The certified election results from Tuesday are now available. The charter question to decide the future selection of school board members: no 15,914, yes 13,943. That’s a competitive 53 to 47 percent spread. (Accountants and math mavens please verify.) Yes was for Mayor Bill Finch to appoint school board members. The no majority means voters will continue to elect school board members.
Citywide totals:
Barack Obama defeated Mitt Romney 32,135 to 5,168
Chris Murphy over Linda McMahon 29,075 to 6,022
Jim Himes drubbed Steve Obsitnik 30,863 to 4,014.
And … drum roll please … because OIB reader donj has patiently waited for the Black Rock number, Obama 1465, Romney 703.
The citywide turnout of registered voters was approximately 53 percent. An additional 576 unregistered residents cast votes for president using presidential ballots at the Town Clerk’s Office. The state of Connecticut allows election-day voting for president only for unregistered folks who can prove residency within their respective communities.
Thank you Lennie!!!!!!!!!
I was wrong, I thought the Obama numbers 32,135 to 5168 excluded absentee ballots but it looks like they were included. Had a feeling turnout dropped in Black Rock somewhat. In 2008 it was 2269, this year it was a 2168 turnout. Nonetheless still a big turnout.
37,303 voted for the top of the ticket, the Presidential ticket, that usually garners the most votes. What percent of registered does that represent in the City?
Now look at the Charter question totals at 29,857 and calculate that at 80% of the top! That must be a record for a local question in a national election in this City. Think of the money, media messages, and mailings from all sources for the past two years that pushed people to say ENOUGH!!!
Yet a local question was right up there. It must have seemed important to voters who used their innate intelligence, courage and passion this time around to defeat a lot more money momentum it seems.
We still have the current Charter in effect. Will we look for the Mayor to live up to the Charter language he has ignored? Will we expect the City Council members who choose to run again to show how alert watchdogs matter to create real checks and balance on executive power? Will property revaluations, difficult State and Federal budget issues, and a weak economy bust our budget and call for increased taxes locally? Time will tell.
If this was offered in a non-presidential year it would not have flown. We need to do whatever we can to get these same people out to vote every year. Testa/Timpanelli will never prevail again.
I knew the voters in Bridgeport were discerning enough to vote “no” on the Charter change and still vote Democratic. To me it seemed rather elementary. I do not consider myself one of the “inside” politically informed, nor do I claim to understand a whole lot about the ripple effect that can be created by ballot questions like this. I only know what I was doing. If I were smart enough to separate the Democratic party from the “no” vote then others would too. It is simply a matter of mathematics.
*** Some of the numbers were surprising and others not. Bottom line is four more years of Obama and the GOP licking their wounds and pointing fingers along the way trying to figure out how to become much more women and minority friendly! Let’s hope the GOP doesn’t continue to throw “red” monkey wrenches at “blue” good ideas to move this country forward just because it may not be their own. It should be about the country first, not politics! As for Romney, the President should offer him a position if Romney is truly sincere about helping Obama move this country forward. That position would be to work towards finding some type of positive solution to the immigration problem, after all he does have some type of family ties to Mexico, no? *** FOX NEWS IN MORNING ***