May 12^th, 2015

Canton – The delegates for the State Senate District Eight met last night at 7PM to reelect their two State Central members, veteran Rich Tutunjian, and Marianne Clark, who has served one term after being elected in 2013. Mrs. Clark took the place of former Congressional candidate (CT-5) Lisa Wilson Foley, who was elected to the committee during her candidacy, but was not seeking to serve another. Mr. Tutunjian, has served the district for seven years with two years as proxy prior to his election to the committee in 2008.

Avon RTC Chair, Brian Ladouceur, Jr. chaired the convention, and Torrington RTC Secretary, Donna Isley, was the secretary. Delegates from ten of the eleven towns that make up the eighth senate district all had representatives on hand – they came to the Canton Community Center from Avon, Barkhamsted, Canton, Colebrook, Granby, Hartland, New Hartford, Norfolk, Simsbury and Torrington. Senator Kevin Witkos, was unable to attend due to his schedule at the Capitol which is now in session.

Some notable delegates on hand not mentioned in the body of this post, were New Hartford First Selectman Dan Jerram and BOS member Alesia Kerrison, Barkhamsted and former Peter Lumaj for SOTS 2014 campaign treasurer, Steve Blackburn, Colebrook RTC Chair Ron Aubel, Granby RTC Chair Mark Neumann, Hartland’s Connie Irwin, Simsbury RTC Chair and former State Representative Rob Heagney, and long-serving Norfolk RTC Chair Carl Gundlach.

After formalities of establishing rules and credential committees, as well as permanently electing the convention Chair and Secretary, the meeting proceeded with nominating speeches for both state central members who were uncontested. Though the veteran member is traditionally nominated first, tonight’s convention had Marianne Clark be the initial nominee.

Former Torrington RTC Chair, Wendy Traub, gave an enthusiastic speech about Mrs. Clark and her first term, mentioning her membership to the Farmington Valley Republican Women’s club and Avon Republican Town Committee, her help with events and fundraisers, as a Justice of the Peace, and her two successful sons. Traub also noted Clark helped her pick out her campaign logo design when she was running for the State House and getting little assistance from her own RTC.

Avon RTC Vice Chair, Stephen Hunt, seconded Marianne, musing over how as a newly appointed state central member, during the GOP Chair election that soon followed, Clark voted against the sitting CT Republican State Chair Jerry Labriola, Jr. and cast her vote instead for CT tea party patriot and former businessman, Ron Wilcox, a Newtown resident and RTC member. Hunt told the delegates that she listened to the eighth district members who told her they would like someone other than Labriola, and to him, someone who did what others suggested was a good thing. This was met with scattered applause as some delegates in the audience, preferred Labriola’s reelection.

Convention Chair Ladouceur, called Barkhamsted RTC Chair, Juliana Simone, {editor: this author} next to nominate Richard Tutunjian, also a member of the Barkhamsted RTC, for his fourth term. Simone told the delegates how she emailed all of the district eight Chairs a little while ago, to advise them that Richard would like to retire and a replacement for him would be needed. She added the Senator this district represents, Canton’s Kevin Witkos, along with Tutunjian and Simone, agreed the person who took over his membership should reside in the First Congressional District, since the Senator’s district is split between two Congressional districts, the first and the fifth.

The eighth senate district is the second largest in the state of Connecticut. Six of the towns are in CT-1 and five are in CT-5. Representation of Senator Witkos should be held in both of these districts for this large number of constituents.

Lauding State Central member, Richard Tutunjian, for his serving on the committee for seven years with two prior years additionally as proxy, and maintaining a 100% attendance record for all of these terms, Simone also reminded everyone how Tutunjian even went beyond the district to attend fellow town committee events, help campaigns, advise candidates and even attend conferences on things like election law, which he felt would be useful to know in his role.

 RTC Chair Simone asked fellow delegates to consider being a proxy for Richard as he holds his position on State Central until someone comes forward to take over his seat. She acknowledged there were reasons no one was stepping up to become the new member for the eighth, as it involves evening meetings, long drives throughout the state, and an expense to the membership is involved.  Nevertheless, she hoped anyone who hadn’t been to a meeting, or been to one in some time, would proxy one month for Tutunjian, to see if they enjoyed it and what it was like, and if so, to go a second time.

Seconding Simone, was Bob Howson, from the New Hartford RTC. He was happy to tell delegates how Richard comes regularly to their meetings, attends their annual and election events, and was always available in terms of communication. He added his committee also agreed with Juliana that the person who replaces Rich should be from the First Congressional district.

In their thank you speeches, Clark, going first, talked about Malloy and his raising taxes again in CT, thanked anyone in the convention who went to the public hearing the day before to testify against the proposed tax hike, how she believed the state of Connecticut would be red again, due to the House Republican gains made in November as well as one Senate seat, and that she believed it was time for sitting CT Republican Chair Jerry Labriola, Jr. to go, and that there were three equally good candidates to vote for in the upcoming election. She also thanked her husband for his allowing her to pursue all of her political passions.

Former State Central member Mayan Antonucci, who served before Tutunjian or Clark, also addressed the convention for a minute to please ask for a moment of silence for former State Senator Tom Herlihy, who recently passed, and held the 8^th district seat before Witkos.

Tutunjian, more casually, sat on the end of the Chair’s long table, and kept his focus on the State Central Committee, and what he believed the weaknesses of it were, and how they could be fixed; how important communication was and that all State Central members should be readily available to anyone inside or outside their districts to answer any questions anyone might have, and how more collective effort needs to be made in terms of our candidates overall and their campaigns.