05-08-2025
Hebron Republicans, Democrats endorse their slate of candidates
HEBRON — Hebron Democrats and Republicans have endorsed their chosen candidates to run for municipal offices this fall.
The town has a town manager style of government, overseen by a five-member Board of Selectmen. Three of the seats on that board are up for re-election.
Democrat Tiffany Thiele has been endorsed to run again, and Jan Lawrence was also nominated by the Democratic Town Committee to run for the seat that is currently held by Democrat Claudia Riley.
The Republicans nominated Rob McLaughlin to serve on the board. There are currently three Republicans on the Board: Keith Petit, who is the current chair, Daniel Larson, the current vice chair, and Sean Fitzgerald, who was just appointed in June to succeed Peter Kaspar, who had to resign mid-term due to a relocation out of town. Fitzgerald's term, as is Petit's, runs to November of 2027. McLaughlin is running for Larson's seat.
Larson was first elected to the Board of Selectmen in 2009, and served a stint as Board Chair, but has been involved in different town roles for decades.
'I've been serving the town and putting my life on the line since 1980,' said Larson, an electrician who has been in the Hebron Fire Company and is a former fire chief.
He's also been a fire maintainer, emergency medical technician, burning official, deputy fire marshal and fish and game warden, to name a few roles. He said he's seen a lot of change, arriving in town when the population was approximately 3,500 people and 'there were more cows than people' and watching the town grow to almost 10,000 residents.
'There comes a point in time when you have to bow out gracefully,' Larson said. 'It's time I take care of myself and my family a little bit. It was a hard decision. I've met a lot of fantastic people. It's just time.'
However, he will never stop working to make the town better, even if unofficially, saying that one of his goals is to improve cell service in town.
'Service is markedly worse, with more dead zones and more dropped calls,' Larson said, noting he planned to gain aid from state legislators for this problem. 'There are less land lines to fall back on as everyone switched to cell phones. The cell phone companies need to be making upgrades that benefit everyone. If people can't make emergency calls, that's a problem.'
Thiele, a public relations manager and former journalist, was first elected as Selectman in 2021.
Democratic Town Committee Chair Chris Lawrence said there was a mix of returning Democrats and new faces among the candidates this year.
'It's a good slate,' she said.
For the Town Clerk, incumbent Francesca Villani was cross-endorsed by both the Democratic and the Republican caucuses and will return for another term.
For the Board of Finance, Democrats endorsed Ryan Herrick and Adam Ockman, while Republicans selected Brian O'Reilly and Michael Beaulieu.
For the Board of Assessment Appeals, Maura Curran Baker was nominated by the Republican caucus.
For the Planning and Zoning Commission, the Republican Party selected Chad Livernois, Christopher Cyr and Brenda Nicolo; Democrats picked David Sousa. Cyr currently sits on the commission. For Planning and Zoning Commission alternate, Democrats nominated Davis Howell, an incumbent.
For the Zoning Board of Appeals, Adam Thiele is the Democratic candidate, while Jason Guidone, Martin Halloran and Brian Tyler are the Republican nominees. Catherine McSweeney, a Democrat, and June Danaher, a Republican, are the candidates for Zoning Board of Appeals alternate; Danaher is an incumbent.
For the local Board of Education seats overseeing Hebron and Gilead Hill Elementary Schools, the Republican candidates are Toni Livernois and Alyson Nadeau-Schmeizl; Nadeau-Schmeizl is the incumbent. The Democrats endorsed Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Nicole Matthews and Heather Petit. Matthews and Petit are current incumbents and Petit is now the board chair.
For the regional Board of Education, which oversees RHAM Middle/High School, Hebron residents who were endorsed included Republicans Amy D'Amaddio, who previously served on the Board, including a stint as chair; Rudy Dellafiore Jr. and Jessica Hall. Hebron Democrats Michele May, Brandie O'Reilly and Keith Petit were also nominated for seats on the regional school board.
Lawrence, the Democratic Town Committee chair, did note some of the candidates were endorsed as place-holders and may not be on the ballot in November.
The Democratic party will host a fundraiser on September 13, staff an informational booth at the town's Harvest Moon Festival in October, and is planning an candidate forum ahead of the elections.
The Republican Town Committee meets on the fourth Monday of every month.
