Suzio defeats Bruenn in special election (Meriden CT, State Senate-Suzio is Tea Party Conservative)

MERIDEN - It took four tries, but Leonard F. Suzio easily won the 13th District state Senate seat Tuesday over Thomas E. Bruenn in what Suzio described as an election to return Connecticut to the people.

Early in the night, Suzio, a Republican, was cautiously optimistic as he sat at a desk at his campaign's East Main Street headquarters. He had lost races to former Sen. Thomas P. Gaffey three times before, most recently in November, but said something felt different this time - voters were unhappy with what they saw as out-of-control spending in Hartford and around the country.

"Thank you all," Suzio told about 100 supporters crowded around him. "Now let's roll up our sleeves and make Connecticut the great state it used to be."

Supporters such as state Sen. Joseph Markley, R-Southington, and former state Sen. Tom Scott, as well as poll workers and well-wishers filled the rooms. As the results started trickling in, the mood grew more upbeat.

Suzio won Cheshire easily - as he had during his most recent campaign - and as the Meriden and Middletown results came in, the distance between him and Bruenn, a Democrat, grew.

As more city voting precincts showed Suzio winning, supporters shouted: "I thought we weren't supposed to win that district."

The 16-year wait for a spot in the Senate, which was dotted with disappointments and defeats, was not lost on Suzio in his victory speech.

"I didn't let the odds, no matter how daunting they were, stop me from plowing ahead with what I thought was the right thing to do. I promise you, I'm going to take that same attitude up to the state Capitol," he said, adding that a new "conservative revolution" was afoot.

Suzio, 63, also thanked his opponent for running a positive five-week campaign. Bruenn dropped by the headquarters briefly to congratulate the winner. He credited the win to voter values and a new, more conservative, Republican Party that has to be more than "Democrat light" if it wants to keep winning.

"We ran a good fight," Bruenn said. "But obviously the Republicans worked harder."

Earlier that night, Bruenn was gracious in defeat, telling the roughly 40 supporters who had gathered at his West Main Street headquarters that he was conceding and thanking Suzio for running a positive campaign.

He said he had no regrets about his campaign and that he respected the voters' choice.

"As the saying goes, the people have spoken," said the 71-year-old Meriden school board member. "The public says that Len's ideas trumped mine."

Bruenn and other supporters acknowledged that new Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's budget proposal, which includes sharp tax increases for nearly every resident in the state, also may have energized the local conservative base. The proposal also includes spending cuts to balance the state's budget.

Meriden Democratic Town Chairwoman Millie Torres-Ferguson said the defeat could be chalked up to a perfect storm made up of anger over Malloy's budget and a lack of urgency from local party members.

"I think there were several things that contributed to this ... I think a lot of people thought Tom was a shoo-in," she said. "Taxpayers are concerned with this latest proposal, the tax package - that's obvious. It's frustrating because Tom came out against Malloy's taxes but that didn't come through."

Torres-Ferguson added that the campaign failed to draw attention to what she described as Suzio's connection to New England Log Homes, a business he co-owned that failed in the 1990s without returning hundreds of thousands of dollars in customer deposits.

"He's not the guy that he's painted himself to be," she said. "Tom would have been much better for this district than Len would be .... Tom didn't lose because of something Tom did."

Suzio and Bruenn spent nearly two years as fellow members of Meriden's Board of Education until Suzio opted not to seek re-election in 2009 after 14 years there.

He was given a surprise chance at a fourth shot at the Senate following an unceremonious end to former state Sen. Thomas P. Gaffey's 15-year tenure. After he admitted double-billing both the state and his political action committee for $2,800 in travel expenses in 2009, an investigation by the state's attorney's office resulted in misdemeanor larceny charges and he resigned before taking the oath of office in January.

At polling places around the district Tuesday, Malloy's plan to raise taxes by an estimated $1.5 billion next year was clearly weighing heavy on the minds of voters.

Meriden resident Tom Walker, who was voting at Washington Middle School, said concern over the increases led him to cast his vote for Suzio.

Another Meriden resident, Derrick Jackson, said he voted for Bruenn mostly due to his background in education.

"I like his strong stances, and most of them line up with what I think," he said.

All special election winners are tentatively scheduled to be sworn into office on Friday, according to Av Harris, spokesman for the secretary of the state. Suzio, however, said he's going to Los Angeles on business Thursday and won't be back until Saturday.

I talked to Senator Suzio tonight and he confirmed that Tom Scott had performed brilliantly as campaign manager. I have also determined that the GOP now has what amounts to an anaconda of districts (conservative GOP unless otherwise noted) wrapped around the shoreline from east of New Haven to New York State above the shoreline. East Haven, North Haven and Wallingford have Senator Len Fasano, Meriden, Cheshire, Middletown and Middlefield have Senator Len Suzio, Southington, Cheshire, Waterbury and a few others have Joe Markley (Scott’s old best friend in the Senate newly elected in 2010 after about 20 years absence), two rural districts from there to Danbury on the New York line, a district centered on Ridgefield and New Canaan (possibly held by a moderate) near the line, the Greenwich district probably held by a “moderate,” a district including Fairfield, Westport and other towns held by the son of the late Stewart McKinney who is far less liberal than his father. There is a website for the Connecticut State Senate Republicans. Click on members for photos and district geography. God bess.

yes, Black. But the GOP Senate is very liberal on social issues, unlike the GOP House.

Fasano WLFD gets the NARAL endorsement ... as does Rorabach in Litchfield county ... he is of the Rorabach & Rorabach law firm. Represented (Griswold vs. CT) and continue to represent PP-CT. Senate typically went 28-8 on social issues (gay marriage, stem cell funding, etc.), so now we are at 26-10 with Welch (Bristol ‘10 victory) and Suzio.

And that includes 2 pro-family DEM votes, so we really have 8 GOP now. Hartley WTBY and Doyle (Rocky Hill) are the 2 pro-family DEMS.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Online Features Links