. The 79th is a Democratic stronghold,” said Kilbourne. “Chris has wide name recognition with a large and well respected family. He has also served his community for years in various roles.”
A former City Councilor who also previously served on the Board of Finance, Ziogas said he looks forward to represent Bristol at the capitol where he hopes to bring economic growth to the city in any way he can.
“I had history with Bristol. I was raised here,” said Ziogas. “A lot of people recognized that I had a prior service to Bristol.”
Although coming in second was not the result he was hoping for, Del Mastro said he was pleased to have garnered 46 percent of the vote in a “very blue Legislative District that has not seen a Republican incumbent for decades.”
Now that the election is over, Del Mastro said he plans to take some time off settling back into a less hectic phase of retired life.
“I thought Chris Ziogas and I both ran campaigns that focused on issues,” said Del Mastro, adding how he was struck by many struggling senior citizens he met while campaigning. “We were two very different candidates with very difference agendas. Chris focused on what he wants to do for Bristol; I focused on the problems facing Connecticut and my solutions for fixing them.”
Caggiano said he was proud of the effort and passion that Del Mastro brought to the race.
“Pete knocked on 2,600 doors and closed the margin of victory by over 300 votes from two years ago,” said Caggiano. “Most importantly, Pete’s efforts ‘paved’ the way for Henri Martin to win victories in these precincts. The message of restoring fiscal stability and jobs in Connecticut definitely aided in the gains, but as is often the case in local races, name recognition can trump message and effort.”
After a contested race on the national level, Republican President-elect Donald Trump and running mate, Mike Pence, won Bristol with 12,752 votes, while Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton and running mate Tim Kaine, won 12,499 votes in Bristol.
Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson and running mate Bill Weld, won 734 votes in Bristol, while Green party candidate Jill Stein and running mate Ajamu Baraka won 436 votes in Bristol.
Although Republicans took the majority in the U.S. Senate and Congress, Connecticut’s Democratic incumbents retained their seats. Democratic incumbent Richard Blumenthal, who received 15,353 votes in Bristol, defeated Republican opponent Dan Carter, who received 9,185 votes in Bristol.
Democratic incumbent John Larson, who received 14,045 votes in Bristol, retained his seat in Congress, defeating Republican opponent Matthew Corey, who received 10,058 votes in Bristol.
This year’s ballot in Bristol also included Democratic registrar of voters, Kevin McCauley and Republican registrar of voters, Sharon Krawiecki. McCauley received 12,022 votes, and Krawiecki received 12,370 votes.
In addition, all three referendum questions passed among voters, including one that asked whether elected officials must remain residents in their districts during their term of office. Ballot questions two and three proposed expanding the area in which city police and fire chiefs must live. Previously, Bristol’s charter required police and fire chiefs to be Bristol residents within six months of being appointed. The first part of ballot question two proposed to eliminate a police chief candidate’s written and oral exam, as well as the police board evaluation.
Democrat Chris Ziogas, right, won the open seat in the 79th district, beating Republican Pete Del Mastro. Ziogas was campaigning outside of Greene-Hills School last Tuesday.