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Norwich — It was nearly a clean sweep for change on the City Council, as voters ousted all but one
incumbent and elected a slate of newcomers, most of whom had never run for public office before, including embattled former
City Manager Robert Zarnetske.
Democrat Jonathan Jacaruso, after an active
campaign, was the top vote-getter with 3,495, and Zarnetske followed with 3,009, the only other candidate to top 3,000 votes.
Joining them on the new council will be
incumbent Democrat Mark Bettencourt with 2,893 votes, newcomer Republican Christopher Coutu with 2,797 votes, Democrat Francois
“Pete” Desaulniers, 2,681 votes and Republican William Nash, 2,355 votes.
Echoes of the recent bitter battle over
a controversial zone change proposal on Washington
Street may have been felt in Tuesday's results.
Three incumbent sponsors of the zone change ordinance lost their seats, while the one incumbent who stayed clear of the issue,
Bettencourt, was re-elected.
Perhaps the biggest upset of the night was
the loss for three-term Alderwoman Jacqueline Caron, the only woman and the only minority candidate in the race. Caron, in
the past a contender for top vote-getter, received only 2,253 votes Tuesday.
Two-term Republican Alderman John Crooks
failed in his re-election bid with 1,661 and first-term Democratic Alderman Larry Goldman also lost with only 1,870 votes.
“Change is the real issue,”
a somewhat surprised and excited Coutu said late Tuesday.
He quickly pointed to the question that
might be on other minds: whether Zarnetske and Mayor Benjamin Lathrop, who has two more years in his term, can get along on
the council together.
“We all know the super conflict between
the mayor and the former city manager,” Coutu said. “They need to set aside their differences and work together.”
Lathrop attended the post election party
at Democratic headquarters for a short time Tuesday evening and shook hands with the winners, including Zarnetske.
“We're not going to work against each
other,” Lathrop said. “I'm not going to anyway.”
“I think we're going to see a change
in attitude and a change in focus,” Zarnetske said. “The public will be heard early in the process, not late in
the process.”
He downplayed the past conflicts. In spring,
the council had worked behind the scenes to garner enough votes to oust Zarnetske. He then announced he would not seek reappointment
and reached a severance package agreement with the council in June. The next month, he was endorsed by the Democrats for City
Council.
“As a member of the council, my first
job is to work with fellow members of the council, and the mayor is one of those,” Zarnetske said.
During the conflict, Bettencourt was the
lone alderman who continued to support Zarnetske. Bettencourt said Tuesday his reputation as a supporter of change and as
a straightforward, ethical public official served him well.
“The public perception of me is that
I'll stand up for what is right, no matter what,” Bettencourt said.
Crooks, who owns a financial services firm
on Main Street, said he was “very, very surprised” at the near sweep of the council
incumbents.
Caron said she was not surprised by Tuesday's
results. The developers withdrew the controversial application only late last week, and neighbors publicly declared they would
campaign for those candidates who had opposed the zone change.
Caron stuck by her sponsorship of the zone
change application as a means of bringing it to the floor. She promised to stay involved in city government “from the
other side of the podium.”
Caron recently founded the Connecticut Pardon
Team to assist former convicts in obtaining non-inmate pardons. In January, she will begin studies at Eastern Connecticut
State University.
“I think the people wanted change,”
she repeated. “I gave six good years on the council. I don't feel bad.” | 
