Politics & Government
Democrats come a long way in one year
Chairman Aaron Zimmer directs municipal election sweep
By Scott Benjamin
BROOKFIELD – Sitting in the Dunkin Donuts near the pocket park in Brookfield Town Center on November 13, 2022, a week after the midterm elections, Aaron Zimmer said his goal was to make the local Democratic Party more active in town.
Zimmer, who only had moved to Brookfield from New York City a year earlier, cited two consecutive subpar campaigns.
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He said the Brookfield Democrats appeared unprepared when the large “It’s Time For Tara” signs were posted in 2021 as Republican Tara Carr climbed the charts and unseated three-term Democratic First Selectman Steve Dunn by 218 votes.
Zimmer complained that Democratic Zoning Commission member Phoebe Holmes had little assistance as she had just lost to Republican former First Selectman Marty Foncello in the 107th state House District, which includes all of Brookfield.
Find out what's happening in Brookfieldfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
He talked of getting Democrats to attend more events and interact with a larger swath of voters. He said that has been the Republican formula. The Democrats already had established a reading group.
However, it appeared that defeating Carr might be a tall order.
She has an impressive resume: 25 years in the U.S. Army, three college degrees and an appearance in a reality-based television show.
Brookfield Republican Town Committee Chairman George Blass said in 2021 that when she greeted people for the first time, she made them feel as though they were a long-time friend.
Carr’s message that the 198-acre Brookfield Town Center central business district was being over-developed appeared to resonate with some voters.
It was Standing Room Only at the inauguration ceremony when Carr and the other municipal officials had taken office in December 2021. Hartford Courant columnist Kevin Rennie wrote a short time later on his Daily Ructions blog that, “If state Republicans are to emerge from the wilderness, they will need leaders like Carr.”
Sure, the Republicans had only one victory from the 2007 through the 2019 elections after winning every race from 1987 through 2005. Over the years the unaffiliated voters had become a larger piece of the pie at 45 percent. But still the Republicans had the edge among the major parties with 30 percent of the electorate to 25 percent for the Democrats.
After taking office, Carr was being applauded for her constituent service, visibility at public events and social media presence. Even Zimmer now says that she was responsive to his requests for information.
State Sen. Stephen Harding (R-30) of Brookfield said she had been effective in working with him and state Rep. Marty Foncello (R-107) of Brookfield on state-related issues.
At the time, the prospects for the Democrats recapturing the first selectman’s position appeared meager.
Dunn said on election night 2021, after announcing that he had lost and would be de-elevated to one of the other two seats on the Board of Selectman, that he thought the party “could get it back” in two years, although he “probably” would not be running again for the top position.
Sue Slater, who had been his running mate in his three victories and had been praised for her work as the selectmen’s liaison person with the Board of Education, said on election night in 2021 that she didn’t plan to run for first selectman.
Zimmer said that through early 2023 he had conversations with Dunn about whether he wanted to run again for first selectman.
However, it wasn’t until early June that Dunn submitted his campaign papers.
“He had earned the right to take some time to make a decision,” Zimmer said.
Board of Education Chairman Bob Belden had been a Republican for 45 years and had been a prime supporter for one-term Republican former First Selectman Bill Tinsley, whom Dunn defeated eight years ago.
Belden had left the Republican Party and registered as an unaffiliated voter after the national GOP’s resistance to the 2020 presidential election results.
He and Dunn became friends after Dunn took office and Belden was elected to the Board of Education in 2015 after serving as chairman of the Board of Finance.
Zimmer explained, “Bob didn’t make it complicated” when he was asked to consider running on the Democratic ticket for a seat on the Board of Selectmen.
In fact, he signed on with the Democrats slightly before Dunn decided he wanted to make another run for first selectman.
Zimmer said Belden was a notable addition.
“He will never stop wanting to get to the truth,” he said. “If there was one person on our team that scrutinized that everything we said was factual, it was Bob.”
Zimmer said Carr committed unforced errors.
In February, her Twitter account was suspended after she delivered messages regarding gun fire and the Chinese balloon that hovered over the United States.
In a statement posted February 22, Carr wrote, in part: "Unfortunately, some on the fringe of the political spectrum, who are more interested in engaging in vitriolic statements and fabricating their own truths, rather than intelligent discourse, took these comments out of context and made ridiculous and false assertions that somehow, I was promoting violence against our nation’s President. This is a complete lie.”
