‘I’m done:’ Ron Gambardella and Republicans suffer election defeats

Disappointment and shock filled the room of the Republican headquarters at Devonshire Hall as Republican mayoral candidate Ron Gambardella fell short against Democratic candidate Lauren Garrett.

After the final count, Gambardella received a total of 5,349 votes to Garrett’s 6,653 votes. Write-in candidate Al Lotto secured 231 votes. Incumbent Mayor Curt Leng, who also ran as a write-in, collected 47 votes.

Gambardella spoke to his supporters last night expressing his appreciation for his team and disappointment that the voters ultimately decided to go in a different direction.

“We did an excellent job of getting the message out,” Gambardella said. “We ran a hard campaign. I believe that the people of Hamden decided they wanted higher taxes, more crime and no economic development because that’s what I stood for. I respect their decision, nothing I can do about it, but it’s certainly going in the wrong direction.”

Third time was not the charm for Gambardella. Back in 2007, Gambardella ran for mayor where he lost to Democrat Craig Henricki. Then in 2009, Gambardella ran for mayor for a second time where he lost to Democrat Scott Jackson.

When asked about running for the fourth time, Gambardella was very firm with his answer.

“I’m done, I’m done,” Gambardella told HQNN. “It’s for the next generation.”

Frank Musante, Gambardella’s campaign manager, said he was upset by the results because he said they have the better solutions to make Hamden a better place regarding crime and taxes. Musante said he has very low expectations for the mayor-elect because he doubts if she has the town’s best interest.

“You have 20 something years of Democratic control, which equals failed policies everywhere,” Musante said. “The liberal ideology and the liberal ideas have failed everywhere and now it’s going to come to Hamden, and it’s just going to be just like Detroit and Chicago, where you have all these same failed policies that don’t work. Higher taxes, more spending and more wasteful debt.”

After receiving the results, Frank LaDore, chairman of the Republican Town Committee, said he was surprised by the results from District 2 because it is the most a Republican candidate got in the last 12 years. In District 2, Gambardella received 490 votes, while Garrett got 536. The results encouraged LaDore — Republicans are outnumbered in Hamden — and he said losing by a small margin in this district is “phenomonal.”

“To lose by 20 (52) votes is phenomenal,” LaDore said. “Last time, we lost by 100. For Ron, he lost by a thousand votes, but in Hamden five to one [20,000 Democrats to 4,000 Republicans], that speaks volumes that Democrats came out against her.”

According to Connecticut Secretary of State’s website, Hamden has 18,871 active Democrats with 4,170 active Republicans.

Ladore said they will ask for recounts in District 2 and District 8. The gap between Garrett and Gambardella in votes surprised Ladore because he said that if Gambardella was going to lose, it was going to be by 600.

Hamden resident of 27 years Chante-Colleen Lewis is not frustrated with the results because she said the Republicans had a strong showing because of how close the margin was.

Even though Gambardella did not win, Lewis said the Democrats should consider this a wake-up call because Garrett did not win easily. Something Lewis wants to change for the next elections is for the people to be represented.

“People don’t feel like their voices are being validated on the important issues on taxes and on crime,” Lewis said. “People felt like when certain people were talking about crime, it seemed like it was a joke or just baiting for something that’s false or just false information about it. I think this election shows that people are reading up on information that’s there and want their values to be heard.”

With Hamden not having a Republican mayor since 1997, Lewis stressed she wants Republicans to focus on what their values are. Lewis said Democrats have done a good job at establishing their identity, but don’t focus on issues that are strengths for Republicans. The issues Lewis wants Republicans to prioritize going forward include taxes, crime and promoting businesses.

Hamden resident of four years, Crystal Dailey, said she was shocked by the results because taxes and crime have continued to increase in Hamden with Democrats in office. 

“We’ve had Democrats in office for a number of years,” Dailey said. “We need to start doing things for change. It’s too long that we have been sticking with party lines instead of voting for the best candidate. If you’re voting, it’s your responsibility to research the candidates that you are voting for to know exactly what they stand for.

Despite this happening in Hamden over the past two decades, Dailey believes the difference maker was Democrats being more involved in the community.

Before leaving the Republican headquarters and calling it a night, Gambardella gave his final words to Garrett.

“Congratulations, hard won fight,” Gambardella said. “You know, I had to work a lot harder to get to where I was.”