PHOTOS: Will Duff Wins the Bethel Republican Primary Election For First Selectman GOP Nominee, Celebration Followed

Duff: “The Republican Party made its decision tonight.  Everybody pulled together with a positive campaign.  Going forward we have to stick to the message, smaller government equals smaller taxes.  This town is besieged by an ever increasing inclusion of taxes, how can we afford it? My job, when I’m First Selectman, is to make Bethel affordable again.  We’re going to make Bethel better.”

Report and Photography by Paula Antolini
September 17, 2015 7:44AM EDT

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Photo above: Will Duff’s Dad, Bethel Police Commissioner Mike Duff, gives his son a congratulatory hug upon his winning the Republican primary election last night. 
See more photos below.  CLICK ON PHOTOS TO VIEW LARGER.

Will Duff Wins the Bethel Republican Primary Election For First Selectman GOP Nominee, Large Celebration Followed

At approximately 8:15p.m. last night, September 17, 2015, Will Duff was victorious in his quest to be the GOP nominee for First Selectman, winning with 318 votes against Pat Rist, who had 279 votes.

Rist had received the GOP party nomination at the GOP caucus two months ago. Duff then gathered the required signatures for a primary election, so voters could choose the candidate, instead of the 60 individuals who were at the July caucus, of who will run against incumbent First Selectman Matt Knickerbocker in November.

As the day moved forward yesterday, it was clear there was a low voter turnout but the determination of Will Duff was strong, and we found him campaigning all day and in the early evening hours too, outside the Bethel CJH Municipal Center, as he shook hands and talked to more voters, and his team was busy making phone calls to voters too.

After 7:00 p.m., Rist and Duff and small groups of their supporters waited in the General Purpose Room of the Bethel CJH Municipal Center, for the final tally of votes. When the count was completed, 597 votes were totaled of the nearly 3,000 Republican voters eligible to vote, and Duff was victorious.

As Duff waited for the vote count, Bethel Advocate asked him what his thoughts were at that moment and Duff said, “This is democracy in action. That’s all I can say.”  Bethel Advocate asked Duff if he forged a hard campaign, and he said, “We brought our message to the people. My message is smaller government and smaller taxes.  It’s their choice.”  When asked if he thought he could make change in Bethel, Duff said,  “I know I can make change.  The mere fact that the other side doesn’t want to make any change, is why we’re not having change.” He clarified by “other side” he meant the Democrats.  “For us, it’s not that hard to do.  For us, making change is quite easy. We just do it, no excuses, no remorse, just get it over and done with, and make government smaller. It’s a very simple equation.”

Before the final vote tally, Bethel Advocate asked Pat Rist for her final thoughts and she said, “The only thing that I’m disappointed about is, it was a very low voter turnou,t I’m told. That’s very disappointing.”  We asked if she thought she could make a change in Bethel and Rist said, “I absolutely do, I managed very, very differently, and as I said, transparency is key to any leadership position here in Bethel, and it’s keeping the public informed as things continue, not after they’ve taken place.”  

When the final vote tally was read, Will Duff’s father, Police Commissioner Mike Duff, was on hand to give him a big hug upon winning, along with many supporters who congratulated Will Duff.

The celebration carried over, late into the night, at Bethel’s local The Spot restaurant where there was a buffet and champagne toast.  Local politicians attended, CT State Senator Toni Boucher, CT State Representatives Dan Carter and Stephen Harding were there, and other supporters from Brookfield too.

After everyone raised their champagne glass to Will Duff in a toast, part of Duff’s victory speech, when asked how he felt about his win, was, “Well obviously I’m euphoric.  It is an impressive showing.  The Republican Party made its decision tonight.  Everybody pulled together with a positive campaign.  Going forward we have to stick to the message, smaller government equals smaller taxes.  This town is besieged by an ever increasing inclusion of taxes, how can we afford it? My job, when I’m First Selectman, is to make Bethel affordable again.  We’re going to make Bethel better.”

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The numbers are as follows:

District 1
Pat Rist: 20 votes
Will Duff: 24 votes

District 2
Pat Rist: 83 votes
Will Duff: 61 votes

District 3
Pat Rist: 92 votes
Will Duff: 116 votes

District 4
Pat Rist: 52 votes
Will Duff: 84 votes

District 5
Pat Rist: 17 votes
Will Duff: 22 votes

Absentee Votes
Pat Rist: 15 votes
Will Duff: 11 votes

TOTAL VOTES
Pat Rist: 279 votes
Will Duff: 318 votes

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