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    Saturday, October 05, 2024

    Schefers elected new Stonington borough warden

    Newly-elected Stonington Borough Warden Michael Schefers is congratulated Monday night by his wife Sylvia “Sibby” Lynch. Photo by Carrie Czerwinski.
    Shaun Mastroianni (right), his husband Antonio Mastroianni and their daughter Sophia hold signs up outside the polling place at the Stonington Borough firehouse on Monday. Photo by Carrie Czerwinski.

    Stonington — For the first time in 10 years, the borough has a new warden as Democratic candidate Michael Schefers defeated Forward party candidate Shaun Mastroianni on Monday 187-176.

    Schefers will replace current warden Jeff Callahan, who did not seek reelection after serving five terms.

    “It’s been wonderful working with this wonderful team and from the first day we sat down across the street at 188 Water we really came together and decided we wanted to do it as a team,” Schefers said after he learned of his victory. “I love the Borough and I love the people in the borough and it’s a very special place and hopefully we can continue to make it so. You know there’s not a lot of controversy in the Borough, and I’m glad I was elected to lead us into the future.”

    Democratic incumbents Amanda Barnes, Amy Nicholas, and Kevin Rogers, were reelected as burgesses and Kevin Bowdler, who ran unopposed as a petitioning candidate, was elected to his first term as burgess.

    Schefers, 71, ran on a platform of preserving the borough’s open spaces, harbor, scenic waterfront and right of ways, making sure the lighthouse is fully accessible and supporting borough merchants, local nonprofit organizations, and the fishing fleet.

    Additionally, his platform included supporting borough and town first responders, bringing charging stations for electric vehicles to the borough, broadening citizen involvement in borough government and bringing the public restroom project to fruition.

    Schefers, a former electric utility executive and consultant, owns Anguilla Brook Farm & Gardens as well as the Just Dug Potatoes farmstand in the borough. He has been a member of the Stonington Plan of Conservation and Development Implementation Committee and served as president and trustee of the Stonington Historical Society.

    He is currently a member of the Stonington Conservation Committee, the trustee and treasurer of the Waldron-Williams Fund, chairman of the Borough Democratic Committee, and the borough tax assessor.

    Mastroianni, a burgess for the last six years, currently works as the chief operating officer and administrator for Connecticut Baptist Homes in Brooklyn.

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