Derby Republicans endorse January 6th insurrectionist for mayor. Primary to follow.

If past is prologue, Derby election officials are in for a rough year. Derby Republican Town Committee members nominated an unrepentant election denier and insurrectionist, their chair, Gino DiGiovanni, as their candidate for mayor. DiGiovanni is a member of the local of the Board of Alderman from the Second Ward.

NBC CT broke the story last October when it identified DiGiovanni in video of the January 6, 2021, insurrection in the nation’s Capitol. “Open source surveillance video indicated DiGiovanni entered the Upper West Terrace door of the Capitol around 2:38 p.m., shortly after people inside the Capitol walked out that door, and people held it open for others,” NBC CT’s Len Bestoff reported. The mob was at the Capitol to impose by violence Donald Trump’s false claims that he had won the 2020 presidential election.

Mayor Richard Dziekan skipped the town committee endorsement contest and will meet DiGiovanni in a September 12th primary. Dziekan needs the signatures of 5% of Derby’s 1,249 registered Republicans.

DiGiovanni has claimed he was swept into the Capitol by the mob he joined on that infamous day of violence. He would, wouldn’t he. DiGiovanni has not said if he heard the chants of “Kill Mike Pence” that rang through the air. DiGiovanni joined the riot as his wife was home in Derby undergoing chemotherapy.

The winner of the Republican primary will face  former Alderman Joseph DiMartino, who lost to Dziekan by 48 votes out of the 2,812 votes cast in 2021.

Published August 3, 2023.