Enfield Election Results: Amazing Swing In Town Council Makeup

ENFIELD, CT — Tuesday's municipal election in Enfield produced an unprecedented turnaround in the composition of the town council, as well as a shift in majority party on the Board of Education.

For the past two years, Republicans have held an 8-3 super majority on the council, but by the time the ballots were counted Tuesday night, Democrats had claimed seven of the 11 seats.

Vote totals have not yet confirmed through the Secretary of the State's office, but unofficial tallies indicate Democrats took three of the four district seats. John Santanella defeated incumbent Republican Kelly Hemmeler in District 2, and Nick Hopkins upended incumbent Charlotte Riley in District 4. In District 3, where Republican Donna Szewczak did not seek re-election, Democrat Matt Despard prevailed over Republican Frank Alaimo.

"It feels incredible and gratifying," an excited Despard told Patch. "We really ran a positive, issue-oriented campaign. The people were starting to feel they weren't being heard. Now we need to hold up our end of the bargain."

Democrats also took four of the seven at-large council seats, with incumbent Bob Cressotti topping all council vote-getters. He is joined by fellow incumbents Cindy Mangini and Gina Cekala, as well as political newcomer Doug Finger.

"I'm excited to be the top vote-getter; I greatly appreciate all the people that voted for me," Cressotti said. "Beginning in July, we put together a team and stuck to a plan. We did a lot of work in the community, and obviously the people listened to us."

For the Republicans, incumbents Mike Ludwick and Lori Unghire retained their seats, while newcomer Marie Pyznar was also elected. Incumbent Republican Joe Muller did not win re-election.

Board of Education secretary Tina LeBlanc was top vote-getter among all candidates, and will be joined by fellow Democratic incumbents Amanda Pickett and Scott Ryder. Democratic newcomers Jerry Calnen and Joshua Hamre also earned seats on the school board.

"I'm extremely happy, a little bit in shock, but it's an amazing feeling," LeBlanc said. "Being the top vote-getter didn't mean anything unless all five of us got in. One step will be better communication and working more collaboratively."

Republicans Jonathan LeBlanc, Janet Cushman, John Unghire and Jean Acree were all re-elected to the board, while newcomer Theresa Meyer came up short in her bid for a seat.

Jonathan LeBlanc, who is Tina LeBlanc's nephew, told Patch, "I want to thank the voters of Enfield to give me the opportunity to serve another two years. I'm truly humbled and I look forward to continuing to work for the students and families of Enfield schools."

Official results were not yet available as of 7 a.m. Wednesday from the office of Secretary of the State Denise Merrill. A problem with a third-party vendor which manages election information for the secretary's website has prevented results from being displayed.

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