Secy. of the State Susan Bysiewicz
Photo by Steve Kotchko
Posted 10/26/09
Last year, all of America was atwitter about Election Day because of the hard-fought presidential campaign between Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. John McCain. This year, Election Day in Connecticut features just local contests such as mayor, selectman, and board of education.
Democratic Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewicz is bothered by that phrase just local contests because she believes municipal leaders may actually affect families more than the president on a daily basis.
“It’s very important to participate in local elections because the people who are elected to municipal offices make decisions about the level of your property taxes, the quality of your children’s education, the roads that you drive on, and the kind of development that will take place in your town,” Bysiewicz explained.
Trying to read the tea leaves after local elections is difficult for state political leaders because the results often are based on strictly local issues, not any kind of statewide trend. Indeed, in the past, political analysts have cited a host of reasons why this candidate won, and that candidate lost. The list includes voter anger over property taxes, development decisions; lack of economic progress, nepotism, even rumors about a local official who voters believe was “sleeping around.”
About 120 communities will hold local elections Nov. 3rd. A much smaller number of Connecticut towns hold municipal elections in May. Polls on Election Day Nov. 3rd will be open statewide from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
If you need to register to vote for the elections, and you are reading this web article early in the week, you may have time to sign up. You can register at your local registrar of voters office Monday, Oct. 26 during regular business hours, and up until 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 27.
Also, if you’re already registered, but will be out of town on election day, Bysiewicz urges you to go to the town clerk’s office and fill out an absentee ballot by Monday, Nov. 2nd.
Bysiewicz is hoping for a decent turnout on election day, though she knows history is not on her side. “Our presidential elections generate a turnout of 80% or more, our state elections generally produce a turnout of 60% to 65%, and unfortunately the average for voter turnout in municipal elections is about 40%,” she said.
It is possible that in certain communities experiencing a hot mayoral or selectman’s race, the turnout will be significantly higher, but Bysiewicz said her most optimistic prediction statewide is about a 50% turnout.
Once local Election Day is past, don’t expect a rest from politics. In fact, things will pick up almost immediately. State politicians generally keep a lid on their campaigns until after local Election Day as a “courtesy” to city and town candidates. After the municipal votes are tallied, expect the wraps to come off the 2010 races for governor, U.S senator, and congressional seats.
Republican Gov. Jodi Rell has told reporters on numerous occasions she will announce her decision on whether she’ll seek reelection next year “soon after the local elections.” Other gubernatorial hopefuls, quietly campaigning at their party’s town committee events up to now, will be more visible.
The Republican drive to unseat Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd, believed vulnerable due to low poll ratings, has been relatively animated already with TV ads and other efforts to gain attention. Expect those GOP contenders to ratchet up their campaigns.
Dodd himself has been making frequent trips back to Connecticut to keep in the public eye, and he brought President Barack Obama to Stamford last week to raise campaign funds, and say nice things about the Senator.
We’ll probably see more big national names campaigning for Dodd, and for senate and congressional candidates across Connecticut in the months to come. But for now, remember to vote in those local elections Nov. 3rd!