D'Amelio Elected to Fifth Term

State Rep. Anthony D'Amelio was elected to a ninth full term for the 71st District Tuesday by a near two-to-one margin.

D'Amelio, a 48-year-old Republican from Waterbury, defeated Waterbury Alderman Ernest Brunelli, a Democrat, 2,565 to 1,333 in Middlebury and 5,241 to 3,454 in Waterbury according to unofficial results.

D'Amelio, who is married and has three children, was elected in a special election in 1996 to the 71st District, which oversees Middlebury and a large section of Waterbury's west side.

"I just love the public service aspect of it," he said. "Our state is facing many challenges. I have a business background running a restaurant (Paisanos in Waterbury) for almost 30 years. So for me, the challenge is to bring my experience to Hartford so my colleagues up there know what we're going through because a lot of them don't know what we go through."

He said his goals for the next two years is to help reign in spending at the state level and help create jobs.