Room 106 at Southbury Town Hall doesn’t usually draw much of a crowd.
But on Tuesday morning, the Registrar of Voters’ office briefly became center stage as slips of paper were pulled from a basket to determine ballot order for November’s municipal election.
All that was needed to experience democracy in action was a small straw basket, individual slips of paper with candidates’ names and the steady hands of election officials.
Per state law, the party whose candidate for governor received the highest number of votes in the last preceding election will have its candidates placed at the top of the ballot, meaning that Democratic candidates will be presented first on Southbury’s ballot this fall.
But for offices and commissions with multiple openings – like the Board of Selectmen and Board of Finance – a lottery is held to determine the order of names to appear under their respective party lines.
Town Clerk Alice Maisano and the four-member department of the Registrar of Voters were on hand for the local election tradition, which felt more like a church raffle than an act of electoral bureaucracy.
“Pick a good one,” Maisano said playfully before the drawings began.
The order of Democratic candidates for the Board of Selectmen was determined to be:
- Cathy De Carli
- Kelly Keenan
- Wendy Bernard
The order of Republican candidates for the Board of Selectmen was determined to be:
- Anne Armeno
- Jason Van Stone
- Holly Sullivan
Candidates running for boards with multiple openings were selected using the same process, resulting in a ballot that will resemble something similar to the following:
| Position | Democratic Candidates | Republican Candidates |
| First Selectman (Two-year term, *Unsuccessful candidate can still claim seat on BOS) | Tim O’Neil | Jeff Manville |
| Board of Selectmen (Vote for Up to Three; Five to be Elected*) | Cathy De Carli Kelly Keenan Wendy Bernard | Anne Armeno Jason Van Stone Holly Sullivan |
| Board of Finance (Vote for Up to Three) | Gerry Leventhal Michael Carrington | John Kelly Brian Emerick Steven Giacomi |
| Board of Finance Alternate (Vote for One) | Vivian Templeton | Casey Docherty |
| Region 15 Board of Education (Vote for Up to Three) | (No Candidates) | Marion Manzo Heather White Rodgers Thomas Marks |
| Board of Assessment Appeals (Vote for One; Two to be Elected) | Diane Barros | Gabby Addison |
| Planning Commission (Vote for Up to Three) | Robyn Greenspan Nancy Clark Roberta Stewart | Ron Conti |
| Planning Commission Alternate (Vote for One) | Stephen Huntley | Mary Korsu |
| Zoning Commission (Vote for Up to Three) | Katrina Sweezea Andrew Sidhu | David Dicks Frank DiPerna |
| Zoning Commission Alternate (Vote for One) | Dominick Fatibene | David Henn |
| Zoning Board of Appeals (Vote for Up to Three) | Chris Smuden Lisa Antrum Jennifer Wysoki | Gary Garofalo David Pittari |
| Zoning Board of Appeals Alternate (Vote for One) | Kat Smith | John Allen |
| Inland Wetlands Commission (Vote for Up to Three) | Jason Hoyt Donna Lesch Thomas Weldon | Dan Slywka |
| Inland Wetlands Commission Alternate (Vote for One) | Matt Linnell | (No Alt Candidate) |
| Town Clerk (Vote for One) | Alice Maisano | Alice Maisano |
| Pomperaug Valley Water Authority (Vote for One) | Rich Boritz | (No Candidate) |
The Southbury Record 