Republicans' Petition Earns Them Spot on Nov Ballot

Two Middletown Republican councilmen whose longterm party failed to nominate them for the November ballot filed petitions qualifying them to run as independents on Election Day.

Minority Leader Phil Pessina and Joseph Bibisi also received enough signatures to be on the Working Families slot if they are endorsed. In all, they got 145 resident pledges and 259 for the independent line.

"We canvassed the south end of town and Westfield and we got the same exact response," Pessina said at Monday's common council meeting. "People want us on the ballot."

Bibisi, a six-term incumbent, and Pessina, a three-term member and the local GOP's minority leader on the council, failed to gain endorsements during the party's nominating convention two weeks ago.

The Working Families, a self-described progressive party known to frequently cross-endorse Democrats in many state elections, met with the two Republicans last week and are looking into whether to formally endorse them, the Courant reported.

"If we get elected, the residents of the city of Middletown will be our political party and they will tell us how to vote," he said, reiterating his strongly worded statement sent to the press last month that criticized the GOP as comprising "cartoons and buffoons."

He charges former mayor Sebastian Giuliano and MRTC vice chair William Wilson with orchestrating the duo's party ouster.

Pessina's letter to Middletown Patch read, in part: "This political pressure was led by our former Mayor Giuliano, who wrote in an email on Jan. 29, in which he states his personal opinion to pressure the party to vote not in the best interest of Middletown, but to support his personal political agenda.

"His words were clear, ' ... municipal elections loom. Any Republican who votes in favor of these resolutions is putting the entire Republican ticket in an untenable position. The mayoral candidate — whoever it may be — will be compelled to run against positions supported by such councilpersons. As such, it will be impossible for them to be on the same ticket.  

He has since provided Middletown Patch with two emails backing up his claims, including one from Wilson, reading, "Pessina's and Councilman Bibisi's slots are not guaranteed on the next council slate. ... We are Republicans and should be voting as Republicans."

Both Bibisi and Pessina will formally open candidate committees once the Middletown registrar verifies all the gathered signatures.

"We believe the people of Middletown should decide who they want representing their interests," said Bibisi, a former high sheriff of Middlesex County and deputy chief of the Middletown Police Department.