Lauretti sends a message–the Shelton way.

Mark Lauretti is enjoying his 17th consecutive term as mayor of Shelton. He knows Shelton and Shelton knows him. So when his smiling face appeared in a photograph included in a mailer to voters from Democrat Mike Duncan for the April 22nd special election for the House of Representatives seat vacated by Jason Perillo after he advanced to the State Senate in a February special election, Republicans waited for Lauretti to claim the upbeat picture was used without his permission. They will continue to wait.

Duncan sounds like the type of reassuring sensible Democrat his party hopes will lead them out of the wilderness in other parts of the country. The former college varsity football player emphasizes our freedom to prosper in the oversized postcard. Duncan, a marketing professional, “serves as a Commissioner for the Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) for the City of Shelton, CT, working to ensure responsible infrastructure development, environmental stewardship, and efficient municipal services,” according to his campaign website.

Republicans chose Perillo’s candidate, school board chair and veteran book banner Amy Romano, as their nominee. Lauretti favored Win Oppel for the nomination.

Lauretti and Duncan enjoy a cordial relationship in the fraught and fractured politics of Shelton, likely an advantage to the genial Duncan in a low turnout special election.

Published on April 11, 2025.