March 29th, 2016

The Barkhamsted Republican Town Committee held its biannual officer elections Monday evening and re-elected Chair Juliana Simone, who will start her fourth term as Chairman. She was first elected in 2010 while working as field director for candidate Mark Greenberg (CT-5).

Rev. Steve Blackburn, Ph. D., was also re-elected to his fourth term as Treasurer. Blackburn served as treasurer for 2014 Secretary of the State Republican candidate Peter Lumaj.

Sitting vice chair Robert Brainard III, an engineer, declined re-election for another term due to his new membership on the Barkhamsted Elementary Board of Education and busy life as a husband and father of two young children. Barkhamsted Selectman Mark Hemenway (R), was elected as the committee’s new vice chair. Hemenway, who leads a software sales team, is involved in many local activities.

Simone, who worked for the House Republicans, has hosted the committee’s half-hour political interview cable show, “Conservative Chat” for eleven years, is the web administrator for the committee’s website and her own blog, “In My Vue.” She has also reported from national political conferences and commented on-line on state and federal politics for six years for Ameriborn News.

Like Blackburn, she worked for the 2014 Lumaj SOTS campaign as Grassroots Outreach and Media Director.

Simone ran for the State House in 2006 and was endorsed by former Congresswoman Nancy Johnson (CT-5) and the Republican American.

The two-year term for all of the town committee officers ends in March 2018.