New Canaan Election Results 2016: Incumbents Win

NEW CANAAN, CT— New Canaan voters decided to have the Board of Finance pick a chairman from its regular members instead of having the first selectman serve in that capacity.

New Canaan voters voted by a margin of 5,120 yes to 3,326 no on the question, according to the New Canaan Advertiser.

Voters decided to keep the mandate that Board of Finance members be real estate property taxpayers by a margin of 5,640 to 2,786.

State Sens. Scott Frantz and Toni Boucher won re-election along with State Rep. Tom O'Dea and Fred Wilms, according to the Advertiser.

To read about the U.S. Senate race in Connecticut and the five congressional races see this related story: Connecticut Election 2016: What You Need to Know

26th Senate District

Republican incumbent State Sen. Toni Boucher will face challenger Democrat Carolanne Curry.

Boucher was first elected to the senate in 2008 and previously was a state representative for 12 years. She is the chief deputy minority leader. She was the founder and former owner of a small business and also worked in corporate management for two Fortune 50 companies.

Boucher is working to help modernize commuter rail lines and other forms of transportation in the state, according to her campaign website. She also wants to reduce state spending, enact business-friendly tax policy, demand rigorous educational standards and promote environmental stewardship.

Curry has been a department director for several municipal agencies including the director of welfare for both the city of New Haven and Bridgeport.

Curry seeks to cap property taxes, cut red tape for Medicaid applications and is against privatizing grade school education, according to her campaign website.

36th Senate District

Republican State Sen. Scott Frantz is in his fourth term and will face off against Democrat John Blankley and Green Party candidate Edward Hefflin for the 36th district.

Frantz is the deputy minority leader of the Senate Republican Caucus. He championed Emily’s Law, which raised the minimum towing age to 16 and requires training of new boaters in proper towing techniques. The law was created after Emily Fedorko died in an August 2014 tubing accident.

Frantz is a business entrepreneur and serves on a number of business advisory boards. He lives in Riverside with his wife and four children.

Blankley is currently a member of the Greenwich Board of Estimate and Taxation and was previously an RTM member, according to the Greenwich Free Press. He has served as an executive and board level member of shipping, oil, gas and other businesses.

Blankley said his experience handling large budgets for major corporations will help at the state level.
Green party candidate Ed Heflin is advocating for a public banking platform. He is a Wall Street consultant, entrepreneur and academic.

125th House District

Republican State Rep. Tom O’Dea’s only challenger this election is Green Party candidate Hector Lopez for the 125th house district.

O’Dea is running for his third term in office. He previously served as a member of the Police Officers Standards and Training Council, a victim compensation commissioner, the Judicial Selection Commission and a member of the New Canaan Town Council.

Outside of politics he is a trial and appellate lawyer with Diserio, Martin, O’Connor & Castiglioni, LLP.

Lopez is a Puerto Rican native who lived in Waterbury and New York City before coming to New Canaan in 1991, according to the Norwalk Hour. He was a subway and railroad maintenance technician before retiring.

He supports free medical care and college tuition, antiwar movement and preventing oil pipelines from being built on Native American land.

142nd House District

Republican incumbent Fred Wilms will run against Working Families Party member Anna Duleep in the 142nd house district.

Wilms was first elected in November 2014 and was involved in Norwalk city government for 15 years.

He is a senior vice president at Webster Bank where he works with small businesses across lower Fairfield County.

Wilms called state finances unsustainable and said it is riddled with financial gimmicks, poor revenue growth and overly-generous union contracts, according to his campaign website.

Duleep is a former Norwalk Common Council majority leader and city sheriff. She runs the Wilton branch of an educational services company. She identifies as a Democrat running on the Working Families party line, according to a post on Nancy on Norwalk.

One of her goals is to reform the educational cost sharing formula to stop treating Norwalk like a Gold Coast town.

Local Questions

Registered New Canaan voters will have five questions before them related to the town charter.

Question 1

Shall the current Charter be changed to allow electors to vote for up to six Town Council members, which is typically the number of vacancies, instead of the current limit of four during each biennial election?

Question 2

Shall the current Charter be changed so that members of the Board of Finance will no longer be required to be real estate taxpayers, in order to be consistent with the requirements for the Town Council and other boards, commissions and committees?

Question 3

Shall the current Charter be changed so that the First Selectman, although remaining an ex officio member of the Board of Finance, will no longer serve as Chairman of the Board of Finance, and the Board of Finance will choose its Chairman from its regular members?

Question 4

Shall the current Charter be changed by adding articles and provisions including the Audit Committee,Conservation Commission, Health and Human Services Commission, Inland Wetlands Commission, Ethics Board and Town Attorney?
Question 5

Shall the current Charter be changed to make a series of technical and conforming changes which clarify

definitions, delete outdated references no longer applicable and update provisions to current practice?