The polls had only been closed for a few minutes but Democratic mayoral nominee Ellen Zoppo’s victory party was already like a funeral.
With only a couple of precinct totals in, it was already obvious that challenger Art Ward was heading for victory.
While about 80 people stood around quietly at the Bristol Elks Club hoping for a change in fortune, Democratic Party Chairman Dean Kilbourne filled in a handful of precincts that made it crystal clear that Zoppo was heading for defeat.
Half an hour after the polls closed, three-term city Councilor Ellen Zoppo walked into the room, hugged some friends, smiled bravely and told the crowd how much she appreciated the work they’d put in for her.
She said that the result "was a surprise for me" and that she expected just the opposite to take place at the polls.
But, Zoppo said, the loss to Ward was "no reflection" on the effort her campaign put in.
"I’m going to go to sleep and not have one minute of second doubts," Zoppo said.
She said that earlier in the campaign she spoke of the community as a fabric, a metaphor she said was apt once again.
"Fabric can break, but it can also be sewn back together," Zoppo said.
She said that the Democratic Party may have been torn but it will come back together to elect Ward and the rest of the ticket in the Nov. 6 general election.
"The hard feelings" and personality conflicts don’t matter in the end, Zoppo said.
"We’re Democrats and we always will be," she said.
Zoppo said she phoned Ward to offer her congratulations and concession, but Ward said later he never got a call from her.
He showed a reporter his cell phone incoming calls. None were from Zoppo.
But it’s not clear where she tried to phone him.
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Copyright 2007. All rights reserved.
Contact Steve Collins at scollins@bristolpress.com
11 comments:
"We’re Democrats and we always will be, she said".
Who's we, her and daddy?
I want to be a fly on the wall when Ellen goes into the polls on November 6th and checks off Art Ward's name.
Remind me to get to the polls before her just in case the roof collaspes.
You know what I heard tonight around 8:30? A litle ditty from the WIZARD OF OZ. Anybody else?
YES ZOPPO IT OUT! Now to rid her little yes boys - Minor, McCauley, and Nicastro. Poeple in Bristol spoke, not just the Democrats!
“Bristol has spoken,” said city Councilor Craig Minor. He said voters should have gone for the candidate “with experience, skill and talent, but they didn’t.”
Even so, said Minor, Ward “will be as good a mayor as Bristol has ever had.”
Craig has a heck of a lot of nerve making such a statement. Not the best way to turn over a new leaf with the candidate that the CITY DEMOCRATS chose, instead of who the DTC chose.
I hope Art keeps his distance from all of these guys during the campaign. They did nothing but bad mouth him while he sat back and didn't fire a single shot at them. Art proved that he doesn't need them - he has the backing of the voters.
Hopefully the voters will realize that these fools are just as bad for the City as Ellen was.
Art Ward has more experience, skill, talent and CLASS in his little pinky than Zoppo, Minor, McCauley or Nicastro...Congratulations Art!
Just like Bristolites to win and still spew venom. Theres a reason Bristol is the laughingstock of Connecticut. I believe what someone said last year about Waterbury is more true of Bristol. Bristol is where the forces of slime meet the forces of eveil. though I have to believe the people of Waterbury are a bit more educated.
Bristol is the "laughingstock of Connecticut"? Where did you pick up that little gem...the little voices in your head perhaps?. The days of slime and evil are over. Time for Bristol to move for-WARD.
Bristol will remain stagnant. Except for the elitisit idiots in Bristol who always get their way. Of course that could mean everyone since everybody in Bristol is self-centered elitist snobs.
oh brother....do we really need MORE of the mudslinging and nastiness?
The way I see it, Zoppo, Nicastro, Minor, McCauley and Rimcoski did a great job of getting things done ... the stuff behind the scenes like code enforcement, and attempting to hold the landlords accountable which is a big step to take to begin to clean up the city. People won't come here if they see people hanging their clothes out on their front porches or see trash all over the place or grocery carts at the post office or grass that hasn't been cut all summer or cars parked all over front lawns. Shall I go on? We can thank our absentee landlords for tenants that subscribe to all of the above and code enforcement is the only way to change the face of this city. I find it appalling how people will make blanket statements about the council as a whole. What they should really be doing is looking at each individual candidate and see what they have accomplished and where they will take this city in the future. That's what counts ... not perpetual nastiness.
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