When Connecticut voters head to the polls on Tuesday, more than a third of towns — 45 in total — will have just one choice for the top job.
The percentage of uncontested races for mayor and first selectman has climbed steadily since 2007, reaching a 35% peak this year, according to data from 1999 to the present available from the Secretary of the State.
Asked about the trend, both experts and candidates offered two explanations.
The optimistic view was that satisfaction with local government left rivals with no reason to challenge incumbents. The less optimistic view was that relatively low salaries for top jobs discourage young people from leaving professional careers for public service and that growing polarization in local politics was a deterrent to taking part.
It could be both.
A year ago, Chester saw a spirited campaign over a referendum to adopt a town charter. The effort fell short. But the two most vocal opponents, Republicans John Chillock and Ron Amara, are sitting out the elections, and the Democratic incumbent, First Selectwoman Cynthia Lingar, is running unopposed.
She did not respond to a request for comment.
Amara ran as the Republican candidate in 2023, but this year party didn’t offer him their endorsement.
“I think Republicans are fearful that if they take the time and money that I took two years ago, they’re going to be swamped or embarrassed or beaten,” Amara said. “And they say to themselves, Why should I even try to run?”
Amara said he was a Democrat years ago, then became an independent before registering as a Republican to seek office. He describes himself as left on social issues and right on fiscal ones.
Amara said participation in local politics has increased in recent years and most local boards and commissions are full, but he acknowledged volunteers remain scarce.
The charter proposed sidestepping that problem by reducing the number of elected seats and creating a nonpartisan town administrator to run the town.
“I understand people might not have enough time,” Amara said. “But I also see a lot of people don’t believe in the political system as they did in the 40s, 50s and 60s because they believe the Democrats are going to win anyway. Why should I join a board if I’m in the minority side and my voice doesn’t matter?”
Amara said Chillock, who chairs the Board of Finance and is a member of the Chester RTC, would have made a strong candidate this year.
“Several people have shown an interest in running for first selectman. However, due to work-life balance concerns, they are currently not ready for the time commitment required to be first selectman,” Chillock told CT Examiner. “This will change down the road, as they are actively working with the Republican town committee to prepare for a future candidacy.”
That’s not to say that Lingar faced no competition. She defeated Joe Coen in a local Democratic primary.
Jonathan Wharton, an associate professor of political science at Southern Connecticut State University, said such primaries function as the real election in many towns because of “unique” features of the state’s political system. Among these, he cited the absence of county party committees, which leads some to behave like a “one-party town,” and closed primaries, in which only registered voters can participate. Wharton noted that most millennials are unaffiliated.
“We see in Connecticut and other places where we tend to see old, retired, semi-retired baby boomers who tend to run and go for office at the local level as opposed to millennials,” Wharton said. “If you go to a local party committee meeting, it’s rare you’re going to find anybody under 40 years old there.”
Wharton said uncontested races were also on the rise for seats in the state legislature and cited the generation gap as a main reason. While he said he saw no political reforms being discussed to adopt open primaries or ranked-choice voting as in New York, he remained optimistic the trend would reverse.
“I think what we will experience in the next 10 years is a generational shift,” Wharton said. “It’s just so long that the baby boomers can continue to hold on and engage and remain candidates. I think you’re going to see eventually millennials run for office.”
He described the change as a cycle that repeats every decade or two.
According to data compiled by CT Examiner, 30% of mayoral or first selectman races were unopposed in 1999. That figure declined to a low of 16% in 2007, then began rising to a high of 35% this year.
The towns with the fewest contested races since 1999 are in rural areas, particularly concentrated in Litchfield, Windham and New London counties.
In 2025, Middlesex County had the fewest contested races in the state, with nearly two-thirds of top seat elections unopposed. Litchfield County ranks second, with more uncontested races than competitive ones.
The percentage does not include towns where no top seat is elected, either because they are not holding elections this year or because they have a town manager-town council system.
Civility and Polarization
A common response from first selectmen queried about the trend was that the lack of challengers was a product of public satisfaction with how they have managed town affairs.
Norman Needleman, Essex’s Democratic first selectman, who is running unopposed for a seventh term, shared that view in an interview with CT Examiner in early October. He described Essex as a “no-drama town” and his rivals as old friends. He said the lack of competition was not a problem but rather a sound system for keeping politics out of town and getting things done.
Bob Carlson, North Stonington’s Republican first selectman, said the lack of competition stemmed from his moderate approach to local government and the other party’s view of him as someone who listens and puts the town first.
“It is both good and bad,” Carlson said. “Good, I guess, because I really don’t enjoy the political part of my job. Bad because I think that you can always learn about something that you may be able to improve in the way you do things by listening to your opponent’s perspective.”
Carlson is running for public office for the sixth time. He served once on the Board of Education, twice on the Board of Selectmen and is now seeking a third term as first selectman. He has never had an opponent.
