Denied their party’s endorsements for reelection, the Republican first selectmen of Oxford and Plainfield won primaries as challengers Tuesday, while the endorsed Democrats prevailed in Norwalk and Stratford mayoral contests.
In Hamden, challenger Adam Sendroff won the Democratic mayoral nomination with 47% of the vote in a five-way race. Dominique Baez, the party-endorsed candidate, was a distant second with 22%.
Sendroff, the former school board chair, is all but assured of victory in November in heavily Democratic Hamden. He would succeed Mayor Lauren Garrett, a Democrat who did not seek reelection. Baez’ campaign was hit by news of her business being evicted.
In Norwalk, the largest city with a mayoral primary, council president Barbara Smyth defeated fellow council member Darlene Young, becoming the instant favorite to succeed the long-serving Democrat, Mayor Harry Rilling, who did not seek reelection.
In Bridgeport, there is no mayoral race this year, but absentee ballots once again played a decisive role in a Democratic primary: According to Only in Bridgeport, the political website, Councilwoman Maria Pereira won her primary while losing at the polls and winning on the absentees.
Pereira is currently facing criminal charges arising from the alleged abuse of absentee ballots in the 2023 municipal election.
Overall, voters went to the polls in 21 communities for 11 Democratic and 10 Republican primaries. Nominations for either mayor or first selectman were on the ballot in five GOP and four Democratic contests.
The Democratic primaries were in Bloomfield, Bridgeport, Chester, Hamden, New Britain, New Haven, New London, North Haven, Norwalk, Stamford and Stratford.
In addition to the mayoral races in Hamden, Norwalk and Stratford, there was a Democratic primary for first selectman in Chester; the incumbent, Cynthia Lignar, easily defeated her challenger, Joe Cohen.
David Chess, the endorsed Democratic mayoral candidate in Stratford, won with nearly 90% of the vote over Linda Manos for the right to face the Republican mayor, Laura Hoydick, in November.
The GOP races were in Greenwich, Griswold, Haddam, Oxford, Plainfield, Sterling, Thomaston, Voluntown, Waterbury and Wolcott, with the nominations for the chief-elected positions at stake in Oxford, Plainfield, Sterling, Voluntown and Wolcott.
First Selectman George R. Temple of Oxford, who led the community through a devastating flood last year in his seventh term, was stunned to be denied the GOP endorsement in July. Rather than retire at 79, he forced a primary and defeated his former protege, Jeffrey Luff.
Unofficial results showed him winning with 57% of the vote.
Perhaps the quirkiest race of the night was in Plainfield, a small town near the Rhode Island border.
Like Temple, the Republican incumbent, Kevin M. Cunningham, was snubbed in a GOP caucus. But there was a twist: the endorsement went to a Democratic predecessor, Paul E. Sweet, who switched parties.
Cunningham won Tuesday night with 51% of the vote.
In Voluntown, the endorsed Republican, Brian Muschiano, defeated challenger Christopher A. Wilson for first selectman with 61% of the vote. The Republican incumbent, Tracey Hanson, is not running after winning four terms, the last three without opposition.
In nearby Sterling, the endorsed Republican, Myron “Jack” Joslyn, won with 52% in a three-way with Frank Bood Sr. and Kimberly Ann Gunn. Joslyn, a selectman, would step up to succeed First Selectman Lincoln Cooper, who is not running.
In Wolcott, where the unaffiliated mayor, Thomas G. Dunn, has been unopposed in four consecutive races, the GOP challenger, Paul D. D’Angelo defeated James Paolino, 52% to 48%.