Yesterday, Woodbridge voters went to the polls to vote in the municipal elections and the results were striking. First Selectman Ed Sheehy was easily re-elected receiving 1558 votes; nearly twice as many as his opponent Ken Colabella.

As is often the case, Mr. Sheehy, as the standard bearer for the Democratic ticket received more votes than any of the other Democratic candidates. Yet in one of the surprises of the night, Mr. Colabella, the standard bearer for the Republicans received less votes than any other Republican candidate.

Looking more closely, David Bernard, one of the Democratic candidates for the Zoning Board of Appeals, received the fewest votes by a Democrat; 1141. Philip “Buddy” DeGennaro, a Republican running for the same seat received the most votes of any Republican; 1120. Yes, the Democrat with the least votes on the whole ticket beat the Republican with the most votes on their whole ticket by 21 votes. It isn’t a good sign for the Republicans.

As a “big D” Democrat, I am elated. The Democrats stayed on their message and got their vote out, even though voter turnout was on the low side, as it was in Bethany as well. At a party at Democratic headquarters after the election, Mr. Sheehy continued to stay on message and talk about the accomplishments of his administration as well as the return of civility in local political discourse.

As he spoke about these things, I thought of my visit to the Massaro farm the day before. The farm was left to Woodbridge to be preserved as open space. The farm is being renovated as a community farm and people from the community toured the farm on Sunday. (For pictures, check my Massaro Farm Pictures on Flickr.)

I thought about the comments Amy Thompson, a community organizer for healthcare4every1.org who spent time outside the polls to gather support for their cause. She spoke of the Woodbridge Democrats saying, "They were so wonderful, if I ever move anywhere, I want to move to Woodbridge."

Yet as a “small d” democrat, I am concerned. We need to hear multiple views in our civic discourse. I’m glad that there are provisions for the minority party to have seats on the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Education, and I’m particularly glad that Dr. Steven Fleischman will have one of those seats.

The question is, will the Republicans be able to civilly bring up well thought out alternatives to the proposals of the Democrats in Woodbridge? If so, I believe they will be more successful and the town will be better of. If not, they are likely to have further difficulties.

Perhaps the microcosm of our town is a useful indication of the issues that the Republican Party faces nationally. To the extent that the national party remains mired in unconstructive negativity, they will continue to be less and less relevant. For the sake of a vibrant democracy, I hope that we can move towards more respectful civil discourse, both here in Woodbridge and across our great country.