Volume 18, Number 37
Berlin’s Only Hometown Newspaper
www.berlincitizen.com
Thursday, November 13, 2014
Berlin goes for Foley, Abercrombie, Aresimowicz By Charles Kreutzkamp The Berlin Citizen
In Berlin, the majority of voters supported the Republican candidate for governor, Tom Foley, with 54.8 percent over Democratic incumbent Dannel Malloy with 43.9 percent. Malloy won the race with a statewide total of 50.7 percent to 48.2 percent for Foley. Despite dropping out of the race and declaring his support for Foley, Joe Visconti got 1 percent of the votes statewide and 1.3 percent of the votes in Berlin, with 116 votes locally. See Voters / Page 3
A plethora of political signs adorned patches of grass in front of the Berlin Senior Center. |Charles Kreutzkamp / The Berlin Citizen
Police station plans put on hold By Charles Kreutzkamp The Berlin Citizen
Berlin moms and their children collected donations at Veterans Park. | Charles Kreutzkamp / The Berlin Citizen
Moms support Vietnam Veterans of America By Charles Kreutzkamp The Berlin Citizen
Berlin moms were out in force Nov. 9 to “fill the truck.” This is the first year that Raising Berlin has taken it upon themselves to raise funds and accept donations on behalf of the Vietnam Veterans of America. The group set up a booth next to a VVA truck in the parking lot at Veterans Park. See Veterans / Page 2
“We will not proceed,” is the response Mayor Rachel Rochette had following the results of the referendum for a constructing a new police station on Farmington Avenue with bonding for $21 million. The referendum on the new police station was rejected by voters by a wide margin, with 38.3 percent voting for and 61.7 percent voting against. “Taxpayers are concerned and we understand that,” Rochette said. Rochette said the matter would be referred back to the Police Commission, starting the process over again. According to a statement from Berlin Republican Town
Committee Chair Anne Reilly, “The Berlin Republican Town Committee believes the police department need is real and should be dealt with as expediently as possible.” Council Republicans support fulfilling the need of the department while limiting the tax impact on residents, Reilly said. The BRTC suggested forming a bipartisan committee consisting of members from the Town Council, Public Building Commission, the Police Commission and the Chief of Police to explore options to meet the department’s needs, Reilly stated. Poll workers called this year ’s election turnout “huge,” with moderator Gail Bates describing it as “just as busy as a Presidential election.” According to the Sec-
retary of the State’s report, 80.82 percent of registered Berlin voters voted, over six points higher than the state average of 73.89 percent. On Election Day, at the Senior Center, Bates said more than 25 percent of voters had already voted before noon. “It’s a huge turnout, largest that it has been in years,” said Edward Janik, who greeted voters at the polls at District 5, Griswold School. Turnout at Griswold School in the afternoon on Election Day was so heavy the moderator was unable to spare time to be interviewed. Many voters encountered members of the Berlin Democratic Town Committee, who were out in force at several polling places. See Police / Page 3