Derby Mayor Joseph DiMartino on Left. Credit to Ethan Fry – Connecticut Hearst Media/CT Post
Incumbent Mayor Democrat Joseph DeMartino faces a competitive race in November. The 2023 Election in Derby grabbed national news attention due to his Republican opponent.
In our previous article, I noted many competitive elections that will take place in November. The circumstances of the Derby Mayoral Election in 2023 warrant its own article.
The Rollercoaster 2023 Mayoral Race: The Republican Primary
Derby, a city 8 miles northwest of New Haven, received national news attention on September 12, 2023, when Republican challenger Gino DiGiovanni Jr. beat incumbent Republican mayor Richard Dziekan. DiGiovanni Jr., a local board of alderman was charged with trespassing during the Jan. 6 Capital riot.
State Senate majority leader Bob Duff explained the danger of voters not paying attention to local elections. Duff said, “Too many people focus entirely on the federal level. Duff’s comments came due to the low turnout of the Republican primary.
Connecticut is a closed primary state, meaning only registered voters of a party can vote. Derby is a city with over 12,000 residents, with 6,667 registered voters during the November 2023 elections. During the Republican Primary, Derby only had over 1264 registered Republicans, of which 394 voted in the primary. DiGiovanni Jr emerged victorious with 202 votes, to Incumbent Mayor Dzeikan’s 192 votes. The votes were finalized after a recount 3 days after the primary. Voter turnout on the Republican side was a bit over 31%.
Credit to Connecticut Secretary of State Website
National Attention
Publications including the NYTimes, Politico, and the AP News covered the Republican primary bringing attention to the small city. Democratic operative Roy Occhiogrosso told reporters “It’s not like Derby is some town in the Deep South where there’s an overwhelming amount of support for Trump,” and that “It’s not a hotbed of MAGA activity”. The New York Times noted, that DiGiovanni was one of the few elected officals to be charged in connection with the Capital riot. He won his seat on the alderboard in 2021, 10 months after the Capitol riots.
DiGiovanni said after his primary win “I didn’t go down there to overthrow the government”, and that he recognized Joe Biden as president. Interestingly many people in the town, including his opponents gave him a pass or avoided harsh criticism of his actions. The Derby Board of Education Chair Jim Gildea said people gave Gino a pass because he is a nice guy. Incumbent Mayor Dzeikan said DiGiovanni’s judgement was off, but he’s a great guy. DiMartino said it wasn’t a great move, but he wasn’t trying to bash him.
Even more surprisingly, Dzeikan’s tenure as mayor likely faced more scrutiny than DiGiovanni’s. State officials placed the city’s finances under strict oversight after a projected surplus turned into a significant deficit.
The General Election
Races in the city of Derby are usually competitive at the town and federal level. In 2020, Biden won the city (51-48). In 2024, Trump won the city (51-48). During the 2021 mayoral election, incumbent Republican mayor Richard Dziekan beat Democratic nominee Joseph DiMartino by a narrow 48-vote margin (50.85-49.15). Democrats won the other city offices such as City Clerk, Treasurer, and Constable. These results note the competitive nature of City elections
Joseph DiMartino emerged victorious on his second attempt for mayor winning the general election in November 2023. Incumbent Republican Mayor Richard Dziekan was on the ballot as a petitioning candidate. Dziekan and DiGiovanni Jr. split the Republican vote leading to DiMartino winning a plurality of the vote (44-25-23). Democrats carried other all offices in the city winning majorities in all of them.
DiMartino Announces Re-Election Bid
Two weeks ago, Incumbent mayor Joseph DiMartino announced his re-election bid for a second term as mayor of Derby.
In his announcement, he noted the city already has eliminated the deficit and says the process has started in turning the city around. He noted in his announcement he is focused on the economic development of the city.
DiMartino is a 33-year veteran of the Derby Public Works Department and has coached girls’ softball and boys’ wrestling. As an official, he served as a member and board of alderman.
The competitive nature of the city will mean this is one election people should have on their radars. It is unknown at this time which Republican will seek the seat, but we will update readers on new developments when the time comes.