By Ken Valenti, with additional reporting by Gretchen Webster and Jack Robinson.

WESTPORT–Kevin Christie, a former corporate strategy advisor and current member of the Board of Education, won the race for First Selectman. Christie was joined on the Democratic ticket by Amy Wistreich, a former commercial construction expert and member of the Planning and Zoning Commission, who will now become the Second Selectwoman.

With all the votes tallied, the unverified results are:

Christie is the first Democrat elected to the town’s highest office since Gordon Joseloff won his second term in 2009. Republicans won the last three First Selectman races.

We’ve flipped the seat

Members of the Democratic Town Committee–and other Christie / Wistreich supporters–gathered at The Little Barn restaurant. Introducing Christie was DTC Chair Michelle Mechanic: “I want to unofficially announce that we have finally flipped the First Selectman’s seat.” She was met with loud cheers and applause.

Christie told his supporters: “This isn’t about me, it isn’t about Amy. It’s about all of us and all of Westport and what we can accomplish together.”

The victory reverberated beyond Westport when Christie received a congratulatory call from Gov. Ned Lamont.

Historic race

Christie withstood pressure from two historically unusual opponents. 

The Republican ticket was led by Don O’Day, who left the Democratic party prior to accepting the offer to lead the Republican ticket.

The third-party candidate, David Rosenwaks, was endorsed by the Independent Party, granting his candidacy a prominent line on the ballot.

The first selectman candidates were competing for the seat that is being vacated by Jennifer Tooker. Tooker announced in March that she was declining to seek re-election and instead running for governor. She suspended her gubernatorial campaign in late September.

Wistreich will replace Second Selectwoman Andrea Moore, who ran for re-election on the Republican ticket with O’Day. A member of the Planning and Zoning Commission, Wistreich said her professional experience–in construction, architecture and land use–played a role in the support she received.

“Every explosive issue in this town is a land use issue,” she said.

O’Day, an RTM member serving on the Finance, Public Works, and Employee Compensation committees, repeated what he said earlier this year at a candidate’s event: “Kevin Christie is a good and decent man. I send congratulations to Kevin and Amy.”

In a debate hosted by Westport Journal, the candidates differed on the biggest issue facing the town. For Christie, it was the need to upgrade and repair the town’s infrastructure including town buildings. O’Day’s top issue was to find ways to move projects along more efficiently. Rosenwaks vowed to improve communication and accountability in the town, naming the need for “transparency,” as the biggest issue.

Christie and Wistreich said they were eager to begin their new roles. They said that on day one, if not sooner, they plan on building a connection with the state, including the Department of Transportation, to address issues including traffic and the future of the historic Cribari Bridge over the Saugatuck River.

O’Day said that, in the coming weeks and months, he would do “whatever he can” to help Christie transition to the role of First Selectman.

Rosenwaks, the Independent candidate, is proud of what he accomplished. “I think we were well received. In a short three months, we got over eleven hundred people to vote for me for First Selectman of the town,” Rosenwaks said. “I think people want to make Westport the focus and not let party politics invade our decision making.” 

‘I’m going to congratulate the winner, and the town’s going to be fine, we’re a great town,” he said. “And I hope to contribute to the town government in the future.”

Christie, along with the other election winners, will be sworn in on Nov. 17.