Eugene “Gino” DiGiovanni, who ran as a Republican in Derby’s mayoral race in 2023, amid revelations he participated in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol in 2021, is now running for the Derby town clerk position.
DiGiovanni did not respond to requests for comment from Connecticut Public, but his opponent, Democratic incumbent Marc Garofalo did.
“They know what I've done, and they know Gino, and they know his record,” Garofalo said. “So,there's a very clear choice for people.”
The race, now days away from being decided on Election Day, has not received as much attention as DiGiovanni’s mayoral campaign in 2023.
But Garofalo criticized his opponent’s suitability for elected office, citing DiGiovanni’s presence at the U.S. Capitol and attacks against Garofalo’s record which he said, reflects a poor understanding of the office DiGiovanni wants to win.
Ben Proto, who is chairman of the state’s Republican Party says voters in Derby are more preoccupied about the mayoral race between Democratic incumbent Joe DiMartino and his Republican challenger Scott Derby.
“I don't think it was a big deal two years ago when he (DiGiovanni) ran for mayor,” Proto said. “I think it's even less of a tiny deal for Town Clerk.”
When asked about DiGiovanni’s involvement in the Jan. 6 attack , Proto complained Stratford Democratic mayoral candidate Dr. David Chess, who was arrested at the Capitol in 2017, wasn’t facing similar scrutiny. ‘
Chess told Connecticut Public, he was at the capitol along with others to protest against the then attempted repeal of the Affordable Care Act.
Chess said he and other protestors were peaceful and were arrested for shouting into the Senate chambers.
“One was an insurrection against our government and the other was trying to protect legislation that had already been passed, to protect the rights of our citizens to get healthcare,” Chess said.
So far, 211 Derby residents have cast their ballots in early voting according to Garofalo.
Garofalo’s office also handles absentee ballots and also sends updated voting tallies throughout Election Day.
DiGiovanni has seized on that aspect of Garofalo’s role as town clerk in what he stated to the Valley Independent Sentinel, as a conflict of interest, because of Garofalo’s own campaign for reelection as town clerk.
Garofalo said those claims are not accurate.
“He has a serious misunderstanding or lack of understanding of the statutes, and there's a specific carve out for town clerks to be able to do their job,” Garofalo said.
But while Garofalo claimed DiGiovanni isn’t suited for town clerk, he said if elected, DiGiovanni would also be a part of the voting process in Derby.
DiGiovanni was at the Stop the Steal rally in 2021, before he and others marched to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, would oversee absentee ballots if elected.
DiGiovanni has since distanced himself from false claims that the 2020 Presidential Election was stolen. Garofalo said he’s concerned.
“It is the height of hypocrisy and laughable that somebody who participated in that and pled guilty and spent time in jail now wants to be the person who is going to oversee the elections locally; that is a very scary notion,” he said.
But Proto dismissed attention on the clerk race and said people should focus more on who can improve the city’s economy.
“The more important race in Derby is that of mayor, who's going to have a tremendous impact on the future development and growth of the city of Derby, as opposed to the town clerk,” Proto said.
DiGiovanni, along with other Connecticut residents at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, have since been pardoned, according to previous reporting from Connecticut Public.
