McCormack to challenge St. John

By MARJORIE NEEDHAM

Middlebury Democrats endorsed the town’s Board of Finance Chairman Michael McCormack to face the Republican-endorsed incumbent, First Selectman Edward B. St. John, in the contest for Middlebury’s top spot in the Nov. 3 election. Candidates playing musical parties this year are Brenda Carter, a former Democrat who is now a Republican, and David Cappelletti, a Republican who was endorsed by the Democrats and is expected to change his party affiliation to Democrat.

Carter is running for a position on the Region 15 Board of Education; Cappelletti is an incumbent Board of Finance member. Carter will face Democrat Lois Yager, who joined the MDTC earlier this year. Both selectmen, Republican Elaine M.R. Strobel and Democrat Ralph Barra, were endorsed by their respective parties.

McCormack and St. John frequently are publicly at odds with each other during Board of Finance meetings. Whether the animosity they show there will be evident in their respective campaigns remains to be seen.

The Middlebury Republican Town Committee met Tuesday, July 21. After a brief business meeting, they went into executive session and emerged from it with a printed list of candidates created after the nominating committee met with those interested in being endorsed. The biggest surprise on the Republican ticket was its two candidates for the Board of Finance. Instead of endorsing incumbents Michael Kenausis and Cappelletti, the Republicans endorsed Rita Smith and Dawn Calabrese. MRTC Chairman Tom King said Cappelletti was interviewed, but Kenausis was not. He said Kenausis did not respond to MRTC correspondence.

Republican St. John will run for his 15th term. He said Wednesday, “I have lots of unfinished business. We have a capital plan that needs to be finalized and developed. The most critical question here is that taxpayers can afford it.”
He said the main big-ticket items are updating mechanical equipment, replacing roofs and replacing underground fuel tanks at the Public Works Department. He said the town also was seriously behind in road improvements.

“I think we’ve got a great team running for office this November,” St. John said. “I always look forward to serving this community.”

The Middlebury Democratic Town Committee (MDTC) held its caucus Wednesday, July 22, with some 17 Democrats present. The biggest surprises there were its endorsement of Republican Cappelletti for a position on the Board of Finance and its failure to cross endorse Republican Tax Collector Jean Dawes as it has in the past. Many of the Democratic candidates were chosen in answer to this question from Chairman Curt Bosco or Secretary Anastasia Persico, “OK. Who wants to run for this office?”
Ann Merriam Feinberg nominated McCormack for first selectman. There were no other nominees. In accepting the nomination, McCormack said, “I think it’s very important we win this election … The way to keep taxes down is to cut the budget and bring in industries.” He said the town has been on a spending spree and needs to exercise financial restraint.

“We’ve been trying to steer the ship in a certain direction, but it’s very hard to do that from the Board of Finance. It will be a lot easier to do that from the Board of Selectmen,” he said.

When the Democrats reached the tax collector position, MDTC chairman Curt Bosco suggested they cross-endorse the Republican incumbent, Jean Dawes as they have in the past. McCormack said, “No.” He said the Democrats should run someone for tax collector. When no one volunteered to run for tax collector, McCormack again objected to cross-endorsing Dawes.

McCormack then spoke up for Republican Board of Finance incumbent David Cappelletti. He said Cappelletti was a great member of the Board of Finance and an auditor who had just started his own firm. Persico said Cappelletti told her he would change parties if the Democrats endorsed him. McCormack nominated Cappelletti, and the MDTC voted to endorse him. The MDTC endorsed Joseph Drauss for the other Board of Finance position.

Persico said, “See, Mike already runs the town.”

Three positions, all Republican, are open on the Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA). Bosco said “It’s a good time to run three and get some Democrats on there.” They endorsed Punyada Bhaduri, Mark Petrucci and Persico for those positions.

Returning to the yet-unfilled tax collector position, Selectman Ralph Barra and Board of Assessment Appeals Chairman Stephen Ferrucci spoke up for Dawes. Barra said “She has done a great job. She’s very competent. I have worked with her and I know.” Ferrucci said the position was a full-time job, failing to get re-elected might affect her pension and this was likely the last time she would run for office before retiring.

McCormack said this has nothing to do with her pension; people are vested after 10 years in the plan. He again objected to cross-endorsing her. “She never had a tax sale until two years ago. The extra effort we needed just wasn’t there,” he said. “Leave the position blank.”

Although the MDTC did put up a candidate for town treasurer, Persico, McCormack described the position as “a political patronage job.”

Republicans endorsed their incumbents for all positions except the two Board of Finance positions, the town treasurer and the Region 15 Board of Education. For town treasurer, they endorsed Robin Desantis-Stanziale and said John Calabrese did not seek another term. The Region 15 position is the one vacated by Francis Brennan.

Democrats endorsed some incumbents (Barra, Ferrucci, Robert C. Desmarais and Fran Barton Jr.), but in filling slots that in the past would have been left with no Democratic candidates, they came up with endorsements for the three candidates for the WPCA; Persico, Sharon Bosco and Noa Miller to run for library trustee positions; and Ann Meriam Feinberg to run for the Pomperaug Valley Water Authority.

Other candidates may emerge; those who wish to primary for either party’s endorsement have to turn in their petitions by Aug. 12. People who wish to be a petitioning candidate on the ballot can apply to the Connecticut Secretary of the State’s office by Aug. 5. A write-in candidate may register with the state starting Aug. 5 and ending Oct. 20.