The Democratic candidates for Town Council are Ken Cestar, incumbent David Demirs, Jerry Howell Jr., incumbent Carl Mancini, Corky Plourde and Roberta Stack. The candidates for Board of Education are Sean Butterly, Jacob Irwin and Sarah Marlak. The Democratic candidate for Town Clerk is Denise Russ.

Voting will take place from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, November 3, at the following polling places: Judson, Heminway Park and Swift Middle School. Those voters who normally vote at Polk School will vote at Swift Middle School.

Mr. Demirs said that a key for the Democrats is to appoint the right people to boards and commissions, to help make the town more business friendly. Mr. Cestar agreed that the town should not be as hard as it is on businesses.

"The fact of the matter is that we need to widen our tax base," said Mr. Demirs. "The only way to do that is economic growth. The Democrats will work hard to support economic growth."

Ms. Plourde said that economic development in Watertown will help the people of Watertown and that the money to pay for the budget has to come from a source other than the residential taxpayers.

"I don't know how we can support all our education programs and other school programs without economic development," said Mr. Demirs. "I know this town has a history of education budgets not passing and we feel [economic development] has to happen. The Democrats will work hard to do that."

Mr. Demirs stated he did not know how any of the Independent candidates can say they support economic growth.

"They've all voted against development in Watertown," said Mr. Demirs.

Mr. Cestar stated that as a retired person, he can speak for the other retired people on fixed incomes in town.

"We don't get an increase in Social Security while our taxes go up and up, and retirees are really upset about that," said Mr. Cestar.

"We aren't against sports or education programs. We want to support education, but we need to spend our money wisely."

Ms. Plourde said that education is important to the Democratic Party candidates.

"Education is important for young families with children looking to move into town," said Ms. Plourde. "When a young family is moving into town, they always look at the school system. We need to take a look at our school system, and keep that moving forward as well."

Noting that recent CMT scores showed third graders scoring in the bottom third in the state, Mr. Butterly stated that in the school district he works in, he is working on a formula for CMT/CAPT training, which he hopes to pass down to the students in Watertown.

"We really have to prepare the kids and help them," said Mr. Butterly. "We need a strategy for success and I think the classroom teachers will appreciate that as well."

Mr. Butterly also noted that the taxpayers of Watertown want the most for their money, and that physical fitness should be a priority.

Having graduated from college in 2004, Ms. Marlak also attended Watertown schools from Judson all the way to WHS. She said that with many young teachers coming into Watertown to replace those retiring, the school system needs new strategies for success.

"What is lacking is that the students have to get more out of school than the basic classes," she said. "They need arts and business classes - they need things from the real world."

Ms. Marlak said that the school needed to work on increasing students' motivation so they perform better on tests.

"We need to focus on new programs and finding new funding for that," Ms. Marlak said. "It's not just about test scores. These students need more school spirit and pride in their schools."

Ms. Marlak stated disappointment in the fact that there will be no Swift graduation ceremony this year.

"We're a positive town," said Ms. Marlak. "We shouldn't cancel Swift graduation - we can and will be better than that."

According to Mr. Mancini, the entire election, as well as the creation of the Independent Party, comes down to Route 262. He said the Democratic party supports commercial development at Route 262 and that the Republican Party soon followed them in that support.

"If we had the tax money from the Route 262 development, we'd have enough to subsidize our schools and the needs of our town," Mr. Mancini said. "We don't have enough money for a street sweeper but we need one badly. Every year, the departments need additional funding just to stay at the level they are now."

Mr. Mancini believes that additional funding from economic development is sorely needed as serious budget seasons are coming up.

"I've been asked how come taxes are going up," said Mr. Mancini. "The money is not coming in; funding from the state is down, permits fees are down, everything is down. Route 262 [development] is important to the town."

According to Ms. Russ, the town has been looking to develop the Route 262 area for the past 20 to 25 years, but "no one is knocking on our door."

"Turning that property to commercial zoning will not hurt us, it will help us," said Ms. Russ.

Ms. Russ stated that as town clerk, she would work with all the boards and commissions more, in an effort to help bring more commercial development into town.

"I think Denise Russ is the best person for Town Clerk," Ms. Marlak said. "She has always been there for me and is a hard worker."

Ms. Russ said that the reason she is running for Town Clerk is that she feels she has more experience than the other people running for the position.

"None of them have been elected to the town clerk's position, and I have more experience in finance - 20 years," said Ms. Russ.

She said that her priority will be not only in helping to develop Route 262, but to fill the vacant buildings in town.

"We want to get older businesses up and running," Ms. Russ said.

Ms. Plourde said that the key to development was to "strike while the iron is hot," and that the town has to work quickly with a business or developer before they go elsewhere.

Mr. Mancini noted that it was the Democratic Party that created the economic development coordinator position, when the Democrats where in power. He also noted that it was the Democrats who created a "no tax increase budget" two years ago.

"The Republicans fought us and said it was irresponsible," said Mr. Mancini.

Mr. Cestar noted that it was the Democrats that instituted tax relief for the elderly and that he believed it should be expanded when the town can afford to do so.

The Democratic Party also stated they wanted to hold regular office hours to listen to the concerns of the residents in an "off-the-record," "less intimidating" forum.

"At meetings, people feel intimidated to come before the microphone," Mr. Butterly said. "But when its not on the minutes, people can feel more relaxed."

Believing that communicating with the community is a key, Mr. Howell stated the Town Council needs to "get people to realize what is going on with Route 262 and other things in town."

"Communications are paramount," said Mr. Howell. "If we can get people to understand what is going on it town, we can get people excited."

Mr. Butterly also noted that while he has been in politics in three different decades, he has never seen a group as cohesive as this year's slate of candidates.

"This is a wonderful slate with varied backgrounds," said Mr. Butterly.