WESTPORT — Democrat Jonathan Steinberg has claimed victory for the 136th District of the state house and will return for his sixth term.
“It’s very gratifying,” Steinberg said. “Westport voters are very discerning voters.”
Steinberg has filled the 136th district seat, which includes most of Westport, since 2010. A lifelong Westporter, Steinberg has said his top three legislative priorities if re-elected are instituting a fundamental electric utility regulatory reforms, continuing to address the COVID crisis, and responsibly addressing anticipated budget shortfalls and the pension obligation crisis.
Steinberg said he was proud of the support he received in town.
“They’ve supported me for over 10 years and I feel a great sense of responsibility as a senior member of the House,” he said. “I’m very eager to help Connecticut citizens recover from the COVID crisis and to get the economy going.”
According to the Secretary of State’s website, Steinberg won with 10,446 votes. Republican challenger Chip Stephens received 5,266 votes.
“We have a lot of work to do,” Steinberg said. “I imagine we’ll have a lot of priorities come next session and hopefully we’ll have the funds to get people the help they need.”
Stephens, who has served three terms on Westport’s Planning and Zoning Commission, said both parties ran clean campaigns while bringing up important local issues. He said he was thankful to all his supporters in town.
“I appreciate every single one of their votes, their concerns for local autonomy, local land use rights, and I appreciate them caring for their local police’s rights,” he said. “I hope I pushed Jonathan to work to fight for those for Westport.”
Stephens campaigned on fiscal responsibility in funding of education, infrastructure and safety. He also listed accountability for utility companies and services to assure best practices for energy distribution, sourcing and disaster recovery; and support and funding for first responders.
In Weston, Democrat incumbent Anne Hughes defeated her Republican challenger John Shaban for the 135th district.
“I think we crushed it,” Hughes said of her victory. “We more than doubled our margin from 2018.”
The Secretary of State’s website reported Hughes won her race with 8,661 votes to Shaban’s 6,567 votes.
The 135th district covers Easton, Redding and Weston. Historically the district has elected Republicans with Hughes being the first Democrat elected in 30 years in her first run for office in 2018.
“It feels so humbling and incredible,” Hughes said. “I am determined more than ever to amplify and work even harder to collectively bring a new era…I think people recognize that so much is at stake like when I ran in 2018 that we can’t afford the status quo.”
She has said her top legislative priorities are affordable healthcare, a COVID response, power company accountability by ending surprise rate hikes and continuing economic recovery while creating high-paying jobs.
She contributed her campaign’s success to the groundwork done by a diverse group of people.
“This is the kind of determination that requires ordinary citizens — not just everybody running for office,” Hughes said. “I’m just so incredibly humbled to amplify their voices.”
Shaban, a Redding resident, previously held the seat from 2011 to 2017. He did not run for a fourth term in 2016, opting instead to run for US Congress against Jim Himes.
He ran on a platform focused on creating a stable tax and regulatory environment to boost job creation, business opportunities and home values; asserting local control of education and land use, and opposed regionalization of schools and services.
Shaban could not be reached for comment.
dj.simmons@hearstmediact.com