Tesoro looks ahead to 4th term leading Trumbull
TRUMBULL — Democratic incumbent and now fourthterm First Selectman Vicki Tesoro has stood firm in the priorities of her campaign throughout the past several months in running for reelection.
“Three times is a charm and four times is icing on the cake,” Tesoro said. “I am humbled and privileged to be able to serve the town of Trumbull for another two years.”
Tesoro beat Republican David Pia by 513 votes, getting more than 52 percent of the votes and Pia getting nearly 48 percent.
After claiming her victory, she said she will not change how she has run the town and will continue to push forward with the issues that need to be addressed.
“We’re going to continue to invest in education, fund public safety, prioritize our seniors, invest in infrastructure of the town, keep taxes low and control spending while delivering public services,” Tesoro said.
Tesoro plans to continue working on the projects she began during her last term such as: continuing making improvements to the Long Hill Green area, the ongoing Trumbull Mall Area Market Feasibility and Land Use Study, finalizing plans for a new senior center and bringing back a new pension plan for newly hired police officers.
These topics were the same ones she addressed previously during her campaign, but she said the work for them is far from finished.
“We have work to do, we talked about it in the campaign and we have all done a great job in the last six years in this town,” she said. “We have another two years to continue that.”
She specifically highlighted the work of her campaign team and the volunteers who helped her in the months leading to the election.
“We ran a positive, fact-based and honest campaign,” Tesoro said. “We have a great team, we have a great group of volunteers and we’ve been working hard the last three months by knocking on doors.”
She added that during her campaigning residents seemed genuinely interested in her platform of investing more into education, public safety and infrastructure and said she plans to stand firm on delivering on her word.
“We talked about truth and honesty during our campaign and people understand that because that’s what they want their leader to be,” she said.
“They want them to be truthful and honest with them and to do the best for this community. That’s all I’m about and that’s all I’ve ever been about.”
Her opponent, Republican David Pia, conceded to Tesoro after unofficial results were released on the evening of municipal elections Nov. 7.
Pia said that although he wanted to be first selectman, he plans to continue running his family-owned appliance store in Stamford and appreciates his team who ran alongside him on the GOP ticket and supporters.
“I’m feeling very relaxed. I’ve got a job to go to tomorrow morning one way or another,” he said. “We ran a very good, clean campaign; we were knocking on doors, tried to listen more than talk and we focused on issues that concerned the people the most.”
Tesoro acknowledged Pia during her victory speech saying, “My opponent put on a very spirited campaign and I do wish Mr. Pia the best.”
According to the Connecticut Secretary of the State election results, Democratic incumbent Mary Markham won her second term as town clerk against Lisa Valenti, who is registered as unaffiliated but was listed on the Republican ticket.
Democratic incumbent Anthony Musto beat his opponent on the Republican ticket John Del-Vecchio by a mere 84 votes for town treasurer.
Tesoro said that among her top priorities is to ensure that the government is reflective of the wants and needs of the town’s residents.
“We want our government to reflect the people who live here,” she said. “That’s how I’ve led and that’s how I will continue to lead.”
Tesoro said that following her win, she will be meeting with her team to discuss next steps following the race.
“I’m going to regroup with my team and we’re going to discuss where we’re going to go from here,” she said. “We’re going to plan to move forward.”