Town Committees Trade Criticisms At Meetings

Meeting just an hour apart and one room away from one another at the , the Democratic Town Committee and Republican Town Committee had far different opinions on the matters facing New London.

The key purpose of the monthly meetings was to elect new officers for the next two years. However, the parties also heard from candidates for state offices and weighed in on municipal matters.

At the Democratic meeting, Mayor Daryl Finizio said the party had a successful year with both and Democratic majorities on the and . However, Finizio said some of the difficulties facing New London have their roots in earlier years when the Republicans held the majority in city government.

“We need to hit back,” said Finizio. “When the Republican Town Committee chair says, ‘It’s all your fault,’ we need to say, ‘Where were you two years ago?’”

City Council President Michael Passero said members of the party will not always agree, but that the most important goal is to represent the citizens.

“If we hang together and we concentrate on what our constituents are telling us, we’ll do the right thing,” he said.

DTC chairman Bill Satti said committee members can vote as they see fit in the upcoming election, but that he did not want to see them publicly supporting GOP candidates. He said actions such as this contributed to the departure of some committee members during .

“They didn’t support the Democratic team, and they’re no longer here,” he said.

At the RTC meeting, members were critical of the state of municipal affairs in the months since Finizio and the City Council with a Democratic majority . Chairman Bill Vogel said he feels the actions of the administration and council are leading the city toward a significant tax hike.

“I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t ask for a 10 percent increase,” said Vogel.

Councilor Adam Sprecace, the one Republican remaining on the City Council, agreed that such an increase is possible if the are granted a . He said other factors, such as payments to departing employees, are also affecting the budget.

“With every new week it seems there’s more money that’s being spent that people didn’t know about and that hasn’t been authorized,” he said.

Barbara Major and Jason Catala, the two Republicans remaining on the Board of Education, said they think the board is working well as a bipartisan entity.

“You can’t tell who’s Republican and who’s Democrat, except the chair,” said Catala.

Major said she doesn’t expect that the schools are likely to receive the requested six percent budget increase. However, she said she would like to go after cuts at the administrative level rather than in school faculty if the budget request is not granted.

Vogel said the party will be working to find candidates for the 2013 Board of Education and City Council races, increase its communications, and divide the RTC  into subcommittees focusing on different issues.

Satti and Vogel were each re-elected chairmen of their respective parties. The Democrats named Audrey Brown, Allyn de Vars, and Council President Pro Tempore Wade Hyslop as vice-chairs; Shirley Gillis as secretary; and Mary Minton as secretary. The Republicans named Michael Doyle as vice-chair, Jeff Harris as treasurer, and Lindsay Savona as secretary.

The DTC also endorsed State Senator Andrea Stillman, State Rep. Ernest Hewett, and Rep. Joe Courtney in the 2012 election. The RTC endorsed Doyle for a state senate bid against Stillman. Doyle said he will formally announce his candidacy on April 10.

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