Statement released from the Office of First Selectman, Fred Camillo, Thursday, Oct 24, 2024
A recent email sent out by the Greenwich Democratic Town Committee was so outrageous and misleading that I am compelled to put out a statement now to not only set the record straight, but to also to give a factual account of what happened and why what the Democrats on the Board of Education did was illegal.
Connecticut law allows for the First Selectman to fill a vacancy on BOE if the board fails to fill the position within 30 days. It is not only law, but also our normal practice when a vacancy occurs. In fact, when a Democrat vacated her position a few years ago, the Republicans on the BOE did not stand in the way of the Democrats choice. Unfortunately, this time, the Democrats did not give their Republican counterparts that same courtesy.
Nevertheless, while I could have jumped in and appointed someone to fill a position myself, or, as I did a few days ago with my colleagues on the Board of Selectmen, on Day 31, I did not. I expressly told members of both parties on the BOE that brought the subject up to me that I preferred that they resolve it themselves and still held out hope three months later that there would be a compromise. Sadly, that did not happen, and I was made aware just a few days ago that the Republican members had settled on one of the six candidates that had interviewed for the position. Out of all of the six, they were all united for one and united in opposition to one.
The Democrats ignored that and picked the one candidate that was not acceptable to the three remaining Republicans on the board.
When I heard that, I immediately knew it was a power grab, and all about electing the next board chairman. It was a way to get around the majority party Republicans, who garnered more votes at the last election, and also a way to take advantage of a Republican resignation and
break with tradition by finding somebody who is registered as a Republican, but in fact, openly stated she would vote for a Democrat for chairperson. Moreover, when the candidate the Democrats chose was asked by the Republicans if she would be willing to even caucus with the Republicans, she stated she was not sure of that, either.
Hence, I called for a special meeting of the Board of Selectmen with the proper 24-hour notice that is required by State law. Upon seeing that, the Democrats ignored the 24-hour notice requirement and called for a pretextual “emergency” meeting when, in fact, there was no emergency. The reason they stated, and that the acting Chairwoman stated, has changed several times.
Not only is Connecticut law clear on this, the preeminent educational scholar in Connecticut, Tom Mooney, who also represents the Greenwich BOE, has already stated on record that he agrees with the Town position and disagrees with the BOE Democrats.
The acting Chairwoman hired a lawyer using taxpayer dollars without the consent of her Republican colleagues on the board and without approval, which is another illegal action. This lawyer then threatened to sue the Town.
This embarrassing situation keeps getting worse with each day and each move by the BOE Democrats.
What is even more amazing is they didn’t even have a quorum for the vote, despite an acknowledgment by a Democrat at a past BOE meeting that five people need to be present for a quorum.
The Town of Greenwich, our counsel, and the Law Department as well as the BOE’s own lawyer, Tom Mooney, all agree that the actions taken by the BOE Democrats is illegal and that the Board of Selectmen’s appointment of Paul Cappiali was legal and that he should be seated right away.
Mr. Cappiali was sworn-in by the Town Clerk and is ready to serve.
The Town is ready to take action immediately if the BOE Democrats continue to operate based on the actions stemming from an illegal meeting.
As the First Selectman of the Town of Greenwich, I will always defend the Town, the taxpayers, and in this case, the children who should be the main focus of the members of the BOE, and not on who controls the reins of power.
See also:
BOE Democratic Caucus: First Selectman’s Actions on BOE Vacancy Are a Power Grab Oct 24, 2024
BOE Vote to Ratify Earlier Vote on New Member, Jen Behette Oct 24, 2024