New Haven Independent

At the DTC meeting Tuesday night, First Selectman Unk DaRos strongly recommended Cassella for the position, saying the upcoming election “is not going to be easy…and Victor is a known quantity.” Cassella said he would accept if “you wish me to do it.” The vote is expected to take place next month.

Carrano has spent a lifetime in politics, here in Branford and in New Haven, where he served as head of the teachers union for 25 years. He said he will remain active in the local Democratic Party but wanted to give up his leadership role. His reasons centered primarily on gearing up for the fundraising involved in the upcoming First selectman’s campaign. DaRos is expected to seek re-election in November, though he is has not officially said so.

The timing of Carrano’s announcement also coincides with pressures he has encountered in the last month as a result of his dual roles as chairman of the Branford Board of Education and chairman of the Democratic Party.

He came under criticism last month for failing to bring the upcoming teachers contract in line with the economic realities of the times. Later he reversed course. But he said he had been punched around before in the press and this sort of public quarrel was not at the heart of his decision.

In an interview, Carrano said his primary reason for stepping down was the time, energy and commitment involved in the upcoming first selectman’s race. He said he wanted to spend his time in a different way. “The responsibility of the town chair is to focus on fund raising, organizing headquarters, and coming up with the funds to pay for it all. I was not looking forward to taking on this responsibility one more time, and I know with a local election it is all about raising money locally.”

Ironically, he said, local campaign costs have increased because of the new state campaign financing law.

“What we discovered last fall with the new state funding for state elections is that it puts more responsibility on the local town committee to raise more money because state candidates cannot give to the local committee. In the past, when state candidates raised money they could pay part of the expenses for the local operation but now they can’t anymore. None of their funding can go toward the cost of the headquarters or the phones or the mailings.”

When he went before the Representative Town Meeting last month Carrano sought the contract’s approval and the Democratic controlled RTM gave it to him. The teachers won hefty raises. Several RTM members said afterward that they feared the process of binding arbitration. Several RTM Republicans suggested the RTM Democrats voted for the contract because they were following the wishes of Carrano, their party leader. DaRos did not speak up about the contract, which he later told the Eagle should have been rejected. DaRos said he did not want to intervene in the RTM’s process.

Over the last three years, Carrano said he did not think there was a conflict between his two roles, but a number of DTC members thought there was. On the night of the RTM meeting his two roles collided because he emerged as the public face of the teacher’s contract — even though he was not involved in the negotiations — as well as the public face of the democratic party. The teacher’s contract comes up every three years.

Carrano’s letter referred to the upcoming November election: “We will need to gear up our resources to support Unk’s re-election. The DTC needs and deserves someone as chair who is willing to devote the time necessary to engage in all of the important activities that a victory will require. The Branford Democratic Party is blessed with an abundance of dedicated and competent members who will step in and carry through, including the current co chairs.”

The two Democratic Party co-chairs are Sandra Reiners, who is also the moderator of the RTM and Chris Sullivan, a member of the 4th RTM district. Reiners told the DTC that “neither of us wish to covet Frank’s job. We want that to be known. We hope to remain vice-chairs and work with a new chair.” When DaRos assumed office in November, 2007 there were reports that he wanted Carrano to step down. But it did not happen. Carrano’s resignation is likely to be discussed tonight when the DTC meets at the Community House at 7:30 p.m.

In his letter to the DTC he reminisced about his life in politics: “I have enjoyed a life long engagement with politics beginning with my involvement as a teenager in the old 10th Ward in Wooster Square in New Haven. I intend to remain active in the party and will work to support all of our candidates. In addition to Unk’s campaign, we will need to find the best candidate to oppose Governor Rell next year. My greatest satisfaction has come from our involvement in the campaign to elect Barack Obama as president, truly a history altering event

“My best wishes to the new leadership of the Branford DTC.”

Click here to read his letter.

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