BETHEL — Republican voters decided, by a wide margin on Tuesday, to back a slate of GOP incumbents on the Board of Finance in the Nov. 7 municipal election.
Incumbent Republican Nicholas Ellis led all candidates with 391 votes, according to unofficial results Tuesday night. William Duff came in second with 376 votes, while Cynthia J. McCorkindale came in third with 365 votes. Republican Tim Martin, their challenger, came in a distant fourth, with 209 votes. Martin will not be on the ballot.
Earlier in the evening, before polls closed, Martin told Hearst Connecticut Media his campaign did its “best to get our messaging out there — to give our voters an alternative option. Now we will see what they decide.”
Martin couldn’t be reached after polls closed.
Meanwhile, incumbent Republicans said they were running based on their track record of being able to collaborate and their accomplishments. Ellis, Duff and McCorkingdale
“I know, all three candidates worked very hard, Knocking on doors, meeting voters, focusing in on Republicans, because only Republicans can vote,” said Tim Beeble, secretary of the Bethel Republican Town Committee.
“And in the end, they won their race, handily. I think it also shows that the Republican caucus selected the three strongest candidates. In an election, it’s not just your credentials, it’s your electability — and that’s what came out here.”
Beeble, who also serves as the town’s Republican Registrar of Voters, said 506 of Bethel’s 3,122 registered Republicans cast votes on Tuesday.
Ellis could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.
He previously told Hearst Connecticut Media, “We’re working very well, giving the town what they need — not what they want.”
Ellis said, adding that both the Republican Town Committee and the town caucus endorsed him and his fellow incumbents.
