10/11/2025
The Andover CT Democrat Town Committee would like to thank all the voters who came out (a huge number for a municipal election!) and voted for us by large margins to represent them.
We are so grateful for your support, and we will do our very best to support you and our beautiful town. We congratulate everyone, regardless of party, who won this year and wish them luck.
Below is the article in this week's RiverEast, written by Toriana Williams:
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NEAR-CLEAN SWEEP FOR ANDOVER DEMOCRATS
Andover Democrats swept nearly every contested seat Tuesday night, signaling a major shift in the small town's local politics and placing Democrats in strong control across several key boards.
Republicans won the race for Town Clerk, with Roberta Dougherty easily topping Democrat Jayne Jurovaty, according to unofficial results posted on the secretary of the state's web-site.
However, outside of that race, Democrats either captured a majority outright or emerged as top vote-getters across all boards.
The Board of Finance was swept by the Democrats, with Nicholas Clark, Heather Van Cara and Robert England all winning. The three Republican candidates, Ronald Langlois, Anna Dzladosz and Donald Denley, all lost their election bids.
On the local Board of Education, Democrats Gerard Cremè and Michael Beckwith won seats, as did unaffiliated Sharon St. Rock, who was cross-endorsed by both parties. Republican Marcie Miner lost her election bid.
The Planning and Zoning Commission offered up three candidates while residents could only vote for up to two. On top were Democrat Patrick Dougherty and Republican Leigh Ann Hutchinson. Republican Stephen King lost.
The Planning and Zoning Alternate spot was won by Democrat Jay Kamins, who edged Republican Beata Gadomski by just three votes.
The Zoning Board of Appeals was swept by Democrats, with candidates Julia Haverl and Michael Greenhouse both winning. Republicans Adrian Mandeville and Andreas Halidis lost. The Zoning Board of Appeals Alternate seat went to Democrat Jeffrey Ballard, who topped Republican Suzanna Langlois.
The Board of Fire Commissioners had a bipartisan win, with Democrat Scott Yeomans and Republican Shawn Covell each winning seats.
Democratic Reaction
Democratic Town Committee co-chairs Scott Sauyet and Shannon Louden credited the results to persistent organized outreach and a clear rejection of what they called political hostility.
"It was a combination of things. We had many terrific candidates on the ballot and mailed hundreds of handwritten postcards to encourage voters to support them," they wrote jointly. They added that "Andover residents are tired of the dysfunction on some of the town's boards and wanted a change. And the disgust with the national Republican Party certainly extended to a need for change at all levels."
According to the co-chairs, voters were drawn to candidates who emphasized profes-sionalism. The two spoke on three themes that they maintained: "Qualification, competence, and compassion. Voters chose candidates who they believed would be better able to get along with other Board members to get things done over those with the loudest voices."
They said the vote reflected not only high turnout energy but a broader political signal. "These significant results suggest that people are tired of it and voted for quiet competence instead," they said. They shared their belief that residents prefer the Democratic message of "hope and kindness over the Republican's bullying and invocation of fear."
Republican Reaction
Republican Town Committee Chair Carol Barton acknowledged the strong turnout - and also the steep task her party faced this year. "We got the town clerk elected," she said, but as for the rest of the races, Democrats "unfortunately did better than we did." Barton stressed that Republican candidates put in the work. "We were out front with people coming to the transfer station to hand out flyers We had our signs out earlier," she explained.
But she believes Democrats' targeted out-reach, particularly postcard mailers, played a role: "I heard that they had gotten a postcard to all the Democrats and we think that some of them did influence the parents at the school." Barton also noted the challenge of separating national politics from small-town issues.
"Maybe people were upset about certain things because it's Trump and all that," but she clarified that she wasn't sure. Barton suggested it was unfair for residents to take their anger over federal issues out on local candidates. "You can't blame us for what Trump is doing," she said. "Were here to try to run our town... the best way it can be served." She added that despite the losses, Republicans are focused on moving forward, saying that it just wasn't their year.
"Two years from now, you can try again" she said. "I's an election and it's your vote. Barton emphasized gratitude for those who stepped up to run, stating that she appreciated all candidates. "We did good, she said.
