In 2021, Democrat Roberto Alves came 290 votes shy of winning a mayoral election in Danbury.
But two years later, in a rematch, Alves flipped the city blue to beat his rival, incumbent Republican Mayor Dean Esposito.
Robert Storace, a reporter for the Connecticut Examiner, said on Connecticut Public’s “The Wheelhouse” that a bitter campaign waged between the two continued beyond the close of polls on Election Day.
“There was a lot of bitterness and that came across last night because in his concession speech, Esposito was very bitter and saying a lot of things such as, ‘It’s hard to believe I lost to that guy.’” Storace said.
Part of the bitterness, Storace said, was a claim from Esposito that Mayor-elect Alves would defund the police.
Alves won by 346 votes Tuesday. The victory for Alves breaks a long streak of Republican leadership in the Hat City. Prior to 2023, the GOP in Danbury had won 11 straight mayoral elections.
