Governor to Stop By Colony Grill Monday For 1st Selectman Campaign Launch

Gov. Dannel Malloy plans to stop by Colony Grill in downtown Fairfield in the late afternoon or early evening on Monday.

But Malloy isn't coming for Colony's delicious pizza - at least that's not the only reason.

Malloy is stopping by to help launch First Selectman Michael Tetreau's campaign for the town's top job. Tetreau is launching his campaign, along with the campaign of his running mate, Cristin McCarthy Vahey, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the 1520 Post Road pizza restaurant.

McCarthy Vahey, currently the minority leader on the Representative Town Meeting, is running for the position of selectman.

Tetreau, a Democrat and former member of the town's Board of Finance, said Malloy's scheduled appearance was "a commitment that the governor is very much interested in Fairfield County. In the past, we were worried Hartford didn't have much of a Fairfield County focus."

Malloy also comes from Fairfield County, having served as mayor of Stamford before his election as governor in 2010.

Tetreau was elected by 17 Democrats June 9 to serve as first selectman after former Democratic First Selectman Sherri Steeneck and Republican Selectman James Walsh couldn't come to an agreement on who the interim first selectman should be.

After former Democratic First Selectman Ken Flatto resigned May 3 to take a job in Malloy's administration, Steeneck served as first selectman until June 9 when Tetreau, the unanimous choice of Fairfield's Democratic Town Committee, was elected by 17 Democrats in a brief meeting in McKinley School's cafeteria.

But Tetreau was only elected to fill out the term of Flatto and is subject to election by a townwide vote on Nov. 8.

Robert B. Bellitto, Jr., vice chairman of the Board of Finance, and David M. Becker, a District 1 RTM member, are the Republican candidates for first selectman and are scheduled to debate at 7:30 p.m. July 11 in Fairfield Public Library, about a week before the Republican Party's July 19 caucus, in which all Republican voters can head to the polls to endorse their candidates for the November election.