RTC Chairman Objects to Article

The chairman of the Republican Town Committee objected today to a Fairfield Patch article that said an endorsement of James Walsh, moderator of the Representative Town Meeting, was scuttled Thursday night by fighting among Republican leaders in Fairfield.

James Baldwin, the RTC chairman, said a vote by the RTC's executive committee to endorse Walsh as the town's new Republican selectman wasn't predetermined to take place at Thursday night's meeting.

Baldwin said the RTC's executive committee planned only to decide whether to present its recommendation to the Board of Selectmen, present its recommendation to the RTC for a vote or make no recommendation and proceed to a vote by the RTC. He objected to the Patch headline - "GOP Fighting Scuttles Walsh Endorsement" - saying it wasn't accurate.

But Alexa Mullady, a vice district leader in District 2 who was at Thursday night's meeting because District 2's leader couldn't attend, said a motion was made to endorse Walsh at Thursday night's meeting, but the motion was withdrawn after she and other RTC leaders said they thought the meeting violated RTC rules because RTC members hadn't been given seven days' notice of the meeting. She said she and a RTC district leader planned to walk out of the meeting if a vote took place.

"He was identified. The motion was for Jim Walsh," Mullady said.

Baldwin tonight confirmed that a motion had been made to endorse Walsh and that it had been withdrawn, adding that he wouldn't press his objections to the Patch headline that said Walsh's endorsement was scuttled by Republican fighting. He objected, however, to airing in public business that had taken place behind closed doors.

The RTC's executive committee didn't vote on the motion for Walsh but instead decided to send the matter to the full RTC for a vote at a meeting May 4.

Mullady said she didn't have a problem with discussions taking place at Thursday night's meeting but felt a vote would not be proper because enough time existed for the full RTC to receive seven days' notice of a meeting of the RTC's executive committee.

The RTC's rules allow for a meeting of its executive committee in less than seven days' notice if enough time doesn't exist for seven days' notice.

Baldwin said today that Thursday night's meeting fell under that exception, but in an e-mail to RTC district leaders on April 19 - the full text of which is below - Baldwin indicated the seven-day window could be met:

"Sorry - thanks for catching that Dick - the proposed meeting is for this Thursday the 22d- not Wed. as stated below. Please let me know who will attend on behalf of your District. If we cannot get reps from all districts we may have to punt to the following week."

By saying Thursday night's meeting could be punted to the following week, Baldwin was indicating that enough time had existed for seven days' notice, Mullady said.

Confusion existed over whether Walsh was endorsed by Republican leaders before Thursday night's meeting of the RTC's executive committee.

Baldwin said today that Thursday night's meeting was designed to determine how the RTC's executive committee wanted to proceed on an endorsement.

But Baldwin, in an e-mail to RTC district leaders on April 18, said Walsh was the person endorsed by the RTC's executive members and was the choice of Selectman Ralph Bowley, who passed away April 10 and whose vacancy needs to be filled on the three-member Board of Selectmen.

"At the last meeting, we discussed the fact that Ralph Bowley had expressed his desire to be replaced by a particular individual but out of respect for Ralph's desire to pass on while in office that person would not be named until his passing. Right or wrong, I was adamant not to let this information out until such time," Baldwin said in that e-mail. "That time has now come, so I am hereby letting you know that person chosen by Ralph and endorsed by the Executive Members is Jim Walsh."

Baldwin's April 18 e-mail in which he identified Walsh as the endorsed candidate of the RTC's "Executive Members" created controversy because Baldwin in the past had said RTC leaders couldn't endorse anyone, according to Mullady.

Baldwin, though, added in that e-mail and in later e-mails that the decision on selecting Bowley's successor and presenting that selection to Democratic First Selectman Ken Flatto and Democratic Selectman Sherri Steeneck for a vote was a matter for the RTC to decide and not just Bowley or the RTC's executive members.

Baldwin and Walsh identified three uncontested errors in the Fairfield Patch article today, which were corrected in the original article:

* The date of the next RTC meeting is May 4 and not May 3. The RTC normally meets on the first Monday of each month but is meeting on the first Tuesday in May because the RTM is voting on the proposed 2010-11 town budget May 3.

* A second reference to where Thursday night's meeting took place incorrectly said it took place in Walsh's law office. The first, and correct, reference identified the meeting in Baldwin's law office.

* The last name of Walsh, instead of Baldwin, was accidentally used in a sentence that said some RTC members were upset about the process being used to select Bowley's successor. The RTC members were upset about the process used by Baldwin.