As Races End, Another Begins. J. Paul Vance to Make Bid for Waterbury Mayor.

Democrat J. Paul Vance, the former leader of the Board of Alderman who lost a close race for the 2009 Democratic nomination for mayor of Waterbury, will soon form a campaign committee to make another bid for the job, sources tell Daily Ructions.  Incumbent Michael Jarjura defeated Vance by fewer than 200 votes in the September primary. Jarjura went on to win a 5th consecutive term in the general election.

Jarjura has not announced his intentions for next year.  Observers had expect former Waterbury police chief Neil O’Leary to make a bid for the top job.  He’ll need to answer questions about his recently-disclosed Super Bowl gambling bonanza.  O’Leary’s ties to the law enforcement community in Waterbury could also become a serious obstacle as federal investigators continue to close the noose on prominent figures in that frontier town.