Election is over, now back to reality

It was a night for the incumbents in the Lower Naugatuck Valley.

I congratulate all the winners, including state Sen. Joseph J. Crisco, state Rep. Linda M. Gentile, state Rep. Theresa Conroy, and state Rep. Themis Klarides, and remind their challengers "there's always a next time" to vie for a seat in the General Assembly. Two years go by quickly!

No matter who you voted for yesterday, what matters is you took the time to go to the polls and exercise your right to vote.

And those who didn't participate in the process? They really cannot complain about the outcome of the races.

Republican, Democrat, or Independent, liberal, conservative, or somewhere in between, we all live here and are in this together.

Let's hope that our newly-re-elected representatives are ready to tackle the multitude of challenges facing their districts and the state.