The Jan 29 Republican Town Committee meeting is gearing up to be an interesting one. Less than a year into his two-year term as RTC chair, Jerry Cincotta has announced he plans to step down.
It was less than a year ago at a memorable Greenwich RTC meeting at the Arch Street Teen Center that all five officers were replaced.
But not until after a series of tie votes and revotes.
And shouting and name calling.
The State GOP had brought in a parliamentarian and someone to run the elections from out of town, but they were repeatedly challenged on the process.
Beth MacGillivray, who had led the party since 2022, did not seek a second term. Her vice chair Joe Montanaro had hoped to fill her shoes.
But it was not to be.
Mr. Cincotta was nominated by Ari Schuler from district 6, who described the party as fractured and feelings hurt.
After the 66 members split and were virtually equally divided in several tie votes, Mr. Cincotta won the seat in a vote of 36 to 29, with Karen Fassuliotis abstaining.
At the time Cincotta said, “I want to move forward. I want to get good people elected in Hartford. Let’s stop re-litigating the past.”
Mr. Cincotta shared some remarks after the vote, saying, “We can’t be at each other’s throats….For those of you who didn’t vote for me, I hope I can earn your trust.”
Since that March 27, 2024 vote, the public discord simmered down and the Republicans celebrated State Senator Ryan Fazio’s re-election in November, as well as the victory of political newcomer, Tina Courpas over incumbent Rachel Khanna in the 149th district.
This week on WGCH 1490 Senator Fazio said, “Jerry’s a great guy. He did not necessarily want to be RTC chair in Greenwich, but I think a lot of people wanted to see him lead in that leadership role to try to make the party a better one and protect the interests of our town.”
Cincotta’s foray into Greenwich Republican politics began when he helped run Ryan Fazio’s campaign for re-election in 2022.
Fazio said that Mr. Cincotta had proved to be a great leader for the Republican party.
“He’s been a great leader for everybody in Greenwich, but his goal as RTC chair was to engage all people in Greenwich and bring people together around the causes our party believes in and I think most people believe in, which is affordability, lower taxes, lower energy bills, local control over local decision making, and a town that works for all of its residents,” Senator Fazio said.
Also this week, Michael Hahn from district 5 in Riverside announced that he will seek the RTC chair position.
Mr. Hahn is Former Vice Chairman, CT Republican Party, 4th Congressional District, who has described himself as an informal advisor to First Selectmen Fred Camillo’s 2023 campaign.
He has penned numerous LTEs published on GFP including a popular one about the Greenwich Patriots in 2022, and one in May expressing concerns regarding the recent appointment of Eduardo Calderón as the new principal of Julian Curtiss Elementary School.
In June he wrote about ranked choice voting.
In January 2024 he wrote about the “contested and lively” RTC caucuses to select the 66 members who would go on to vote on the officer positions and on nominations for candidates for public office.
In February, when he was a candidate for the RTC in District 5 at Riverside School – on a slate with Mr. Cincotta, Andy Duus, Marc Johnson and Paul Olmstead – he wrote about the importance of primaries.
The RTC meeting on Wednesday, Jan 29, where it is expected a new chair will be selected, begins at 8:00 in the town hall meeting room.