Politics & Government

Delnicki Collecting Signatures to Force South Windsor Republican Primary

South Windsor mayor was the top Republican vote getter in the last two municipal elections.

Mayor Tom Delnicki is gathering signatures to force a September primary for a place on the ballot on the Town Council.

“It’s official,” Delnicki said in a telephone interview. “I am going to petition for a primary. The outpouring of support … it started after the results were announced the night of the caucus. On the way out, a number of my supporters stopped me and said, ‘Hey you gotta primary here.’”

Delnicki, who has served on the town council for a total of eight terms, including the last one as mayor, failed to secure the number of votes from the floor at the Republican town caucus on Tuesday. It was a stunning development for Delnicki, who was the Republicans’ top vote getter on the Town Council in the last two municipal elections.

Find out what's happening in South Windsorwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The recommended candidates - incumbents Deputy Mayor Gary Bazzano, Cary Prague, Kevin McCann, Cindy Beaulieu and Jan Snyder as well as newcomer Carolyn Streeter-Mirek, who is the current town treasurer - received the six nominations for the Town Council.

Delnicki received just 115 votes at the caucus, while Bazzano received 139 votes, Beaulieu received 145, McCann 146, Prague 176, Snyder 169 and Streeter-Mirek 166.

Find out what's happening in South Windsorwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The number of votes each candidate received was initially going to be withheld - with one person advising that anyone interested in finding them out should file a freedom of information request - but an outcry from the floor led party officials to release them.

“One of the most heartening things to happen that really encouraged me is receiving a phone call at 5:48 a.m. on Wednesday morning saying, ‘Tom you’ve got to primary,’” said Delnicki, adding that he had nothing against any of the candidates who received the nomination at the caucus. “Going forward with the primary is result of an outcry from supporters that want me to. Quite honestly, if the phone hadn’t rung and e-mails hadn’t come, I wouldn’t do it.

To force the primary, Delnicki must now obtain on a petition the signatures of 5 percent of the registered Republicans in town by Aug. 7. Delnicki said that there are 3,461 registered Republicans in South Windsor, meaning that he’ll need about 173 signatures.

Delnicki said that he does not believe his seeking the primary would divide the Republican party in town.

“I think this will be a unifying event,” he said. “Caucuses are an interesting animal. It’s tough getting people out in that time frame to meet at a caucus. Having a day, having a vote, having the polls open will provide an opportunity for most people to have their say.”

If Delnicki obtains the required signatures by Aug. 7, then the primary would be held on Sept. 10.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Delnicki said.

Republican Town Committee Chairman Kathy Daugherty said in a telephone interview that while it is within Delnicki’s right to force the primary, the better course of action would have been for the mayor to run independently for council on the November ballot.

“It is within his right to force a primary, anybody can do that, but I guess what I’m bewildered about is it does kind of go against Tom’s mantra of protecting taxpayers’ money,” Daugherty said. This primary he would force will cost between $10,000 to $15,000.”

If Delnicki were to win the primary, he’d also be in a position where he would be campaigning with five other Republican candidates whose platforms don’t jibe with his, Daugherty said.

“If he pushes for a primary, only Republicans can come out and vote,” Daugherty said. “Run independently and run for your platform. If he left the Republican Town Committee because he didn’t agree with the platform, how is he going to run with people who he doesn’t agree with what the platform is?

Daugherty said that she believed that the 220 registered Republicans who were present at the caucus was a representative sampling of the town’s party.

The turnout on Tuesday was about 6 percent of the town’s registered Republicans. Daugherty said that, by comparison, about 14 percent of the registered Republicans voted during the presidential primary in November 2012.

“I am going to venture a guess that the [primary for Town Council] is going to be significantly lower,” Daugherty said.

Daugherty said that she is proud of the six people who are running for Town Council on the current ballot for November.

“We are very proud of the slate,” Daugherty said. “The beauty of this slate is it’s a diverse slate of highly qualified people for this office,” she said. “That can’t be lost in all of this. It can’t be lost on the good people we have running for office.”

Correction: The original story stated that 18 percent of registered Republicans voted in the presidential primary. The correct number is 14 percent. South Windsor Patch regrets the error.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here