Maynard, civility are the victors

The Civility Tour came to an end Tuesday night as incumbent Democrat Andrew Maynard of Stonington won a third term as state senator from the 18th District.

Maynard and his Republican opponent Stuart Norman Jr. of Griswold, who he defeated by more than 5,500 votes, received national attention last week after a story in The Day reported how the two men had held polite discussions of the issues in venues across the eight-town district in recent weeks.

Both men said they preferred to discuss with voters and each other how they would address issues such as the budget deficit and job creation rather than attack each other's records and personalities.

When it became apparent at Democratic Party headquarters in Groton that he had been re-elected Tuesday night, Maynard said that voters recognized his work on veterans affairs and helping constituents with problems.

"As we've traveled around the district we've been able to remind people I've been an independent voice in Hartford," said Maynard, who voted against the state budget.

He said that vote resonated with people in the 18th District.

"I had a lot of people say they crossed party lines to vote for me," he said.

Maynard defeated Norman in most of the eight communities but Norman posted some strong results in the rural northern communities where he is more well known.

Norman said he enjoyed the campaign immensely and praised Maynard for joining him on the civility tour.

"I went into this knowing it was a huge uphill battle but it didn't feel like a battle. It felt like fun," he said.

j.wojtas@theday.com

Maynard Norman

Griswold 1,515 1,829

Groton 5,813 3,131

North Stonington 1,146 908 Plainfield 1,559 1,339

Preston 914 888

Sterling 451 545

Stonington 4,844 2,022

Voluntown XXX XXX

TOTAL 16,242 10,662