Butterly Talks Unity After Winning First Selectman Seat

Written by Lorien Crow

After the polls closed in Woodbury on election night, the Senior Community Center buzzed with nervous tension as candidates, family and friends awaited the results of the heated race for first selectman. A hush fell when moderator Jane Sandulli stepped into the center of the room to read the numbers.

Petitioning candidate Bill Butterly, seated toward the back of the room, initially thought he'd lost. But when his wife started jumping up and down, he realized the outcome was quite the opposite.

With 1,562 votes, Butterly narrowly triumphed over incumbent Gerald Stomski, who received a total of 1,416 votes. The new Woodbury Board of Selectmen will consist of Butterly as first selectman and Stomski and Martin Overton as selectman.

Butterly said that winning such a "hard-fought campaign" at his age puts "a bounce back" in his step. Butterly said his first tasks will include: starting a Charter Revision Commission, asking the fiscal officer to roll the first selectman’s salary back to what it was in 2012, and doing everything he can to unite Woodbury.

He also said he will surrender the town-owned police car. Stomski, in his capacity as first selectman, was driving a town-owned car around on town business. Part of Butterly’s platform included him using his own car for town business, if elected.

Stomski shook Butterly's hand and headed to his campaign headquarters to be with supporters, family and friends. While he says he's "a little disappointed," he believes everyone in his campaign did a great job, and he's looking forward to "new opportunities" for himself and his family.

The mood was jovial at Butterly's campaign headquarters, where a celebration was in full swing. Happy voters, including Sharon and Norman Sherman, talked excitedly about hopes for their new first selectman.

"Democratic or Republican," said Sharon, "we all love Woodbury. This is a good first step to move forward and unite Woodbury, because we're all on Woodbury's side."

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Jaimie Cura contributed to this article.