Guide to Voting, Planning and Zoning

Getting the most votes does not necessarily mean getting elected. Smart voters will vote accordingly. 

In Connecticut, there is a limit to how many members of a Board or Commission can be from one political party. For Planning and Zoning, no more than 4 Commissioners can be from one party. In Middletown, this limits how many Democrats can serve. 

This year, 3 seats are open, only one of which is currently held by a Democrat. Thus, even though there are 3 Democratic candidates, Shanay Fulton, Kelly Sweeney, and Brian Gartner, only one can actually be seated. 

The other 4 candidates, which include an independent, Stephen Devoto, and 3 Republicans, Joan Liska, Nicholas Fazzino, and Sebastian Giuliano, are vying for the remaining 2 open seats. 

The limitation on the number of Democrats is independent of voting results.  For example, in 2017, the two lowest Democratic candidates had about 25% more votes than the highest Republican candidate, and yet two "losing" Republicans claimed seats instead. In 2013, the two lowest Democratic candidates had almost 50% more votes than the highest Republican candidate, yet two "losing" Republicans claimed seats instead. 

Similar results have been seen for all races in all recent elections: every Democratic candidate has won more votes than any Republican (there are 14,564 registered Democrats, and only 4,744 registered Republicans (there are 12,459 unaffiliated)). 

All voters can cast up to 3 votes. 

A strategic Democrat or Unaffiliated voter might cast a vote for only 1 Democrat, knowing that only one will be seated. A second votes might go to the unaffiliated candidate, Stephen Devoto (Row C). 

A strategic Republican voter, knowing that it is inevitable that one of the Democrats will be seated, would vote for their favorite Democrat, and two of the other candidates.