Experience prevails in Bristol clerk's race — both candidates react to the outcome

Lou Cirillo is one of the only Republicans to win anything locally; Melissa Cordeiro promises another run for office

By Scott Pickering
Posted 11/8/18

Longtime Bristol Town Clerk Lou Cirillo held off challenger Melissa Cordeiro and will retain his post for another two years. The Republican who has been in office for 14 years defeated the Democratic …

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Experience prevails in Bristol clerk's race — both candidates react to the outcome

Lou Cirillo is one of the only Republicans to win anything locally; Melissa Cordeiro promises another run for office

Posted

Longtime Bristol Town Clerk Lou Cirillo held off challenger Melissa Cordeiro and will retain his post for another two years. The Republican who has been in office for 14 years defeated the Democratic challenger who has been a senior clerk in his office for the past 10 years.

In the final tally, Mr. Cirillo captured 53 percent of the votes (4,650), and Ms. Cordeiro won 47 percent (4,190).

The two ran a tense campaign, with the challenger promising to modernize and update services in Town Hall, and the incumbent promoting his knowledge and experience as superior for the role.

On Wednesday, Mr. Cirillo was grateful Bristol voters still had confidence in him.

“I’m very pleased. I’m pleased by the plurality,” he said. “In relative terms, compared to 2004 [when he was elected], it’s a landslide. For a Republican in Bristol, I think it’s not too bad. I did win most of the individual precincts, which made me feel good. My support is pretty much the same across all groups of people, which was my goal all along, to treat all people the same.”

Asked about the toll of this campaign, Mr. Cirillo admitted it was difficult to do his job and run for office at the same time.

“It was particularly difficult to run for office, because my responsibility is to my job,” he said. “I did not have time to be out and about campaigning, because I was here. I took a four-day vacation in August and spent every day on email in my hotel. It’s been difficult to try to do all of these things. I always felt, from the day I started this job, the job came first, and I was never even a remote second.”

Mr. Cirillo said it was also challenging to know his opponent came from within the office.

“It was difficult to have somebody who’s within your own household to challenge you, with no advance warning.

It was disappointing too, because I mistakingly thought things were well here,” he said.

Moving forward, he expects things to be different within the clerk’s office, but also the same. “She has a job to do, and I have a job to do. I’m expecting she’s going to do her job, and I’m going to do mine. I’m a professional. I’ve always been a professional,” he said. “I’m sure there is always going to be a strain. I thought we were friends. I don’t think we’re friends anymore. But I don’t intend to be any less professional than I have been through this entire process.”

Cordeiro promises to run again

Ms. Cordeiro knocked on more than 4,000 doors throughout Bristol during the campaign, and her visits were often treated like celebrity sightings, with senior citizens, children and everyone in between posing for photos and videos.

Three nights ago, a Patrick Kennedy “robocall” went to several thousand Bristol homes, with the former Congressman touting Ms. Cordeiro’s ability to bring a “fresh perspective and new ideas” to the clerk’s office.

In the end, it was not enough, as the experienced Mr. Cirillo kept his job.

After the outcome became clear, Ms. Cordeiro said she was proud of the campaign she ran, proud of her supporters, proud of her family, and energized by the many people she met along the way — energized enough to promise she will be running for office again in the future.

“This is not the the last people are going to see of me, I can promise that,” she said.

Ms. Cordeiro would not specify which office she would be seeking, but she also said she has no plans to leave the clerk’s office. “I love my job. I love what I do. I’ll just continue doing it,” she said.

“I have learned a lot during this campaign,” she said. “In the end, I did not lose. This was not a loss for me.”

Mr. Cirillo would not predict what his future holds, other than to say he knows what he’s doing for the next two years — a job he truly loves.

“I like doing what I do,” he said, “and I think I do it very very well. I’m a terrible politician, but I think I’m a very good town clerk. I’m very proud of what I’ve done here.”

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