East Haven's Democratic Town Committee chairman and executive board have issued a letter of apology to the Republican party about the behavior of its Democratic mayoral candidate when he went to concede to incumbent Mayor Joseph Maturo (R) on election night Tuesday.
East Haven Republican Town Committee Chairman Paul Carbo told NBC Connecticut that Democratic mayoral candidate Michael Speer was escorted out of the restaurant after a confrontation where the Republicans were gathering to celebrate Maturo's victory.
Democratic Town Committee Executive Board Chairman Richard DePalma wrote a letter to Carbo on Friday to apologize on Speer's behalf.
In the first part of the letter provided to NBC Connecticut, DePalma congratulates Carbo on Maturo's win and assured him of the Democratic party's commitment to collaborating with the Republicans on ideas for the town and in "upholding the best interests of our citizens."
Then, he goes on to say he wrote to address "the occurrence that transpired at the Mayor's victory celebration."
"While some provided apologies for the incident that evening, we want to be unmistakably clear that the incident was no way endorsed by our Democratic Party," DePalma said. "In good faith, and as is custom, our leadership, along with Michael Speer, walked to the celebration to concede the race, and also to congratulate your entire team. Our leadership had no prior knowledge of the candidate’s intended and consequential actions. It was not proper and in poor taste. His actions in no way epitomize the values of our party and will be dealt with accordingly. A hard fought campaign should always end with a respectful handshake and the mending of differences so that the most important tasks at hand can be addressed. That certainly was our objective."
NBC Connecticut has not reached Speer yet for comment, but his Facebook page does address his reaction to the election results. His post doesn't address the confrontation DePalma referenced in his letter, but he does thank his supporters for helping him on his "journey" and "mission" to "make East Haven a better place for all to live" as someone whose family has lived in East Haven over the course of about 90 years.
"I unfortunately did not win the Election, but I smile today. I smile today because I have already hit the jackpot and won in life. I have an amazing wife and a beautiful healthy little boy, family is the most important thing in life," Speer posted on his Facebook page. "In this campaign I wanted to bring innovative thoughts and creativity to a town that has been in desperate need of some change. This campaign has been focused on building for the future."
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He goes on to say, "Certain people questioned and would make allegations as to who was, 'pulling the strings' in the campaign. That was a little funny throughout the process. Today, I think of my grandfather. He passed shortly before I made the decision to run in the 2015 Election. My grandfather was an extraordinary man that helped me truly understand the political ways of our town from his successes and experience. This year you have heard me speak about integrity, being a person that will always talk with members of our community and respond to their questions with an honest answer, not just telling people what they want to hear. Being a person that prides himself with being ethical. These are just some of the things that our campaign was built around that I learned from my grandfather. He would be proud that I did not let anyone bully me down throughout this process though many tried. He would be proud that I kept my word with people and stood strong against things that I knew to be wrong."
Click here to read the full apology letter from the DePalma.
