By Rit Carter and Laura Bailey
On election night 2021, Bristol’s Republican candidates, supporters and well-wishers gathered in a local banquet room and awaited the results.
The room was alive and vibrated with energy and anticipation, which turned to euphoria when the numbers were posted.
The tally showed Jeff Caggiano toppling the incumbent Ellen Zoppo-Sassu for mayor by 600 votes and their entire slate of city council candidates winning but for one, Sebastian Panioto.
Being the odd one out is not easy. The disappointment is immeasurable. No words of counsel can remove the sting. Despite his party’s resounding victory, he was not “in the best of moods.”
However, all was not what it seemed.
Later that night, as he sat at home mulling the X’s and O’s of the long campaign, there was a commotion outside.
When he went to investigate, Panioto discovered a caravan of supporters, including the newly elected mayor and city councilors. The vote count was wrong. He had won the council seat, making it a Republican clean sweep.
It has been over a year since Panioto, a lead audio operator at ESPN by day, was elected to Bristol’s city council for District 1, which is in the northeast part of town and is defined by its middle-class neighborhoods.
In April, he met TBE reporters Rit Carter and Laura Bailey for an interview and reflected on his first year on the city council (this story is being published now because Rit Carter was away on special assignment following the interview).
The Caggiano administration got off to a rough start in December of 2021 with the city council’s 5-2 vote to reject the Purchase and Sale Agreement between the City of Bristol and Wheeler Clinic, Inc. It is not a stretch to say the community was disappointed with the vote.
The lone votes supporting the project were Caggiano and Panioto. While their colleagues spoke of bad fits, the newly sworn councilman from the first district discussed the benefits it would provide and whom it would help.
“Wheeler’s present in our schools currently,” Panioto said. “They’re assisting some of our students in many schools, and there is a growing health crisis, really a mental health crisis, that’s growing in size and scope. And I think that in the near term, and in the long term, Wheeler is going be there to meet those challenges that are really important.”
In his 20 months in office, there have been several flashpoints like the Wheeler Clinic and cannabis votes.
Throughout it, though, the councilman has maintained his calming and levelheaded presence. One city hall observer noted, “In his capacity as the city council liaison to the Diversity Council, he is calm and engaged.”
Panioto is not a saber rattler or a flame thrower. He has an unruffled approach to his work and solving local government problems. Sue Tyler, a city councilor from District 2, said, “His decorum is always respectful and professional. Whether we are on the same side of an issue or not, I know that Sebastian votes in a way that he thinks is best for the City of Bristol.”
That is exhibited in the aftermath of Wheeler. Reflecting on that time, he has no ill will on how that first vote went.
“Folks voted their conscience at the time, and the votes were what they were. Conversations took place afterward, and we’re fortunate that the tide turned, and we were able to get the project in there. Healthcare is going to be an important part of the city.”
Despite having an uncle who was a Hartford city councilman, getting into politics was a gradual build. He was not bathed in it, nor did he wake up one day and have an epiphany to seek office. Coming out of college, he had a slight interest, but as he got older, his priorities changed.
It was when he volunteered for Bristol’s Conservation Commission and Inland Wetlands that he had an inkling that he sought more.
“At that point, I was aware I maybe wanted to take a step further and get more involved.”
Through those experiences, Panioto gained valuable insight, so he had an idea of how the local government worked and the obligations and commitments of city councilors. However, that still did not fully prepare him for what was to come as a city councilor.
“I wasn’t naive about it, but it’s a fast-learning curve,” he remarked. “It is a multifaceted job, there are so many moving parts, and I think you have to know what you’re going into,” he reflected.
But as to the work, he finds satisfaction in what he is doing despite the challenges which are part of the process.
“Sometimes you’ll be working a lot of different boards and commissions, meetings go in different directions. Sometimes just keeping focused on a goal and accomplishing something tangible can be a challenge, but I don’t think it hinders the city. It’s just part of the democratic process.”
One thing he’s taken notice of is the city employees. He said they are talented, creative and hard-working, that do a lot to help the city.
As to the future, Panioto sees continued progress across the city, and part of that for him is supporting the Public Works’ infrastructure goals.
“We have a city of 60,000 plus, and we’re trying to get from point A to point B; they’re (residents) just pulling their hair out to get around the city. We have an infrastructure that doesn’t accommodate that many people moving around town. Not everybody utilizes some of the other aspects of the city, like parks or schools, but everybody drives on the roads.”
This November Panioto will be running for a second term on the city council in the District 1, where he will be running alongside Republican Erick Rosengren, who was appointed by the mayor to complete Jolene Luistani’s term, against Democratic challengers Andrew Rasmussen-Tuller and Kim Caron.
Editor’s note: TBE will be profiling candidates for City Council positions throughout this year’s campaign season.
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