Politics & Government

RTC Chairman's Concerns Remain With Democrats' Choice for Interim First Selectman

Issue to be Decided by Two Remaining Selectmen, but Baldwin Says Seat Shouldn't be Filled by Someone Seeking the Job in November; DTC District Leader Says Tetreau Best Person for Job

Republican Selectman James Walsh's thoughts on Michael Tetreau, a Democrat, taking over as first selectman after Democratic First Selectman Ken Flatto resigns later this month aren't publicly known, but James Baldwin, chairman of the Republican Town Committee, remains concerned with the choice.

Baldwin said the precedent of each political party accepting the recommendation of the other to fill a seat on the Board of Selectmen was counterbalanced by a precedent of that person not aspiring to be first selectman. "It's very much contrary to past practice," he said of appointing a person to the Board of Selectmen who wants to be first selectman.

Baldwin's comments on Tuesday come after another prominent Republican - Representative Town Meeting Majority Leader and former RTC Chairman James Millington, R-9 - described Tetreau as a solid choice to Fairfield Patch on April 5.

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“Although Mike and I have not always agreed on the issues, I have a deep respect for him and all he has done for our community.  I know he is the Democrats' choice for first selectman and I would hope that we honor the long-standing tradition of supporting the opposition's choices in filling a vacancy,” Millington said at the time. “We must put the town first and the party second; I think Mike would serve honorably as an interim first selectman.”

Republicans Robert B. Bellitto, Jr. and David M. Becker, the two declared candidates for first selectman, were non-committal on Tuesday about having Tetreau as interim first selectman, though both said the way vacancies are filled on the Board of Selectmen needs to be changed because, if Tetreau is appointed by Walsh and Democratic Selectman Sherri Steeneck, all three members of the Board of Selectmen will be appointed, rather than elected.

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"From a process standpoint, the Town Charter needs to be revised. There needs to be a clear succession plan," Bellitto said. "I think to have the Board of Selectmen be entirely appointed is not good for the town...We need to do something going forward for the future."

Asked if he thought Tetreau would have an advantage in the November election if he is appointed as interim first selectman and runs for the town's top job, Bellitto said, "I believe that incumbency has its advantages and disadvantages, and, if Mike ends up being the interim, he'll have both of those to deal with. That's the best way I could say it."

Becker said he didn't want to "wade too far" into the question of whether Tetreau should be interim first selectman because Walsh and Steeneck, who are tasked with deciding Flatto's replacement, hadn't had an open meeting to discuss it. "We still don't know officially where they're headed," he said. "I'm trying to at least let the process run out a little bit before I dive head first into this debate."

Becker said he thinks it's important that Walsh and Steeneck have "a very open process" in deciding Flatto's replacement.

"Right now, I want to see a meeting with the two of them, and I want to see, publicly on record, what they're going to do with this...Until we have an indication from Jim and Sherri about where they're headed with this, it really puts things in limbo," Becker said.

State Freedom of Information laws allow Walsh and Steeneck to meet behind closed doors to discuss candidates for interim first selectman, but those meetings have to be publicly noticed and the candidates have to know they will be discussed ahead of time so they can request the meeting take place in public.

Becker said changing the way vacancies are filled on the Board of Selectmen, which he said was needed, may require more than just a change to the Town Charter because state statutes also play a role in how vacancies are filled.

Unlike Bellitto and Becker, Tetreau, a Board of Finance member, hasn't declared a candidacy for first selectman, though he has expressed interest in the job and was one of three finance board members to recuse himself from discussions last month about how much to raise the first selectman's salary. The other two were Bellitto, who formally announced a run for first selectman on Saturday, and finance board member Kevin Kiley, a Republican who has expressed interest in the job.

Tetreau didn't return a call Tuesday afternoon to say whether he was definitely running for first selectman, though Republicans believe he is.

Baldwin said on Tuesday that having Tetreau as interim first selectman - or anyone who wants the job in the November election - could politicize the Board of Selectmen and give Tetreau an unfair advantage over other candidates.

