2020 Election For 102nd CT House District: Comey Wins Reelection

BRANFORD, CT — The votes have all been counted and Robin Comey has defeated challenger Marc Riccio for the 102nd CT House District seat representing Branford.

Update at 11:30 p.m.:

Comey told Patch that she knocked on more than 2,800 doors during the campaign, connecting with voters.

"I connected with them about improved healthcare, the Covid-19 pandemic and the education of their kids," she said. "As someone who is a champion of education and an advocate for public health I'm committed to showing up and working hard for the next two years on Branford's behalf. I'm thrilled to be able to continue serving my shoreline community as their state representative."

And on Facebook, she offered her thanks.

Meanwhile, Riccio posted his concession statement on Facebook —"It is with a heavy heart that I am conceding this race for the 102nd District." — and congratulated Comey.

Update at 9:56 p.m.:

It's announced that Comey has won.

Update at 9:05 p.m.: Of the 5,495 absentee ballots received and counted, Comey won just shy of 75%, or 4,116 absentee votes, to Riccio's 1,379 absentee ballot votes.

Update: 8:55 p.m.:

Robin Comey has beaten challenger Marc Riccio by 15 percentage points, according to election data she provided to Patch.

Comey earned 57.7% of the vote while Riccio garnered 42.3%.

Original story:

There’s no shortage of hot-button issues but one, so-called forced school regionalization, was a bone of contention for the candidates vying for the District 102 seat in the Connecticut General Assembly.

Incumbent Democrat Robin Comey is faced off against Republican challenger Marc Riccio to represent Branford.

Riccio, 65, formerly represented Branford on the RTM for the 6th district.

Comey, 53, was elected to represent Branford, with 55 percent of the vote against Republican candidate Robert Imperato, in November 2018.

(The votes are currently being counted and continue to refresh this article for updates as the night progresses. To sign up for free real-time election updates from Patch click here.)

Among many issues where the candidates disagree, the matter of regionalizing schools caused a controversy when Riccio said his opponent “signed on” for a potential state measure that would force the regionalization of school districts. Riccio, who said Comey supports the measure, said, It’s just a bad idea. Parents are going to lose control of where their kids go to school,” Riccio claimed.

Riccio said Comey signed on to study regionalization, “the first step in laying the groundwork,” he said during a podcast he posted to his Facebook of a conversation between him and Sen. Len Fasano.

Stay on top of all the returns from across Connecticut and our five congressional districts by checking these stories throughout the night.

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But Comey countered that not only does she not support regionalization, she “rejected” a proposed bill on the matter.

“My opponent has been intentionally misleading and trying to scare voters about my record when it comes to school regionalization. He's not telling you the truth but I will,” she wrote on Facebook.

“Let me be crystal clear: I do not support forced regionalization and I advocated against - and successfully REJECTED - a forced school regionalization bill that was proposed. That is fact,” she said. “What else is fact? The bill we did vote on was a study bill that looked at ways that the state and towns could pool resources in educational services to save money. This isn't law. It's not binding. It's exactly what it says it is - a simple study of an issue.”

Comey charged that it was, “Ridiculous and insulting to frame me as anti-local education or that I do not have the best interest of Branford students in mind.”

In his Patch candidate profile, Riccio said that the issue was one of the critical differences between him and Comey.

“My opponent voted and supports Regionalizing Schools which might merge the Branford School System with neighboring towns like East Haven or North Branford,” he wrote, noting he would “not support school regionalization.”

In her Patch candidate profile, Comey said her record on education speaks for itself. And she noted that she was inducted into the Branford Education Hall of Fame in 2019 “for my extraordinary contributions.”

“I have fought for teachers, kids, nurses, and staff from early childhood to adult education, in public, private or magnet schools,” she said.

What do the candidates believe is the most critical issue facing the state and Branford?

Comey said the pandemic is the most critical issue.

“Clearly the single most pressing issue facing our state is the COVID-19 pandemic, plus the downstream impact it has had on our economy, our school children, and our elderly living at home or in convalescent care,” she said.

“It will take a long time to recover from the avalanche of COVID's aftermath, but I am confident we'll come back stronger than ever,” she said adding, “I am committed to working with both sides in the legislature to build back our economy.”

Riccio said the most critical issue is about property taxes.

“Hartford wants to bail out the cities using small towns property taxes. I will fight to prevent Hartford from raiding Branford (and other small towns) Rainy Day funds in order to pay the debts of cities like New Haven, Waterbury and Hartford,” he said.

“The town of Branford property taxes should stay in Branford to pay for our education and town operations period.”

Chatting with the candidates at the polls

“We’re very excited,” Riccio said Tuesday night just before 6 p.m. outside the Branford Fire Department poll location. He said he’d been there since 6:15 a.m. Behind him were two Trump supporters screaming at passing cars.

“We had an amazing social media strategy,” Riccio said. “We had a ground game and knocked on hundreds of doors.”

Patch spoke with Comey outside the Community House in Branford mid-morning. Also excited, she said she felt “really good,” but noted the passion of the voters who were lined up to cast their ballots.

“I was here really early ...with lines and lines of people. But everybody was really patient,” she said. “I get the feeling everybody just wants their candidate to win.”

Comey too went door-to-door. She said she “personally knocked" on more than 2,800 doors and campaign workers and volunteers another 2,500 doors.