Gravinos: 'They Made It Obvious That They Didn't Want Us'

When lifelong Democrats Town Clerk Stacy Gravino-Piccirillo and her mother, District 2 Town Councilwoman Beverly Gravino, announced late last week thatthey would be switching to the Republican Party — it sent political shockwaves of surprise reverberating throughout East Haven.

But both women told East Haven Patch during an interview Tuesday afternoon at town hall their decision was anything but sudden, and in fact was a move that was a long time coming.

"They made it obvious that they didn't want us," Beverly Gravino said, referring to the current local leadership of East Haven Democratic Town Committee. 

"It was a slowly developing decision," Stacy Gravino-Piccirillo added.

The Decision

When asked why they left the Democratic Party, the Gravinos said it simply became apparent they had lost the support of the DTC.

"I've been through a lot over the past couple of years with the Democrats," Gravino-Piccirillo said, adding that she is one to speak her mind freely at committee meetings and other political gatherings, often to the displeasure of local party leadership.

And while this friction has been ongoing, it was the last few months of this most recent local election cycle that finally pushed the two women to jump political ships.

Beginning of the End

According to Gravino-Piccirillo, the beginning of the end began when DTC leaders specifically sought out Democratic candidates to challenge her run for re-election as town clerk.

"They asked several people to put their name in against mine for the nomination," Gravino-Piccirillo said. 

But she said "these people declined" to run against her for the committee's endorsement.

"It made me realize I had people in my own party working against me," Gravino-Piccirillo said.

The Last Straw

Then once she did secure the nomination, Election Day itself became the final straw. 

Gravino said she overhead a conversation at the polls that suggested Democratic voters were encouraged by party leadership to vote against her daughter and in favor of Republican challenger Michael Speer.

"People were told they were not to vote for Stacy," she said.

Gravino-Piccirillo added that when she won re-election over Speer, a political newcomer and relative unknown, by only a 105-vote margin, the election results seemed to confirm what her mother had overhead earlier that day at the polls.

"My own party worked very hard against me," she said.

Gravino-Piccirillo added that not one local Democrat called to congratulate her on her re-election last week.

"I only got calls from Republicans," she said.

The Timing

Many residents, however, have questioned how quickly after the election the Gravinos filed their paperwork to switch to the Republican Party, raising an eyebrow to the possibility that perhaps there was some sort of pre-election agreement with the local RTC. 

But both women say the timing of their move came at the suggestion of the Secretary of State's Office. Gravino-Piccirillo asked Town Attorney Joseph Zullo to consult with the state about the party move. 

And Zullo replied back that state officials reported it would be best to file their paperwork prior to being sworn into office.

"There were no deals" with Republicans, Gravino-Piccirillo said of the party shift.

Still both women acknowledged that they can fully understand why many voters are angry about their decision to change parties and its timing so soon after the election. 

"It was not meant to hurt or mislead anybody," Gravino-Piccirillo said.

She added that they also wanted to thank those voters who did come out to support and vote for them last week. 

New Chapter

Gravino said the switch to the GOP is a "new chapter" for both of their political careers. 

"Although, we're not going to be as involved with the Republicans as we were with the Democrats," she said.

Gravino-Piccirillo noted that her political leanings to the left have not shifted along with her party affiliation. 

In fact, she added that if she was able to serve as town clerk as an unaffiliated voter, she would. But in Connecticut, she said, a town clerk must be registered with a recognized political party.

And so, feeling adrift within the local Democratic Party, the Gravinos said they simply felt they had no choice but to leave. 

"We stayed for the past two years hoping that there would be changes and that we could be part of the change," Gravino-Piccirillo said.

But the Gravinos say that hoped for change just never came.