Baldwin said Walsh, who filled a seat on the Board of Selectmen after former Republican Selectman Ralph Bowley died, had no interest in running for first selectman when he was appointed and that Steeneck, who filled a seat on the Board of Selectmen after former Democratic Selectman Denise Dougiello died, also had no interest in running for the town's top job.

"I feel very strongly that the person who is appointed should not have those ambitions...especially when we're going to have a general election in six short months," Baldwin said. He said the Democratic Party had leaders highly regarded by everybody, and, while he wasn't saying Tetreau was not highly regarded, Tetreau had aspirations to be first selectman beyond an interim appointment. "On that basis alone, he is not right for this interim position," Baldwin said.

Marilyn Miller, a district leader in the Democratic Town Committee, said Tetreau was the best person for the job and that was the DTC's only motivation in endorsing him to fill Flatto's seat. "Our focus is who's the best person for the job," Miller said. "I can't think of anyone better. That's the motivation."

Miller said the DTC's executive committee and district leaders, in two separate meetings, had endorsed Tetreau and that the full DTC gave its unanimous endorsement following that.

Baldwin said Flatto was concerned that the Republican who filled Bowley's seat not be interested in running for first selectman because it could politicize the board, something Baldwin said Flatto experienced when he was the minority selectman under former Republican First Selectmen Paul Audley and John G. Metsopoulos. Baldwin said he Flatto's concern was "very legitimate" and that he, Baldwin, didn't think it would be fair to other Republicans because it would give Bowley's replacement an unfair advantage.

Flatto said Baldwin was "half accurate" in his assertion. "My concern was really to ask Jim about it, if it would become a more political board if he was planning on running," Flatto said. "It wasn't, 'You can't do it.' It was more just to ask what his thoughts were."

Flatto added that his conversation with Baldwin took place before the Republican party had chosen Walsh. "It didn't end up being an issue one way or the other," he said.

Baldwin said he, if he were a Democrat, would "question the legitimacy" of Tetreau's appointment as interim first selectman "because it's tantamount to anointing Mr. Tetreau as their party's nominee without going through their process, but that's for the other party to consider."

But the Democrats, unlike the Republicans, do not nominate someone in a caucus in which every Fairfield voter registered in their party is eligible to vote. The Democratic Party in Fairfield instead holds a convention, in which only members of the DTC are eligible to vote.

Walsh and Steeneck would have to agree on having Tetreau as the interim first selectman for the appointment to take place. If they don't agree within 30 days of Flatto leaving office, the matter would be decided by elected Democrats on town boards where every member's term is the same and every member is elected at the same election. Steeneck said several weeks ago that she didn't have a problem with appointing an interim first selectman who was interested in running for the job in November. Walsh hasn't publicly stated his opinion on that question one way or the other.

Town Attorney Richard Saxl said in an e-mail to Fairfield Patch last week that 17 Democrats would vote on Flatto's replacement if Steeneck and Walsh don't agree.

Democrats eligible to vote, Saxl said, appear to be limited to: Steeneck; 12 members of the Representative Town Meeting; one constable (Saxl says there are three constables who are Democrats but the other two are on the RTM and only get one vote); Matt Waggner, who is the Democratic Registrar of Voters; and an alternate member on the Town Plan and Zoning Commission and the Zoning Board of Appeals.

Saxl said the relevant state statute doesn't allow members of boards and commissions who are elected to staggered terms to vote, which cuts out members of the Board of Finance; Board of Education; Town Plan and Zoning Commission (except for an alternate); Zoning Board of Appeals (except for an altenate); and Board of Assessment Appeals.

Saxl said a ruling by the Office of the Secretary of the State also excludes justices of the peace from voting.

"Hopefully, all of this is academic and that Sherri and Jim Walsh agree on Ken's successor," Saxl said in the e-mail.

It may be academic even if Walsh and Steeneck don't agree, as a significant majority of the 17 elected Democrats who would vote are members of the Democratic Town Committee, according to the DTC's website listing members from 2008 to 2010. Some of those elected Democrats who are listed, though, may not be on the DTC in 2011 and may not have been present at the April 4 meeting when Miller said Tetreau was unanimously endorsed.


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