Uncontested Village Elections See Low Voter Turnout

Uncontested Village Elections See Low Voter Turnout

The Millerton Village offices on North Elm Street.

Photo by Aly Morrissey

MILLERTON — On Tuesday, June 17, 58 registered voters in the Village of Millerton turned out to the polls — with one additional absentee ballot — to select a mayor and two trustees. The turnout marked a sharp contrast to the 2023 elections, which saw record participation and several close races.

On the ballot were incumbent Mayor Jenn Najdek, an independent; incumbent Trustee David Sherman, a Republican seeking re-election; and Katie Cariello, running for her first term to fill the seat of outgoing Trustee Lisa Hermann (Erdner). All three ran unopposed.

Unofficial results were reported by Village Clerk Lisa Cope at 9:30 p.m., after two election inspectors — one registered Democrat and one registered Republican — counted the votes.

Despite uncontested races, the election revealed a few noteworthy results. Trustee David Sherman led all candidates with 52 votes, including 13 on the Republican line and 39 on the Democratic.

Incumbent Mayor Jenn Najdek was re-elected with 47 votes — 41 on the Democratic line and six on the Republican. There were also four write-in votes for mayor.

Newcomer Katie Cariello received 39 total votes, including 34 on the Democratic line and five on the Republican — the lowest total of the three candidates.

There were three write-ins on the trustee line.

An official certification of the election is expected to be issued Wednesday, June 18.

Latest News

Juneteenth and Mumbet’s legacy

Sheffield resident, singer Wanda Houston will play Mumbet in "1781" on June 19 at 7 p.m. at The Center on Main, Falls Village.

Jeffery Serratt

In August of 1781, after spending thirty years as an enslaved woman in the household of Colonel John Ashley in Sheffield, Massachusetts, Elizabeth Freeman, also known as Mumbet, was the first enslaved person to sue for her freedom in court. At the time of her trial there were 5,000 enslaved people in the state. MumBet’s legal victory set a precedent for the abolition of slavery in Massachusetts in 1790, the first in the nation. She took the name Elizabeth Freeman.

Local playwrights Lonnie Anderson and Linda Rossi will tell her story in a staged reading of “1781” to celebrate Juneteenth, ay 7 p.m. at The Center on Main in Falls Village, Connecticut.Singer Wanda Houston will play MumBet, joined by actors Chantell McCulloch, Tarik Shah, Kim Canning, Sherie Berk, Howard Platt, Gloria Parker and Ruby Cameron Miller. Musical composer Donald Sosin added, “MumBet is an American hero whose story deserves to be known much more widely.”

Keep ReadingShow less
A sweet collaboration with students in Torrington

The new mural painted by students at Saint John Paul The Great Academy in Torrington, Connecticut.

Photo by Kristy Barto, owner of The Nutmeg Fudge Company

Thanks to a unique collaboration between The Nutmeg Fudge Company, local artist Gerald Incandela, and Saint John Paul The Great Academy in Torrington, Connecticut a mural — designed and painted entirely by students — now graces the interior of the fudge company.

The Nutmeg Fudge Company owner Kristy Barto was looking to brighten her party space with a mural that celebrated both old and new Torrington. She worked with school board member Susan Cook and Incandela to reach out to the Academy’s art teacher, Rachael Martinelli.

Keep ReadingShow less
In the company of artists

Curator Henry Klimowicz, left, with artists Brigitta Varadi and Amy Podmore at The Re Institute

Aida Laleian

For anyone who wants a deeper glimpse into how art comes about, an on-site artist talk is a rich experience worth the trip.On Saturday, June 14, Henry Klimowicz’s cavernous Re Institute — a vast, converted 1960’s barn north of Millerton — hosted Amy Podmore and Brigitta Varadi, who elucidated their process to a small but engaged crowd amid the installation of sculptures and two remarkable videos.

Though they were all there at different times, a common thread among Klimowicz, Podmore and Varadi is their experience of New Hampshire’s famed MacDowell Colony. The silence, the safety of being able to walk in the woods at night, and the camaraderie of other working artists are precious goads to hardworking creativity. For his part, for fifteen years, Klimowicz has promoted community among thousands of participating artists, in the hope that the pairs or groups he shows together will always be linked. “To be an artist,” he stressed, “is to be among other artists.”

Keep ReadingShow less