Visiting Litchfield County’s largest city tonight, Mayor Erin Stewart (R), gave an energized and focused speech at The Mill House Kitchen & Bar. Estimated attendees were between 100 and 200 supporters. The new BRTC Chair, Amanda North, was also present with long-standing Vice Chair and a former BRTC Chairman, David Moulton.
Erin addressed the needs of Connecticut residents as a six-term Mayor who has heard from her own constituents directly in the mostly blue collar city of New Britain. She noted she was our state’s DOGE before Washington’s DOGE under Trump in terms of excess spending.
She succeeded her popular father as Mayor who served from 2003- 2011. With this upbringing, she has always been well aware of the many problems facing our state under Democrat leadership. Stewart also worked in the Connecticut General Assembly in various roles under the last female Governor, Jodi Rell.
As the Chairman of the Barkhamsted Republican Town Committee for 15 years, retiring in January 2026, and working on federal and statewide campaigns, I have endorsed Erin. She is someone who represents the majority of voters here regardless of monetary or social positions.
Erin Stewart, New Britain Mayor and Gubernatorial Candidate 2026 with Juliana Simone, Chairman of the Barkhamsted RTC, (Retired January 2026) in Torrington, CT February 19, 2026
The Chairman of the Barkhamsted Republican Town Committee, Juliana Simone, has announced her retirement after 15 years.
Since 2005, Simone has worked in every capacity for the CT GOP, working for the House and Senate Republicans at the Capitol, running for State Representative in 2006, being only one of two Republican races that election year covered by the Hartford Courant, in addition to being endorsed by the Republican American newspaper.
Working on U.S. Senate, Congress and statewide campaigns since 2009, commenting to the press on state issues, she also took the state convention stage twice – once as a State Representative candidate for what was then the 63rd district, when sitting House Minority Leader Bob Ward chose her out of six contenders to showcase on stage, and twice to second the nomination for a conservative naturalized citizen, U.S. Senate candidate, Peter Lumaj.
Juliana Simone came to statewide and national attention under what the press called “LOB Gate” when Democrat staffers raided her desk after she left work to pick up her child at daycare. It was all recorded by ceiling security cameras. A Democrat aide under former New Britain Mayor and State Senator, Donald Defronzo, Rick Lopes, now sits as a State Senator today despite harassing a House Republican committee appointee and being put on leave without pay for his actions for a brief time.
Statewide press which leans left in Connecticut supported Simone. She was interviewed by then popular local radio host’s show, Dan Lovallo, was the breaking news story on all network affiliates, and even mentioned on Bill O’Reilly’s popular program on the Fox News Channel.
Simone taped a half hour political interview cable show on public access for 14 years which included guests such as former U.S. Congressman Rob Simmons and Chris Shays, finance expert and Fox Business commentatorPeter Schiff, a guest who was an early advocate who warned about border issues, and so many State Senators, State Representatives, town Mayors/First Selectmen, candidates at every level of the political tier and political commentators.
As Chair for 7 terms, Simone had an excellent attendance record, missing only a few meetings in her tenure. Prior to this she was the committee’s Vice Chair, and Secretary after becoming a member in January 2005.
In personal remarks she said, a much appreciated comment from someone she has great respect for said, “Thank you for 20 years of excellence.”
Chairman Simone remarks: “I would also like to remember the many former committee members who have passed on during my years of service. They were many things. Veterans, engineers, patriots, politicians in different capacities, and good people. They all gave me their support and guidance. I always remember them.”
“It is my hope that whoever the new Chairman becomes for the Barkhamsted Republican Town Committee, the Chair will still put on their monthly agenda members rise and state the Pledge of Allegiance for all of our fine veterans, retired or in active duty.”
{Photo: Spectrum/Charter Studio Winsted, CT “Conservative Chat” set with Juliana Simone; Former U.S. Congressman Robert R. Simmons, Retired Colonel, U.S. Army Reserve, Retired; Martin Gregor, creator of “Conservative Chat” and long-serving BRTC member/patriot, and young volunteer.}
By slim margins, the democrat party pulled out a win for their candidates, who had no experience in prior board or elected positions. Replacing long-serving veterans who have held productive seats as members or as Chairmen for over ten to twenty five years on major boards here in our small town, residents need to wonder why partisan votes were more important than efficient government. Anyone who follows politics knows the answer to this… for democrats, it’s the party over the people. These newly appointed people, including the First Selectwoman, won’t have any understanding of these important boards, having never served in any capacity before.
The reason there are alternate seats on town boards is so they can learn the language, issues, agendas, policies, etc. before taking a full seat when someone retires.
The entire democrat ticket just elected did not have one candidate who was even an alternate.
