STONINGTON — Rob Emery parked his pick-up truck across Mystic South Street Seaport and staked out a nearby street to start door knocking.
On this weekday late morning many homes went unanswered, but Emery the Republican candidate for Stonington’s first selectman, persisted and knocked on most doors including those with Democratic Party campaign signs.
Emery, 60, is running against Bill Middleton, a business developer known for operating several Mystic restaurants including the Jealous Monk.
Both candidates are running for first selectman seat for the first time, a seat now held by Danielle Chesebrough, who ran as a Forward Party candidate in the 2023 election.
A retired Groton town police officer, Emery said that he entered the campaign because he’s always wanted to give back to the community.
“I think I have something to offer. I want to serve my community. There are a lot of people who feel they are ignored and marginalized. When people talk about Stonington they only talk about Mystic and there’s so much more to Stonington than Mystic. I feel I can be a voice for all citizens.”
He highlights his time on the police force including as patrolman and detective as a key asset for the role.
“Policework is dealing with people, that’s what I did for 28 years. When you are dealing with a loss you must understand people and I do understand human nature. I am not going to say things to get elected I am going to speak for the people,” he said.
When someone answered the door, Emery’s style was conversational and unscripted, and he spent ample time connecting. Marie Lesage, 83, was baking pork pies with family when Emery knocked. She talked with Emery as she held the screen door half open.
Education is a key interest for this great grandmother of eight. Emery, who says that “family is the most important thing,” agreed, and pointed to the problem of poor parenting as an educational obstacle.
When asked what she looked for in a candidate, Lesage, a registered Republican, replied, “the same thing that we do nationally. We want somebody honest, common sense, all the things Trump stands for. Things we can understand.”
Amanda Ljubicic, an unaffiliated voter, told Emery that her top concerns were infrastructure, the sewer, long term plans for building schools and how the influx of visitors to the community will be managed.
Ljubicic runs Ace Overhead Trucks LLC with her husband and is unaffiliated.
“I think it’s great to meet people and I think it is helpful,” she said of meeting Emery, who she hadn’t heard of prior.
When it comes to who she will vote for “it really it comes down to experience, but even more so the ability to communicate and be reasonable and logical. Someone who’s focused on solving problems with others,” she said.
Growing up in the area
Emery grew up in Groton and is the youngest of five children and graduated from Fitch Sr. High School in 1983. While he earned a bachelor’s of science in education from the University of Connecticut, he followed his passion of working in law enforcement.
Emery has been an Old Mystic resident for the past 32 years. Since retiring in 2018, he said his focus has been on family — spending time with his wife Melanie, two children and three young grandchildren.
“I believe family is the most important thing. I mean what’s more important than that?” said Emery.
But last March, the lifelong Republican got more involved with local the Republican Town Committee and attended town meetings.
Emery said he is focusing his candidacy on local property taxes and revenues, and said he’d work with state legislators to keep taxes low. He said he supports the kind of mixed-use development that fits with Stonington’s character, and identified upgrades to sewers as a top priority.
Regarding the race, Emery said it was an uphill climb but that he was “not afraid to compete with anyone.”
His opponent, Middleton, is running without party affiliation and is a widely known in the local business community. He sits on the board of Mystic Aquarium, and is a member of the Board of Police Commissioners — a board Emery told CT Examiner that he’d tried to join, after a long career as a police officer, but never got the nod.
“You know because I’m not a successful restauranteur, entrepreneur. I don’t really have to take a backseat to anyone. I’m well read and I have a college degree, and I have a lot of life experience in some very difficult situations.”
He was the first responding officer when his father died.
“I gave him CPR,” he said.
Emery is campaigning alongside Bryan Bentz, 66, the Republican candidate for selectman, who comes with over 20 years of experience on Stonington’s Board of Finance. Emery describes Bentz as his “running mate,” a term he uses to highlight their shared campaign platforms including keeping taxes low and building new schools.
Bentz said he is more of a behind the scenes force with a focus on finance and maintaining databases.
Emery has been attending the whirlwind of meet-and-greet events including at the library, Groton Sportsman Club and apple and garlic festivals, and yes, door knocking. Emery’s wife of 35 of years helps make campaign swag including button-shaped bottle openers.
“I’ve spent a lot of time in local government, especially in the Board of Finance, you know how the town operates. All that knowledge is in the back of my head, and I enjoy doing it,” Bentz said.
The two Republican candidates have gotten to know each other over the past few months campaigning.
“Rob Emery brings a new set of perspectives, so our combination may be a very effective one. He listens carefully to a wide variety of citizens, where I may have been in the “government bubble” a bit. So together I think we’ll be an excellent team,” said Bentz.
Bentz earned his undergraduate degree in physics from MIT, along with a master’s degree in electrical engineering and computer science. He has completed his coursework toward a Ph.D. (ABD) in artificial intelligence from UConn.
A longtime Stonington resident, Bentz raised three children who attended Stonington public schools.
Bentz is taking a second try at the seat after unsuccessfully challenging Danielle Chesebrough in 2023.
Asked if he had political ambitions beyond the race, Emery talked about family.
“If I don’t win, do you know what’s going to happen immediately after the election? On November 5, I’m going to be a husband. I’m going to be a father. I’m going to be a grandfather. I’ll go hiking in the woods. I’ll go kayaking. I’ll go hunting. I’ll play with my grandkids,” he said.
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Editor’s note: Bentz’s graduate work was described as complete in the initial reporting of this story. His PhD work is currently ABD.