John Hall, Westbrook’s Republican first selectman, is also uncontested for reelection and offered a similar explanation.
“I don’t think it’s a lack of interest. I think that it’s satisfaction on the part of the majority of residents with the way things are going,” Hall said. “Westbrook’s a small town. It’s too small for politics to come into the day-to-day operations.”
But the notion of being too small for drama has several counterexamples across Connecticut, where polarization has erupted in local politics. Even in towns that historically had little political competition at the local level.
Lyme has had only three contested races for the top job since 1999, making it the least competitive town in the state — a distinction it shares with Barkhamsted, Sharon and Warren. All four are towns with fewer than 4,000 residents.
This year, Lyme faces a contested race between Tom St. Louis, a Republican, and Christy Zelek, an unaffiliated candidate with the support of Democrats, for first selectman.
That competition was triggered in part by a dispute over a Board of Education seat two years ago. For decades, the parties had alternately shared seats on the board, but in 2023, Democrats labeled Republican Mary Powell-St. Louis, who held the seat, a “book banner.” Democrat Gavin Lodge won the race.
Polarization does not always lead to greater interest and competition. It can have the opposite effect.
With a population of about 60,000, Meriden is the largest city without a contested mayoral race this year.
Elaine Cariati, chairwoman of the Meriden Republican Town Committee, said they had a candidate for mayor, but at the last minute he withdrew for personal reasons. Cariati rejected the idea that a lack of competition signaled support for the status quo.
“I don’t think people are ever happy. Taxes are going up in Connecticut. People can’t afford things,” Cariati said. “In my experience, the Democrats are ruthless when it comes to Republican candidates.”
Cariati said that when she sought candidates this year, some told her they did not want to get involved because of political polarization.
“Social media has become a ruthless business. They post whatever they want about any candidate, and that goes for either party. They go after the candidates,” Cariati said. “They will say whatever they want, and there’s no consequence.”
An additional difficulty, according to Cariati, was that local residents tended to focus on federal politics rather than local issues.
“The federal level, yes, does trickle down, but it doesn’t affect their everyday life like their car taxes, their house taxes, their water bill tax,” Cariati said. “They only know Trump, they only know Biden, and what they stand for. Because we’re Republicans, they say, you’re a Trump lover and we can’t trust you. I’m guilty by association because we’re in the same party.”
Meriden Mayor Kevin Scarpati did not respond to a request for comment.
Seth Warner, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Connecticut, said there is evidence that political polarization makes people less interested in pursuing a career in politics.
“People do turn out to vote more, people protest more, but when it comes to serving in government, I think there’s a little less motivation to do that,” Warner said, emphasizing that, unlike other states, local races in Connecticut are partisan. “It’s hard to recruit a candidate for the party that is probably going to lose in the election. It might not seem worth potential candidates’ time to do that.”
Warner also linked the increase in polarization to the so-called “nationalization of politics” and the decline in local news coverage.
“They Can’t Afford to Do It”
Carl Fortuna, Old Saybrook’s Republican first selectman, is unopposed for reelection this year. He will be serving an eighth term and told CT Examiner he had maintained good relations with local Democrats during his 14 years in office.
“I can only report what I have read elsewhere as to why this is the case: the job pays modestly for the time commitment and responsibility,” Fortuna said in an email. “In addition to this, public discourse has become uglier. Thankfully, Old Saybrook has mostly maintained civility in its public meetings.”
Deborah Shah, Chair of the Old Saybrook Democratic Town Committee, said they have maintained a positive relationship with Fortuna but acknowledged financial constraints for those who might challenge him.
“Over his tenure, Carl Fortuna has proven to be a popular first selectman, but he has also foregone salary increases,” Shah said. “Given the time and skill requirements, the salary constraints have made it difficult to recruit a potential candidate.”
Shah said the committee focused primarily on increasing membership and visibility in the community, winning some elections, such as majorities on the Police Commission, the Board of Finance and Parks and Recreation. This year, their priority is to win majorities on the Board of Education and the Planning Commission.
She said not having a top candidate is not a problem for Old Saybrook Democrats because the party is “strongly represented” on other boards and commissions.
Jon E. Zagrodzky, First Selectman of Darien, said a “unique person” is required to do the job because the pay is not very good and the position is a full-time job, 50 to 60 hours of work a week, and on call 24 hours a day.
“It’s hard for people who are mid-career or who might want to one day step up and into that job to accept a job that pays that kind of money,” Zagrodzky said.
Darien’s first selectman earns about $150,000 per year, plus health insurance.
“I think some of the Democrats I know might want to do this job, but they can’t afford to do it,” Zagrodzky said. “They’ve got expensive lifestyles or they’re not prepared to step away from their careers.”
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Editor’s note: Comments by Deborah Shah were initially attributed to her public relations director, that has been updated and corrected