The Early Voting Drill

By Scott Benjamin

BROOKFIELD – There was a frost advisory overnight, but the late-morning temperature is headed toward 65 degrees the leaves have turned colors and a majority of them are still on the trees.

Gorgeous fall weather just two weeks before the time change.

The Early Voting Drill is about to start.

There are cars lining both sides of Orchard Street near attorney Matt Grimes’ home.

Grimes was managing a campaign for first selectman before he attended college. He ran in the Republican primary for first selectman two years ago and lost. This day he is hosting a brunch with competitors from both of the slates that ran in 2023. State Sen. Eric Berthel (R-32) of Watertown, whose district includes a section of Brookfield, is doing Q & A on the back patio.

The goal is to get Karl Hinger, 31, the Republican nominee, to the end zone on Tuesday night, November 4.

At Democratic Town Committee headquarters – about a mile away on Federal Road – campaign manager Brian McGovern jokingly asks a visiting report if he wants to post any of the stack of lawn signs that are sitting near the front door.

Connecticut’s Early Voting began last year. For two weeks before Election Day voters can cast their ballots at designated locations.

The Early Voting will be held October 20 through November 2 at the Municipal Center, 100 Pocono Road, from at least 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. On November 28 and 30 the schedule will be 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.

This will be the first municipal election under the new system.

Democratic incumbent Steve Dunn, 70, who is seeking a fifth nonconsecutive term, says, “it was extremely popular in our last vote. Over 50 percent of our voters voted early. I think it gives people options. We see more people come out and a greater variety of people come out.”

Sports columnist Sally Jenkins has stated when Bill Belichick coached the Patriots that during the two-minute offensive drill whoever was tackled with the ball would hand it to the referee. If you toss it, the referee might bobble it and precious seconds could be lost that could negate a winning touchdown or field goal.

What is the formula for winning the Early Voting Drill?

Hinger remarked, “It changes a lot. It means both sides have to work harder for longer. The next two weeks for us is going to be non-stop door-knocking, phone calls every night reminding people, ‘Hey, you can go out and vote. You don’t need to wait until Election Day.’ “

Dunn said the Democrats have been sending a flurry of text and social media messages and making the phone rounds.

He commented, “If 25 percent of your voters are voting the first week, you don’t need to communicate with them anymore. It brings a need of being focused and getting our message out.”

Dunn said it is “really hard” to predict if the turnout will be higher than the typical “45 to 47 percent” rate.

However, he added, “I think it will get a little higher with everything going on nationally,” an apparent reference to the federal government shutdown and lack of compromise between the two major parties on a raft of issues.

What are voters talking about?

Remarked Hinger, “The number one issue we hear - nine out of 10 people – is overdevelopment. There are far too many apartment buildings going up [in the 198-acre Brookfield Town Center central business district]. Voters say it is not sustainable.”

Dunn said voters have mostly talked about the work of the Police Facilities ad-hoc committee which is studying whether to expand the current headquarters on Silvermine Road, which was built in the 1980s, or construct a new facility at another site on the municipal campus or another location in town. He said they also have discussed the ad-hoc committee studying the future of the former Center Elementary School, which might turn into a combined community center, library and recreation facility.

“People are also concerned with the [multi-family] construction in town,” said Dunn. “They are concerned about the pace and the size of the construction.”

Dunn underscored that he the town enacted a moratorium in Brookfield Town Center more than a year ago on new construction of multi-family housing.

Former U.S. Rep. John Delaney of Maryland, who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, had proposed making Election Day a federal holiday in an effort to spur turnout. Is that now necessary with Early Voting?

Commented Hinger, “I’m not against Election Day being a federal holiday. But it should be more of a one or the other approach.”

Even dull presidential races yield far higher turnouts than the municipal elections. Yet, voters usually only know the president through the mainstream and social media and in most of the municipalities they converse with their first selectman.

Dunn explained, “I think people feel a duty, and rightfully so, that they need to vote for our presidential candidates. I think you should be voting in every election.”

He added, “I think the votes in the local election has more impact on your life. You are voting on your takes and the people who will create the budgets that impact your taxes. You have much more control locally, but fewer people vote.”

On another topic, under Democratic First Selectman Bill Davidson 15 years ago the town approved a five-year, $10 million road repair package and also kept money in the annual budget for road maintenance. The goal was to eventually have all of the payments in cash instead of bonding for them.

Dunn said that was achieved six years ago and the practice has continued. He said the town should continue to be able to pay in cash for road repairs in the future.

Hinger said he supports paying for road repairs in cash and added that with increased traffic from the development in Brookfield Town Center, the road maintenance spending may have to increase at least slightly in the coming years.

Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz (D-Middletown) told Patch.com this summer that as a result of Republican President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, the state has had to find funding to offset payments for Medicaid and food assistance for needy families. Paige Terryberry of the Foundation for Government Accountability wrote recently in The Wall Street Journal that starting 2027 the states will have to pay part of the costs for food stamps.

Should more responsibility be given to the states?

Hinger said, “A town or a state knows better how to serve its residents than the federal government. I think giving more responsibility to states and towns is the right direction.”

In a 1981 interview former New York City Mayor John Lindsay – who sought the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination – said that Republican President Ronald Reagan’s New Federalism initiative “was a worthy discussion, I think there are places where it can happen. One place where it will not happen is federal transportation funds. The states depend on that.”

Commented Hinger, “There are always going to be federal projects” such as the interstate highways.

Dunn commented, “[New Federalism] cuts both ways. The state-run programs and town-run programs run more efficiently on the local level. But there is a limit to how much you can put on the states. What I am worried about is the debt of the nation. We cannot continue to run trillions and trillions of dollars of deficits.”

Although it is a year away, there has been considerable activity among the potential gubernatorial nominees.

Gov. Ned Lamont (D-Greenwich) is expected to announce after the municipal election that he will seek a third term. State Rep. Josh Elliott (D-88) of Hamden, who is about 30 years younger than Lamont, formally entered the race in July. An incumbent Democratic governor in Connecticut has note faced a primary since since 1978 when incumbent Ella Grasso of Windsor Locks captured 167 of the 169 municipalities over Lt. Gov. Robert Killian of Hartford.

Dunn said, “I think Ned has done a good job. He has kept the budgets where he wanted them. He is not imposing things on voters that they can’t afford.”

New Britain Republican Mayor Erin Stewart held a fund-raiser at Grimes’ home in August for her exploratory committee. She is expected to enter the race later this fall. State Sen. Ryan Fazio (R-36) of Greenwich entered the fray August 13 and already has made two appearances at Brookfield Republican events.

Hinger said he had not endorsed either candidate. He said he has spoken with Fazio and looks forward to chatting with Stewart.

“I do think it is going to be a challenging election,” Hinger commented. “You look at the approval ratings and Lamont’s are up there in comparison [to other governors]. It is very rare that a governor loses re-election in Connecticut.”

The last time: Republican John Davis Lodge in 1954.

Stewart is 38 years old and Fazio is 35.

Said Hinger, “I understand why this generation is turned off to the two-party system. It is very encouraging to see more millennials stepping up instead of just complaining on Facebook.”

He added, “It’s going to be an uphill battle [for either Stewart or Fazio]. But I think they can do it with the right work ethic.”