After his brief and remarkable-but-ultimately-unsuccessful write-in bid for the District 63 state representative seat abruptly vacated by state Rep. George Wilber two weeks before the election, attorney William Riiska quickly and quietly has settled back into his volunteer leadership role in working on legislative issues for the Northwest Connecticut Chamber of Commerce.
And one of the Chamber's first tasks this fall is going to be bringing a large freshman class of first-time Northwest Connecticut legislators up to speed on the issues important to the local business community.
Taking Wilber's seat is Republican newcomer John Rigby.
Upsetting incumbent state Rep. Anne Ruwet (R-65th District) was Democratic newcomer Michelle Cook.
Upsetting longtime incumbent state Rep. Richard Ferrari (R-62nd District) was Democratic newcomer Annie Hornish.
And the Chamber and others locally who have important issues before the Legislature also are trying to get to know Republican Kevin Witkos, who has served several terms in the House, representing Canton, but will now represent a portion of the Torrington area after winning the 8th District seat in the state Senate.

In just 7 days, Norfolk attorney William Riiska convinced thousands of voters to write in his name for state representative in the 63rd District.
But it won't be enough to beat the only candidate whose name appeared on the ballot, political newcomer John Rigby, a Colebrook Republican.
Rigby has beaten Riiska in Winchester, which accounts for about 40 percent of the population of the district, 2,438 to 1,079.
Riiska filed to run as a write-in after incumbent Rep. George Wilber resigned with only two weeks to go before the election in the wake of a sex abuse allegations coverup scandal.

From registercitizen.com today:

CLICK HERE for "Nader sticks to anti-corporate message in final days of campaign."

CLICK HERE for "Gloves come off in 5th District congressional race."

CLICK HERE for "Democrats see chance to widen majority in state legislature."

CLICK HERE for "FROM THE PUBLISHER: What choice do we have in Wilber mess?"

Connecticut Republican Party staff think that The Register Citizen has been too easy on former Democratic state Rep. George Wilber, who resigned after the newspaper broke news about a $100,000 payment he made to settle sex abuse allegations.
They're especially upset that the paper has endorsed Democratic write-in candidate William Riiska.
CLICK HERE to read the post on the party's "Everyday Republican" blog.

CLICK HERE to read The Register Citizen's endorsement of William Riiska for state representative in the 63rd House District.

Bill Riiska, the Norfolk attorney who stepped up as a write-in candidate for House District 63 after the unexpected/abrupt resignation of state Rep. George Wilber, sounds like a guy who has made the transition from wanting to make sure that voters still had a choice on Nov. 4 to a guy who really believes he has a shot at pulling off a huge upset and winning the seat.
Riiska said he's gotten a tremendous response since announcing he would run as a write-in, and in an extremely short period of time, has kicked a full-press campaign into gear.
He said that he has the knowledge and experience to be a strong state legislator for the district, and that he would have run for the seat if Wilber had chosen to step down or retire when people normally make those kinds of decisions (i.e., about 9-12 months ago).
Many people in the district know Riiska through his work as an attorney, serving on local boards such as the Norfolk Planning and Zoning Commission and as the longtime head of the Northwest Connecticut Chamber of Commerce's government relations committee. He is also a Winsted native whose father was mayor and taught in the Region 7 school district.
The question will be, with voter turnout expected to be extremely high due to the presidential election, whether he can win enough votes from people who have no idea who their state rep is or what they do, to overcome the bloc of Republicans who will be supporting Republican newcomer John Rigby, when he's facing the teeny-tiny obstacle of not having his name listed on the ballot.

A judge ruled Tuesday that William Riiska, write-in Democratic candidate for Connecticut's 63rd legislative district, will be allowed on the ballot.

Read full story here.

Here's a selection of commentary from bloggers, journalists and partisans about the resignation of State Rep. George Wilber:

Lawmakers Wrong People To Judge Wilber Case
Column by Helen Ubiñas of the Hartford Courant

Shellysindlands Blog
I always felt a little sorry for State Representative George Wilber. At The Capitol, he seemed a little like a lost soul–like a fish out of water, the country-bumpkin trying to fit in with the more worldly, more experienced lawmakers. As a former country girl, I can relate. Whenever our paths crossed, he was always by himself looking for a friendly face to talk to.

The Everyday Republican's Take
Blog written by state Republican leader Chris Healy.

Copy of Wilber's resignation letter from ctnewsjunkie.com

John Rigby, the Colebrook Republican who appears to have won a seat in the state House of Representatives by default, with the sudden resignation of incumbent Rep. George Wilber over illness and the disclosure of a three-year-old sex abuse settlement, was talking Thursday about returning as much as $7,000 in unused campaign funds to the state ... until he heard that he might, yet, have an opponent Nov. 4.
State Democrats are preparing to file for an injunction that would block a Secretary of the State office ruling that William Riiska, a Norfolk attorney, could not run as a write-in for the seat because he faxed his signed application before the deadline rather than drop it off in person in Hartford.
Rigby qualified for public financing of his campaign (raising $5,000 from 150 different small donors in order to qualify for $25,000 more in campaign money funded by taxpayers). He said Thursday that he would return what hasn't been spent since he no longer has an opponent, but upon hearing about Riiska's progress in becoming an official candidate, he started to doubt his plans.