Formica Takes a Fatalistic Approach to the Election

One by one, Republican candidates filed into Flanders Fish Market and Restaurant in East Lyme last night to dine on lobster mac and cheese and await election results. And one by one, they were disappointed as the tally showed they had lost to incumbent Democrats. 

Mike Doyle lost to Andrea Stillman in the state Senate District 20 race. Daniel Docker lost to state Representative Ernest Hewitt in New London's 39th District race. And in East Lyme, Paul Formica lost to Congressman Joe Courtney in the 2nd District.

Of all of them, East Lyme First Selectman Paul Formica was perhaps the least surprised. Running against Courtney was a David v. Goliath battle right from the start and he got a late start at it too.

Formica had just six months to raise money and mount a campaign against a popular and well-funded incumbent. And the final week before Election Day was effectively washed out by Hurricane Sandy when instead of going door-to-door asking for votes, Formica was making house calls to check on East Lyme residents in the wake of the storm. Not that he minded.  

"We've got people without power. That's more important," Formica said. "It is what it is. You work hard. You get up every day. You do the best you can, and you never know what's coming."

Indeed, running for Congress was something Formica never imagined he'd do in the first place. He was tapped by the Republican Party to fill the void created when Chris Coutu decided to opt out of the Congressional race to run for state Senate instead. 

"I commend Paul for taking that on," said State Rep. Ed Jutila of East Lyme. "I think he knew it would be an uphill battle."

Formica said he was proud just to have had the opportunity to run for Congress. The fact that so many people rallied to support him seemed to buoy Formica past any disappointment he may have felt when the results came in, although he was disheartened to see that he didn't win in his hometown.

"I'd really like to have won East Lyme," he said.

Still, at the end of the day, Formica's focus was on his supporters and the many young people who had volunteered to work his campaign. "I feel worse for them than I do for me," he said.

Asked whether he'd like to try his hand at running for higher office again, Formica answer was as fatalistic as ever.

"There's an old saying: People make plans and God smiles. I'll wait and see what happens," he said. As for his immediate plans, he said, "I look forward to a good night's sleep!" 

As East Lyme Selectwoman Holly Cheeseman, chair of the Republican Town Committee sees it, last night's election results brought both good news and bad. The bad news, she said, was that Paul Formica wasn't going to Washington. The good news?

"We here in East Lyme get to keep the best First Selectman going," Cheeseman said.