Under First Selectman Nick Lukiwsky (R), his first and only term these past two years, brought down the mill rate by almost 5% for property owners. He also did not raise taxes unlike his democrat predecessor, Don Stein, who raised taxes every year he held office. Mr. Stein found a way to return to the Town Hall by putting himself on the ballot to challenge the current sitting treasurer, a Republican, who did a fine job. Looking at their campaign mailers, for the first time I’ve ever seen and many before me here in town, the treasurer candidate was promoted as if he himself was running for First Selectman.
There were three races that made a recount eligible by the SOTS office. Two candidates declined. The Democrat who opposed incumbent Mimi Duran for the Board of Education on Regional 7, and current First Selectman, Nick Lukiwsky, who would have challenged his running mate, Mark Mahoney. Robert Brainard III, Chairman of the Board of Assessment Appeals, who lost by only 11 votes, did accept the recount but only gained two votes in the end.
On the BOE elementary school, we kept a newly appointed seat and on the BOE Regional 7, we kept our incumbent in her seat. A failure I personally had nothing to do with, was our RTC campaign mailer not even including our veteran board members as candidates. As Chairman, I was not sent the final draft before printing. Obviously, I would have asked where our other board members were and would have made sure they were included. Bringing in new people to a committee is a good thing in that groups need to grow, but to give these new members important decisions over officers who have been in the trenches a long time, is not a good idea.
With this behind us, we look forward to the new challenge in 2027, as our town residents see the difference between experienced board members and inexperienced electees by party affiliation only.
Keep our First and Second Selectman Team In Our Municipal Town Office for Second Term – Re-elect Mark Mahoney and Nick Lukiwsky
Republicans this past term delivered the first mill rate reduction in over 20 years! The previous long-serving First and Second Selectman raised taxes on Barkhamsted residents every year while in charge.
Update: Photos from our polling place Election Day
Amanda North (BOE); Nick Lukiwsky (BOS); Mark Mahoney (BOS); Robert Brainard III (BAA)
Barkhamsted Republican tent with free coffee and doughnut holes with candidates
Amanda North BOE/Rob Brainard Chairman BAABOE member Amanda and BAA Chairman Rob working 14 hour day
Come out for a free cup of coffee this saturday morning with Barkhamsted’s Board of Selectmen and First Selectman Candidate, Mark Mahoney, in addition to many of our other candidates on this November’s ballot.
Under First Selectman Nick Lukiwsky, the first Republican to hold this office in decades, Barkhamsted residents saw their mill rate go down instead of up. This affects how much homeowners pay in property taxes. Renters are affected by this, too, in the amount they pay to their landlords in adjusted cost to compensate for any increase.
Putting democrats like the current nominees back into the old locked position of leadership here in Barkhamsted would only lead to the mill rate returning to a higher rate. Decisions made by their team would not reflect the goals and interests of the majority of town voters.
Vote for two experienced sitting members on November 4th, 2025, First Selectman and Board of Selectman candidate Nick Lukisky, and Mark Mahoney, Board of Selectman current member and candidate for First Selectman.
Polls are open from 6AM to 8PM at the Barkhamsted Elementary School. Early voting is available 10/20/2025 through 11/02/2025 10AM thru 6PM. Extended hours are offered on Tuesday, 10/28/2025 and Thursday, 10/30/2025 from 8AM thru 8PM.
The Barkhamsted Republican Town Committee has a longstanding presence with the Riverton Fair which we continue to support by paying for the space our booth uses on the grounds. (Riverton is part of Barkhamsted.)
Many thanks to our State Representative, Mark Anderson (R-62), First Selectman Nick Lukiwsky, BOS member and candidate for First Selectman 2025, Mark Mahoney, and all other municipal candidates, as well as town Republicans who spent time working here over the weekend.
First Selectman Candidate and Board of Selectman Member Mark Mahoney 2025
The Barkhamsted Republican Town Committee had a successful evening on Monday, September 15th in the town Community Center. Many thanks to all who attended. Guests included 2026 Lt. Governor Candidate, Matthew Corey, Former and hopefully future candidate State Senator Lisa Seminara (SD08), State Central Committee member Kevin Beal (SD08) a member of the Simsbury Board of Selectman and former SRTC Chairman, plus our many municipal candidates seeking election or reelection this November. (State Representative Mark Anderson (R-62) could not be with us as he was away on a well deserved vacation.)
First Selectman candidate BOS member Mark Mahoney addressed attendees, as did sitting First Selectman BOS candidate Nick Lukiwsky, who explained why Board of Education members Stacy Heath, Amanda North, should be reelected. Robert Brainard III, who is not up for reelection this year on the BOE, is on this November’s ballot for his veteran position on the Board of Assessment Appeals. He currently sits as the BAA Chairman with an excellent record.
Barkhamsted RTC Chair, Juliana Simone, introduced the first three speakers, and FS candidate Mark Mahoney introduced the municipal candidates on hand. Also attending were BRTC officers Vice Chair, David Moulton, Treasurer Steven Blackburn, and Secretary Michael Stewart.
