Naugatuck Primary: It's Getting Dirty

There is a delightfully fun race going on down in Naugatuck, where recent Republican Curtis Bosco is facing off against semi-local crank Peter Jurzynski for the Democratic mayoral nomination.

Primary day is now only a week away.

Some highlights from a recent article in the Waterbury Republican-American:

Jurzynski criticized Bosco's involvement in Naugatuck politics as evidence that he is part of a small "political clique" that has run Naugatuck for years without regard to party loyalty or the involvement of "ordinary citizens."

Jurzynski has made the "clique" claim about every opponent he has faced since his election to to the Springfield City Council in 1979.
...
Jurzynski repeated his attack on Bosco's Democratic credentials on several fronts: that Bosco was registered as a Republican for several years and switched from the Republican party so late that he can't vote in next Monday's primary, and that he supported Mayor Ron San Angelo in the 2003 election.
...
"I see Naugatuck like no other politician's ever seen Naugatuck," Jurzynski said.

If you ask Bosco, that means once every two years. His mailer calls Jurzynski a "no-show" in Naugatuck.

Jurzynski acknowledges that he has spent long periods out of town, but because he has to make a living. He has worked as school teacher in New York City and Boston, a senior center director in Stoneham, Mass., and a deputy commissioner of elderly affairs in Boston.

Yes, it's all here, folks. The crazy mudslinging, the snarky local journalist, the bizarre background (ex-Republican vs. occasional resident for Democratic nomination)... What's not to like?

Of course, the primary next Monday means little. Jurzynski is already on the ballot for May's municipal election as an independent candidate, which is fortunate as he has never actually won any of the mayoral primaries he's forced in Naugatuck. In fact, he's drawing fewer and fewer voters each time.

We have to thank Jurzynski and Bosco for giving us a spot of entertainment in an otherwise boring May election cycle.

Source: Dalena, Doug. "Mud starts to fly in Naugatuck". Waterbury Republican-American. 28 February 2005.
(I suggest you read the article if you're seeing this today. The Rep-am's site is awful, but the article is worth it.)