Stonington Democrats meet outside in 12 degree weather

Stonington — It may have been dark and 12 degrees but that didn’t stop the Stonington Democratic Town Committee on Tuesday night from choosing its slate of members for the coming year.

Outside.

Faced with a requirement of having to hold an in-person caucus and submit its slate of new members by a 4 p.m. Wednesday deadline, committee Chairman Tim O’Brien had been looking for locations where Democrats could safely meet with the continuing spread of COVID-19.

So instead of meeting indoors, they met in the dimly lit driveway of Democrat Gene Pfeifer’s Island Road home. A table was set up with hot chocolate and members were struggling to recognize each other through the hats, masks, scarves and heavy coats they were wearing. Some carried flashlights.

“It’s like being out on Halloween,” quipped former First Selectman Don Maranell.

Ironically, last June the town committee met in Pfeifer’s yard to select their candidates for the November election while social distancing. That evening it was 75 degrees.

But with the temperature more than 60 degrees colder Tuesday night, committee members took just 10 minutes to approve their slate of committee members and headed home.

Democrat Scott Bates, a borough resident who serves as the deputy secretary of the state, attended Wednesday’s caucus. Despite the joking about the cold, he had a more serious take on what he saw after it was over.

“I’ve worked on elections in Iraq with armed guards on every corner, in bombed out buildings in war-torn Kosovo and in a lot of places where people stood up to be counted in the most difficult of conditions. What I saw tonight in my hometown, friends and neighbors standing in the freezing cold to be part of our democracy, was heartwarming,” he said. “Democracy is strong in our town, in our state and in our nation. We’ll stand up and be counted no matter what.”

“I’ve worked on elections in Iraq with armed guards on every corner, in bombed out buildings in war-torn Kosovo and in a lot of places where people stood up to be counted in the most difficult of conditions. What I saw tonight in my hometown, friends and neighbors standing in the freezing cold to be part of our democracy, was heartwarming.”

DEMOCRAT SCOTT BATES, A BOROUGH RESIDENT WHO SERVES AS THE DEPUTY SECRETARY OF THE STATE