Many thanks to Bill Bowles who made food any chef would be proud of, in addition to members and nonmembers who brought food, beverages or gift items for the evening raffle. Big thanks to the supporters who came who are not affiliated with the Republican Party, but plan on voting for Mark Mahoney on Election Day.
2025 Barkhamsted First Selectman Candidate Board of Selectman Mark Mahoney with 2026 Lt. Governor Candidate Matthew Corey
Center: First Selectman and 2025 candidate for Board of Selectman Nick Lukiwsky with RTC member Bill Bowles and Community Center kitchen manager Bonnie Reynolds
Lisa Seminara State Senator SD08 2022-24
Board of Assessment Appeals Chairman and Board of Education member Robert Brainard III
Barkhamsted RTC Chairman Juliana Simone and Peter Lumaj for SOTS 2026 Deputy Treasurer
(l) Thea Alfes Deputy Treasurer for Peter Lumaj 2026 and (r) BRTC Chairman Juliana Simone
Reverend Steven Blackburn PhD, Treasurer Barkhamsted RTC
Barkhamsted RTC Secretary Mike Stewart
Barkhamsted Republican Town Committee Event
State Central Committee member Kevin Beal (SD08) addressing BRTC guests
BRTC member and Marine Veteran Rick Anderson
The Cassotto’s
2026 Lt. Governor Candidate Matthew Corey with long serving campaign advisor and veteran
2026 Lt. Governor and former U.S. Senator/Congressional candidate Matthew Corey
Board of Education veteran member Robert Brainard III (r) and sitting member and candidate Amanda North (l)
Chef quality salad with eggplant appetizer made by RTC member Bill Bowles
Chairman’s mother’s deviled eggs
Rosol’s kielbasa appetizer in BBQ sauce
Barkhamsted Republican Town Committee municipal election lawn signs West River Rd.
Municipal Election Candidate Slate and Independence Parade
August 2025
Written by Juliana Simone
Barkhamsted, CT – The annual Barkhamsted Independence Day parade went smoothly, as usual. Our Barkhamsted Republican Town Committee had our representative float, which is really a pickup truck that includes a good sized handcrafted elephant in the bed with red, white, and blue flags and swag. This year, our Board of Education member and candidate, Amanda North, who filled the seat of retiring Suzie Larson – threw the candy to parade watchers along with her son and friends.
Many thanks to our State Representative, Mark Anderson (R-62), and Lt. Governor candidate, veteran Matthew Corey for attending.
First Selectman Nick Lukiwsky (R), announced after the parade in the address that follows the event, that he would not be seeking a second term. He thanked residents for giving him the opportunity to lead and told voters he still wished to serve the town but as a Selectman, not First Selectman. Lukiwsky stated his established career in Waterbury and family are his priorities now outside of this municipal position.
Selectman Mark Mahoney and Nick Lukiwsky will be switching their current elected positions, as a result.
Mahoney, as an elected First Selectman, will retire from his long term job as a successful representative and sales person of the food industry to serve Barkhamsted full time. It’s important to note that Mahoney will be a full time First Selectman since the democrats have already sent out an election meme stating falsely that only their candidate would be full time.
A dedicated volunteer to the town, he is an active member of the Lions Club and a volunteer fireman. In additon to being the second Selectman of Barkhamsted, he sits on the Board of Economic Development Commission.
First Selectman of Barkhamsted Nick Lukiwsky thanking voters for his first term announcing his retirement to become second selectman
First Selectman Nick Lukiwsky with Barkhamsted Lighthouse Descendants group Independence Day Parade July 4 2025
Board of Education member and candidate Amanda North and company Independence Day Parade July 4th 2025
Former Barkhamsted Selectman Bill Downes and parade candy thrower
First Selectman Nick Lukiwsky and Selectman Mark Mahoney. Mahoney will now be running for First Selectman of Barkhamsted in municipal election 2025 and Lukiwsky will now be running as Selectman.
At the Barkhamsted Republican Town Committee meeting on March 17th, former State Senator Lisa Seminara (SD08) brought her two endorsed candidates, Harwinton First Selectman Mike Criss, and Simsbury Selectman, former Simsbury RTC Chairman, Kevin Beal to address our members. Both presented good reasons as to why they should be the new State Central Committee representatives for our district.
An alternative vote came from contender Avon’s Greg Wolfe, who would also like to be seated. He was given equal time to speak to the BRTC. After our allotted three delegates were nominated for the upcoming convention, all members agreed there was no block vote and each delegate could vote independently. Members were asked who they would vote for if they were a delegate to hear all voices.
The end result was our votes will go to whomever any of our three delegates prefer.
Happy New Year to all of our committee members, town residents who support our efforts, and all viewers of this website.
