Municipal Roundup

Municipal campaigns are heading into their last week. Here are some of the interesting stories out there:

Wild Race in Waterbury

Despite having lost the Democratic primary, Mayor Michael Jarjura is running for re-election as a write-in candidate. According to the Waterbury Republican-American, both Jarjura and Democratic nominee Karen Mulcahy have spent more than $20,000 each of their own money on the campaign. To put that in perspective, the average candidate in a state representative race spends between $8,000-$15,000. Wow.

Waterbury surprised us in September, and it may do so again next week.

Hard Times in Montville

Corruption, a huge financial loss and then a nasty mudslide are spelling trouble for incumbents in Montville, according to The Day. This is the kind of crisis situation that makes voters want to clean house.

High School Project Major Issue in Middletown

A botched high school project is at the heart of the campaign in Middletown. Mayor Domenique Thornton has come under attack from challenger Sebastian Giuliano for "mishandling" the project.

Interestingly, the contractor building the school is Tomasso Brothers, currently under investigation for its role in the Rowland scandals. According to the Middletown Press, Thornton has received $1,855 from people associated with the building project, including construction managers from Tomasso. This is starting to sound familiar. We'll see if voters make the same connection.

Getting Nasty in Vernon

Republicans and Democrats are trading accusations of campaign finance law violations.

One of the oddities brought to light was the fact that a man who has been dead for two years apparently donated money to one of the candidates. Oops.

Third Parties Grow in Strength

Both Canterbury and New London are seeing strong challenges from town-based third parties this election cycle. Many other towns, like Waterford, Willington, Enfield and others, already have town-specific third parties. We'll have to see if any of them can gain control of town boards this time around.

If you know of any other interesting stories, post them here! I'll be profiling one or two more towns before the election (including Norwalk and maybe Waterbury).