Council Pays $11,400 Legal Bill Over Election Fight

South Windsor’s Town Council has now paid a legal bill tied to one of the town’s most contentious recent political fights: the dispute over who should have won the final seat in the Nov. 4, 2025 municipal election. Patch reported that council members approved an $11,400 payment for legal work connected to the case, settling a municipal expense that grew out of the post-election litigation. The vote did not resolve the underlying lawsuit, which centers on whether town officials wrongly applied a charter change immediately after voters approved it. The fight has focused on Democrat Harrison Amadasun, who says he was denied a council seat despite receiving more votes than the Republican who was seated instead. ### How did a legal bill become part of an election dispute? The $11,400 payment stems from legal services linked to the town’s response to the election challenge, according to Patch’s report on the council vote. The bill became a public issue because the town, not the candidates, was responsible for costs associated with defending official actions taken after the election. (msn.com) Anitha Elango, chair of the South Windsor Democratic Town Committee, said in November 2025 that Democrats had retained Hartford attorney John Kennelly to sue over the result. That suit named Town Clerk Bonnie Armstrong as defendant after she certified results that seated Republican Rick Balboni. (msn.com) ### Why was Harrison Amadasun not seated after getting more votes? Harrison Amadasun received 3,847 votes in the Nov. 4, 2025 Town Council election, while Rick Balboni received 2,937, according to Patch and NBC Connecticut. Even so, Balboni was awarded the final council seat after South Windsor applied charter revisions approved the same day that limited any one party to a bare majority on the nine-member council. (patch.com) The charter revisions, as posted by the town on Nov. 6, 2025, said all changes were effective Nov. 5, 2025, except Section 610, which would take effect in November 2027. The notice also said the revised charter added language that no political party could hold more than five council seats at one time. (patch.com) ### What is Amadasun arguing in court? Democrats have argued that the council-composition changes were intended for the 2027 election cycle, not the 2025 results. Patch reported that the lawsuit says the Charter Revision Commission had approved a Nov. 2, 2027 adoption date for revisions dealing with council composition, and that town leaders wrongly treated the change as immediately effective. (southwindsor-ct.gov) John Kennelly, Amadasun’s lawyer, has said the case is about whether the outcome was altered after votes were counted. In January, the Connecticut Supreme Court revived the challenge after a lower court had dismissed it, sending the matter back to Superior Court for a full hearing. (patch.com) ### What did the Connecticut Supreme Court decide? The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled on Jan. 13, 2026 that Amadasun could continue his legal challenge. Patch reported that the justices reversed a lower-court decision and sent the case back to Superior Court to determine whether the election was handled properly. (patch.com) Justice Steven D. Ecker said Armstrong’s action amounted to a “split decision,” Patch reported, because she applied the charter changes to some results but not others. The ruling did not decide who should hold the seat, but it reopened the dispute and cleared the way for trial-level review. (patch.com) ### What happens next in the case and for the town? A Superior Court hearing in Amadasun v. Armstrong was scheduled for April 1 in Hartford before Judge Carl Schuman, Patch reported in March. That hearing was set to address whether Amadasun was wrongly denied the seat and whether the election outcome was changed after ballots were cast. (patch.com) South Windsor’s council, which meets on the first and third Monday of the month, continues to handle the budget and other routine business while the case moves through court. The legal bill vote closes one town expense tied to the dispute, but the litigation over the 2025 election result remains pending in Superior Court. (southwindsor-ct.gov) (patch.com)