The end of 2024 brought in a variety of highs and lows throughout the nation and statewide. Mostly highs, fortunately. We saw President-elect Donald J. Trump became the first former President to ever win a second term since Grover Cleveland as our Country’s 22nd and 24th leader of the free world. Rightfully so, but I don’t care to go into the weeds here with so many details on 2020. Trump also won with an impressive mandate by winning the popular vote and the Electoral College with a large lead as totals showed, Trump: 312 Harris: 226. The former President of the United States also won all seven swing states, flipping six that he allegedly did not in 2020. He is clearly what the American people wanted after four years of a President Biden administration.
Other highs, along with Trump’s big win, was winning the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives. The lead in the House would have been larger if the President-elect didn’t tap three House members to serve in higher posts going forward, and some blue government led states were not allowed to continue counting votes for weeks after Election Day. Election Laws need serious overview and change to make them lawful and honest again.
A low for us here in our region of Connecticut, was losing our State Senate seat in Senate District 08, which has been held by a Republican since 1967. Newcomer Lisa Seminara of Avon, won by a short amount of votes in 2022 against democrat challenger, Paul Honig, a minority member of the Harwinton Board of Selectmen, only to lose to him in this rematch by a similar amount of votes, but this time in his favor.
Despite her being the incumbent and deserving a second term as an enthusiastic and hard-working State Senator, enough voters from the larger towns in the district like Simsbury, chose to vote Democrat giving Honig the win. We’ll see how he does. I have suggested she challenges him again in 2026 when he has an actual record, though his party always allows their weaker candidates to vote with the other side of the aisle traditionally to help keep them in their seats, given their large majority.
Another low was our state’s U.S. Senator candidate, Matthew Corey (R), a navy veteran and small businessman who took on sitting U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D) a second time only to lose once again. There is little comparison between these two men and it has come to national attention as to why Connecticut voters still keep Murphy in office, as well as U.S. Senator Dick Blumenthal, in addition to all five congressional districts being held solely by democrats.
In addition to Corey losing, CT-5 Congressional candidate, George Logan, lost his second run against Johanna Hayes, who barely won in their first challenge in 2022. The win came from another well past Election Day recount, that ended up in her favor by lost votes being found. With this information, it looked like Logan had a good chance of winning this time, but to much surprise, lost by more percentage points than were expected. He deserved better, as a very hard campaign worker with a good background and positive vision for our state and country.
Congratulations to our own town’s State Representative, Mark Anderson (R-62) for winning a third term. He is a fair and diligent representative who serves all of his four towns well.
(l-r) BOS Selectman Mark Mahoney, BRTC Vice Chair David Moulton, Bob Cassotto
U.S. Senate Candidate Matthew Corey with supporters at the Riverton Fair BRTC Booth October 2024
Honorary BRTC member John Lavieri with daughter and granddaughter Riverton Fair
Jim and Mark, VFD Barkhamsted Riverton Fair 2024
Barkhamsted RTC Chair Juliana Simone & U.S. Senate Candidate Matthew Corey (CT-R) Riverton Fair October 2024
In addition to Election Day news, the Barkhamsted Republican Town Committee had a successful biannual fundraiser on October 3rd. Many continued thanks to our fine Treasurer, Steve Blackburn, and to our Vice Chair, Dave Moulton who hosted guests in his home.
A special thank you to the Riverton Inn and former owner Adam Towers, who contributed a meat lasagna and salad for attendees, and to the Brass Horse Cafe for their chicken wings contributed by Selectman Mark Mahoney. Much appreciation, as well, to so many people who brought homemade food.
Riverton Inn catered meat lasagna
Riverton Inn catered salad
The Brass Horse Cafe wings
Congressional candidate Jim Griffin, (CT-1) gave a knowledgeable speech as a former D.C. insider and veteran. Also on hand were State Senator Lisa Seminara (08) and State Representative Mark Anderson (62). Former Mayor of Meridan, U.S. Marine, and CT-5 candidate, Manny Santos were also present.
(l-r) Jim Griffin CT-01 Candidate 2024 with Manny Santos, former CT-05 Candidate 2018 and Meridan Mayor.
BRTC Treasurer Rev. Steven Blackburn, Phd
(l-r) State Senator Lisa Seminara, BRTC Vice Chair David Moulton, former Avon RTC Vice Chair and army veteran Stephen Hunt
First Selectman Nick Lukiwsky and BOF Chairman Rich Winn
Manny Santos, Rick and Juliana BRTC FR Oct 2024
Election Day brought Republicans a win in every race on the ballot in Barkhamsted. Thank you to our town voters and to our hard working poll workers and volunteers.
(l-r) Selectman Mark Mahoney, Bob, Cindy and Sandy
Barkhamsted Republican Town Committee and CT GOP news
