Republicans opposed to critical race theory won Tuesday’s board of education primary in Guilford. Vote sets up face off in November.
Nick Cusano, one of five conservative activists running for the Guilford school board on a platform opposed to the teaching of systemic racism, said he knew by midday Tuesday that the slate would be victorious.
“Standing there with my sign, I got more thumbs-up as the day went on,’' said Cusano, who has two children in the school system. “We had a sense that the turnout was large and that we were going to win big.”
Turnout was far higher than most lower-profile municipal primaries. According to unofficial results, about 1,650 Republicans voted in the primary, 47% of the roughly 3,500 registered Republicans in town.
The winning Republican slate will now face a fusion ticket made up of Democrats and unaffiliated voters in November. Bill Bloss, a former school board member who is advising those candidates, said the outcome of the primary was not unexpected.
The Republican Party “has been taken over by Trump and it is regrettably reflected at the local level,’' said Bloss, a Democrat.
Bloss served on the Guilford school board for two decades, alongside more than two dozen Republicans. “We didn’t always agree but they were thoughtful, indendent and listened to facts. That doesn’t seem to be where the Republican Party is today … and it’s unfortunate.”
The campaign drew national attention, with Cusano and other members of the winning Republican slate appearing on Fox News and on other conservative media. They focused on “critical race theory,” an academic framework for understanding the relationship between racism and power throughout American history.
Educators in Guilford say the theory is not taught in the town’s public schools. “It’s an entirely manufactured controversy, spun out of thin air,’' Bloss said.
But the Republicans said lessons taught in Guilford were making white children feel guilty for past injustices. In their Facebook message, they said they welcome instruction that offers “an honest, balanced view of our history and society,” while rejecting “attempts to use our schools to divide our children by race and political views.”
The debate in Guilford mirrors similar divides in other Connecticut communities and around the nation. In several other towns, including New Canaan and Glastonbury, activists running for the school board have criticized efforts to address systemic racism by the public schools.
In a statement posted on Facebook about an hour after the polls closed, Cusano and the other four candidates — Aly Passarelli, Tim Chamberlain, Danielle Scarpiello and Bill Maisano — said their 3-to-1 margin of victory “proved that the last two months of intense campaigning were worth the valiant effort.”
They beat out three incumbent Republicans on the school board — Joseph Golino, Theodore D. Sands and Amy Sullivan, as well as newcomers William Mulligan and James O’Keefe.
The focus now moves to November, where the winning Republicans will face the fusion ticket, which is made up of Democrats Arnold Skretta and Moira Rader as well as unaffiliated candidates Kristy Faulkner, Noel Petra and Jennifer Baldwin.
“The hard work starts now,’' Cusano said.
Bloss said his team, which is running on the Independent Party line, is ready. He notes that Democrats outnumber Republicans in Guilford by a 2-to1 margin and the town went strongly for Joe Biden over Donald Trump in 2020.
“I’m quite sure the overwhelming majority of Guilford voters see this for the threat that it is,’' he said.
Cusano said there’s a silent majority of people who are supportive of the Republican ticket’s efforts to question the school system’s teaching on race but are fearful of speaking out publicly.
“They don’t want to make waves,’' Cusano said. “But there are a lot of parents out there that our message is resonating with.”
