Dems Hold On To Both Middletown House Seats

Longtime state Rep. Joseph Serra, alongside two-term state Rep. Matthew Lesser, announced their victories at Democratic headquarters Tuesday evening on the second floor of Main Street Market.

As the polls closed at 8 p.m., Mayor Dan Drew chatted with the always composed Serra while Lesser tried unsuccessfully to get cable reception on the large flat-screen television.

Each time Democratic Town Committee Chair Daniel R. Pickett’s cell phone rang with results from Democrats at a polling station, he’d issue a very loud, “Quiet!” as the 30 or so folks instantly piped down.

Unofficial tallies are Grippo's 2,338 to Serra's 5,126; 2,775 for Kleckowski to Lesser's 6,153.

Earlier in the evening, Republican Common Councilwoman Deb Kleckowski, 50, who challenged Lesser, D-100th, was just pulling into Spencer School when we caught her by cell phone Tuesday about 6 p.m.. "I hope to have a new job by 9 p.m.," she said, then praised America's voting system, compared to other countries. "That to me is great. This is a great privilege we have."

She was confident of a win. "I think people really don't like one-party rule." Kleckowski could not believe how jam-packed Woodrow Wilson Middle School was when she stopped by. "It was a traffic jam." Like many, she attributed high voter turnout to this key Presidential election, but says to her, local elections are so much more important.

"We're the local government," Kleckowski says. "We're the ones making the decisions that affect a lot of people."

In Middletown, she says, "We can't have all this taxation. We have the biggest tax increases ever, the biggest increase in revenue ever but we're still in the hole. Just like the board of education. We have spending problem like the BOE."

Grippo, 42, said earlier on Tuesday she was pleased with her visits to several of the polling locations. "I really feel like the tides are going to turn. Honestly, I heard from people that come up to you and say, 'listen, I'm done. I want a change.' It was just really nice to be out there today and listen to people. I was very well-received and I think people heard my message."

Grippo says when she entered the race, she made a promise to herself that she would not engage in negative campaigning. "I'm not that way personally so why would I be that way politically?"

In fact, she and Serra were together shaking constituents' hands at Moody school for five hours earlier Tuesday.

Serra, 72, has held the 33rd District House seat since January 1993. He is House Chairman of the Legislature’s Committee on Aging and is an ardent advocate for grandparents' rights. He's co-chair of the new state task force, Task Force on Aging in Place, which finds ways to help more elderly residents receive the care they need at home instead of a nursing facility.

Lesser, 29, is vice chairman of the legislature’s Government Administration and Elections Committee, a government watchdog that oversees reorganization of state government, ethics laws, the state constitution and elections. He also serves on the Education, Public Health and Energy and Technology committees.

Kleckowski is for implementing a cap on the gas tax, halting projects like the New Britain Busway, eliminating $15 million to Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun in tax credits, promoting private purchases of hospitals, repealing the Dream Act (allows illegal residents to attend colleges and pay in-state tuition), implementing a new law for boards of education to be a separate taxing district, reinstating the death penalty, repealing the transvestite/transsexual bathroom bill; eliminating same-day election registration; and disallowing government votes after midnight and holding legislative public hearings at night.

Grippo ran unsuccessfully in November for the Middletown Board of Education. A longtime resident and mother of two children, she is an 18-year insurance executive and an extensive background in litigation, marketing and public relations. She is an accomplished speaker and was selected from pool of more than 100 candidates to serve on a corporate business resolution team. During that time, she helped initiate and incorporate visible and effective diversity and inclusion training.

Related stories

• Joseph Serra: Democratic Candidate for 33rd House District
• Republican Common Council Candidate: Meet Deborah Kleckowski
• Middletown Election Guide 2012
• Matthew Lesser: Democratic Candidate for 100th Assembly District
• How Middletown Voted in 2008 and 2010

We'll be writing much more on the election tomorrow. Keep up with the latest by following us on Twitter or liking us on Facebook. Get the Middletown Patch breaking and daily newsletters here.