However, CT Hearst – in an editorial – and Rennie – in a column – were among those critical of her messages and response to the Twitter account suspension.
Carr was contacted by Patch.com in an e-mail message on Monday, November 13, that included Zimmer’s more critical comments. She replied and asked for clarification and the specific questions that she was being asked to comment on. Patch.com sent a second e-mail message, which included three questions to be answered and additional clarification. Apparently, Carr has not replied to that message.
“She should have apologized,” Zimmer commented regarding the Twitter messages. “All she needed to do in that situation was to say that she made a mistake and apologized and probably most of that would have gone away. That she doubled-down on it made it much worse for her.”
However, it wasn’t “a big part of our campaign,” said Zimmer. “There were a lot of issues that we could cover.”
For example, by late September, the Democrats were distributing a web video with Carr speaking at a Charter Revision Commission meeting when she discussed the possibility of adding a chief of staff.
At the time, she said, “The first selectman is literally running like a chicken with their head cut off” while facing “complex and challenging problem sets.”
She added that the position required someone who had managed a large company.
At the end of the video, the words “We Agree” were posted and then there was a graphic of the credentials of Dunn, who had been a vice president at J.P. Morgan Chase, and Belden, who served as a vice president at IBM.
Remarked Zimmer, “It was clear in that public comment that she was overwhelmed and didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t believe that she said those things.”
Zimmer exclaimed that Carr also made a mistake in not seeking the support of former Brookfield Board of Education Chairman Matt Grimes, who she defeated 60 to 40 percent on September 12 in the GOP primary.
She told Patch.com three weeks before the primary that she didn’t think that Grimes was someone she would want to “associate” with.
When asked after the results were final on primary night if he had communicated with Carr to offer a concession statement, Grimes told Patch.com: “She said she didn’t want to associate with me. She has her wish.”
Said Zimmer, “They were ostracizing the Team Brookfield [Grimes’ ticket] candidates. I think it made it much harder for them to win. They made it a lot easier for us to win.”
About two weeks before the election “Republicans For Dunn/Belden” lawn signs were posted through Brookfield.
Zimmer stated via e-mail, “We knew people would take them if we had them made. It was a bold move for sure, and one of my favorite pieces to the campaign. Who is to say how many extra votes they got us, but my hope is that they got Republicans wondering what could possibly be so bad about the Carr ticket that even other Republicans couldn’t vote for her.”
In contrast to the 2021 election, when the Democrats didn’t have a headquarters, they rented space at The White House on Federal Road, held a grand opening more than five months before the election and held their caucus there. They plan to make it a permanent facility.
“We had a lot of meetings and events at the headquarters,” Zimmer said. “We spend more time together. We’ve gotten to know each other better.”
Dunn prevailed by 407 votes – a 625-vote swing in plurality vs. Carr from the 2021 three-way race between him, Carr and petitioning candidate Austin Monteiro. It marked the sixth time in the last eight municipal elections that Brookfield elected a Democratic first selectman. The party swept all of the races on the municipal ballot, and those candidates will be among those sworn into office on Sunday, December 3, at 2 p.m. at Candlewood Lake Elementary School. Carr was the third highest vote-getter among the candidates for the various seats on the Board of Selectmen and earned a seat as an Other Selectmnan.
Audrey Blondin of Goshen - a Democratic State Central Committee member from the 30th District, which includes Brookfield - praised Zimmer.
“When I was running for Secretary of the State in 2005, I spoke before 85 Democratic Town committees, and you could tell whether everyone was on the same page or they were all over the place. It is usually one of the other. It is remarkable for Aaron in less than two years to accomplish that.”
Zimmer said that the Democrats and Republicans each had a similar percentage turnout, but the Republican figure was higher since the party has a higher registration.
“The unaffiliated voters clearly voted for the [Democratic] team,” he said.
Zimmer said Republican turnout was lower than in 2021 and Democratic turnout was about the same. He said that the party needs to take further steps to rally its registered voters.
“We have more work to do,” he commented. “We need more participation.”
Resources:
Phone interview with Aaron Zimmer, Patch.com, Sunday, November 12, 2023.
E-mail interview with Aaron Zimmer, Patch.com, Monday, November 13, 2023.
Phone interview with Audrey Blondin, Patch.com, Sunday, November 12, 2023.
https://patch.com/connecticut/brookfield/carr-says-town-should-evaluate-pay-boost-municipal-staff
https://patch.com/connecticut/brookfield/running-under-different-circumstances
