Submitted by Christina Downey, chair, Democratic Town Committee
As a former Board of Education (BOE) member with four years of service, including as Vice Chair and chair of key committees, I’ve refrained from weighing in publicly on the recent vacancy controversy — until now.
The persistent distortions pushed by the First Selectman and his allies, including in a recent letter by RTC Chair, Jerry Cincotta, leave no choice but to respond.
Here are the facts:
• Upon learning of an impending vacancy, the BOE consulted with the town attorney who advised filling the seat “as soon as feasible.” There was no mention of a time limit or risk of the Board of Selectmen intervening.
• The Democratic BOE members, in concert with their Republican colleagues – or so they thought – adhered to long-established norms by following an open, good faith, collaborative process, accepting applications and subsequently interviewing 6 Republican candidates to fill the seat. (The Town Charter requires the BOE to be composed of 4 Republicans and 4 Democrats; no majority is permitted.)
• Despite their revisionist claims now, the Republicans never agreed on a preferred candidate. The Democrats did their job, evaluating all candidates and selected Republican Jen Behette, a thoughtful and qualified choice.
• On October 17, at the regularly scheduled BOE meeting where the board was slated to vote on the vacancy, the BOE Republicans disrupted this process, devising a scheme wherein one member abruptly left the meeting to delay the vote, ostensibly to attend to some personal matter. Out of respect for their colleagues, the Democrats agreed to postpone the vote by a week.
• Just days later, on October 21, the First Selectman notified the public of a special meeting of the Board of Selectmen to preempt the BOE’s re-scheduled vote, attempting to install his friend, Paul Cappiali, without regard to qualifications and without having done even the bare minimum due diligence of interviewing the other candidates, some of whom, such as former BOE chair Joe Kelly were highly qualified.
It strains credulity to believe the last two items are not connected. Republicans who are serious about upholding norms and maintaining bipartisanship do not behave in these ways. And it gets worse, including rampant cronyism, conflicts of interest, and most importantly, the waste of taxpayer money by the First Selectman as he pursues multiple lawsuits and other frivolous actions against the Board of Education.
Instead of going into those details now, I will conclude by saying that responding to the recent Republican habit of constant misrepresentations and distractions has become tiresome, but that will not stop us from addressing them. Particularly when the stakes are the integrity of our schools and the taxpayers’ trust, it is our obligation to correct the record.