Danbury Campaign Ends The Way It Started, Big Differences

The 2023 road to Danbury City Hall was a bumpy and dramatic one.

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Mayor Dean Esposito and his challenger Roberto Alves exchanged solid punches through the media and on the debate stage, in the end, Democratic challenger Roberto Alves won.

I-95 has followed the campaign since October and in that time period we could only find one thing the two men could agree on, the result. The differences don't end with the candidates, the reactions across the city are bound to be extreme and you can see that reflected in the margin of victory. The Patch published the results on Wednesday (11/08/23) and it was tight.

• (D) Roberto L. Alves 7,180 49.46%
• (R) Dean E. Esposito 7,086 48.81%
• (WF) Roberto L. Alves 252 1.74%

On Thursday (11/09/23) both candidates appeared on the I-95 Morning Show to share their feelings on the election. We've highlighted some of their thoughts below and the full interviews are available at the bottom of this page.

Roberto Alves

Lou: Congratulations

Alves: "Thank you so much it's a tremendous feeling, we had a phenomenal team. Our volunteers, the hundreds and hundreds of hours of man power it took to get us here, fighting for truth, accountability and integrity and you know I'm vindicated now. It was overwhelming wave of emotions for us and we're just happy to be here and ready to move the city forward." 

Lou: We were excited to get to Election Day and past the point of back-and-forth between the two of you but I do have to bring up some of the things Dean said in his concession speech. To save us time I'll kind of paraphrase. He said I don't feel like a sore loser but I'm sore because my opponent ran a tough campaign, he said things about me that were untrue and then he sort of wrapped it up by saying now we'll see. We'll see what he does, he doesn't have me to talk about anymore so we'll see. What do you have to say about all of that? 

Alves: "I kind of want to move onto our government, he can see what we do. It's unfortunate, even in his last few minutes he's still hitting me. You are a Mayor, you've been incumbent for two years and you could have just ran on your record but instead you were lying about me the whole time. It's unfortunate, I have not watched the concession speech but people were texting me about it saying can you believe he said this? Didn't even address, I can't believe I lost to that guy I believe, is what somebody told me he said. He knows my phone number he can call me if he wants to call me, he still hasn't. So, it's just moving on and running the city."

Dean Esposito 

Lou: We know it was a very tight race, I watched your concession speech and nobody likes losing. Part of what you said was you're not a sore loser but he ran a tough campaign, he lied about you and we'll sort of see what he does now. How do you feel today? Do you feel the same way you did when you gave the speech? 

Esposito: "He said what he said but the reality is I ran a good, strong campaign. I thought the results of my last two years, my only two years as Mayor were very positive for the City of Danbury and I was upset by the campaign that he ran. I didn't believe he had a platform and addressed the issues of the city and that is my personal belief and I'll stick to it. Then, to call me non-transparent, a back-room deal maker, a liar and then the last few weeks I was hearing that I was a mobster. Unfortunately that was very negative in my opinion, I wished he would stick more to the issues but the reality of that is the people addressed us and he came out on top this time." 

Later in the interview, the Mayor shifted his attention to the future of the city offering some words of advice for Mayor-elect Alves. 

Esposito: "I definitely congratulated Roberto and I'll say it directly, it was by text, because I still was upset by the way he handled the campaign and what he said about me personally but that is water under the bridge. Now we have to focus, I'm going to support him and his team to make sure he continues all the good things we've done here in less than two years. He can pick up the phone, run with it, he's going to be very successful initially because he gets to move the projects forward that I started. He'll be able to bring that forward and then hopefully with God's blessing and the support of the city he'll do the right thing and I think in the end he will if he doesn't listen to certain people behind the scenes. I think he's a man of integrity, if he just settles in and knows he's in charge, he has to make the decisions. Don't listen to the people that don't give him good advice because there are people behind the scenes with him that don't. So, that is my biggest concern, I'm a lifelong Danburian you guys know that so Danbury is the focus for all of this and we have to continue to move the city forward and continue to make it the best place to live, work and raise a family."  

While it was fascinating to follow this race so closely, the I-95 Morning Show is ultimately about making people laugh and that is where our focus shifted at the end of the interview. I watched the concession speech multiple times because something hilarious jumped out at me.

Lou: I watched your concession speech as I mentioned and something jumped out at me and I was fixated on it and I could not focus on anything else. There was a man standing to your right and in the video which is from CT Insider I should say. In the video it's shooting across your left side but this man is standing there very close to the podium, was that Gino from G&R Fabrication? 

Dean: "Yeah I think it was."

Listen to the full Gino chat below.

Check out the Ethan, Lou & Large Dave Show Podcast on Apple & Spotify

GINO ROAST - A Lou Milano Production 

• Sir, we're going to ask you to please take your seat, this is not Tony & Tina's Wedding.
• Excuse me sir can you take your seat? The Mayor would like to take a drink of water and your face is blocking is mouth hole.
• Can you gather your kitchen specs and backup a bit? The Mayor already renovated his home earlier this year.
• He's standing so close he looks like he's about to say, "can I just say one thing?"
• Dude has over 1000 slabs of granite and marble but not 6 inches between him and the Mayor.
• Is currently reimaging the podium design.
• Gino, a kitchen counter glare and a pensive stare.
• If pictures say 1,000 words this one says "I really wish you would've won."
• Gino moments before asking Dean for a sleepover.

We love Gino from G&R Fabrication! The crew at G&R are our business associates and friends.

Thinking of adding some stone to your home? Looking to update your kitchen cabinets? G&R Fabrication is here to help! As a premiere granite supplier in Danbury, GH&R provides handcrafted countertops, kitchen cabinets, ceramic, tile and so much more. G&R services residential and commercial clients alike. Go visit the Danbury location at 87 Mill Plain Road where they have over 1000 slabs of quartz and granite in-stock. G&R Fabrication online at GandRfabrication.com or call (203)313-0764

You can listen to both full interviews below.

Roberto Alves 

Dean Esposito