Marcia Chambers Photo
At Board of Finance swearing-in.
Kurt Schwanfelder, a member of the Board of Finance who has long been involved in government life, wants to be the town’s first selectman and is now in the process of asking the Republican Town Committee for the nomination, he told the Eagle.
He is the latest candidate to decide to enter this year’s first selectman’s race. Republican Third Selectman Jamie Cosgrove, 40, has not formally announced his candidacy, but has said he plans to run. On the Democratic side, Second Selectman Andy Campbell, who is 47 and an attorney, is seeking the first selectman’s nomination.
So is Chris Sullivan, 36, the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) moderator who surprised the Democratic Party a few weeks ago when he decided to challenge Campbell for the nomination. Sullivan’s decision followed the announcement last month that First Selectman Unk DaRos would end an overall 12-year run as the town’s full-time chief executive. (Click here to read that story.)
A third candidate, Jaycey Wyatt, 42, plans to run for the first selectman’s office as an independent candidate. She has held no prior elected positions. She plans to start her own party, which she is calling Independent Branford Voters.
The nominating committees for both parties are meeting this month to interview candidates. Then they will make their selections and present them in July to the full membership of the Republican and Democratic Town committees. Nominations may also be made from the floor at that time for all candidates on their respective tickets.
In an interview with the Eagle, Schwanfelder, who will soon turn 60, said the current candidate pool made him think about running for the town’s top office, a job that pays nearly $100,000 a year.
“Do I want to live and work in a town where there are neophytes running it? They have no experience. They view the race as a popularity contest. These people as well intended as they may be need more seasoning,” he said.
Schwanfelder’s Government Background
Schwanfelder served for 23 years on the RTM, during which time he served as the party’s majority and minority leader. He has served also on a number ofcommissions including his current position on the Board of Finance. In the past he was a member of the town’s Police Commission, Parks and Open Space Commission, Board of Assessment & Appeals, Charter Revision and cell tower committee. His knowledge of the town’s infrastructure is legendary.
In 2007 Schwanfelder ran on the Republican ticket with former First Selectman John Opie, who was then seeking the first selectman’s slot. Opie lost to First Selectman Unk DaRos but became the town’s third selectman. Schwanfelder lost that race, which also cost him his seat on the RTM. He was not permitted to run for both seats at the same time.
At the time Opie said he chose Schwanfelder to run for the second selectman’s seat because “Kurt’s been very good at sticking up for people’s rights and is very vocal.”
Schwanfelder argued that he is the candidate with the most town experience. He could step right into the first selectman’s position, he said. “There will not be a learning curve if I took office.”
Schwanfelder said he knows how town government runs, has worked with the town’s department heads over the years, and knows well the town’s infrastructure. He said argued that none of the three other candidates is seasoned: “The experience base and the rest. It needs to be seasoned. You don’t cut a tree down that is still green and try to burn the wood. You need to season the firewood.”
It was DaRos who recommended Schwanfelder to the Police Commission board and later to a position on BOF. His selection in 2012 caused a rift because the Republicans wanted to reappoint Jennifer Aniskovich to the BOF but the Democrats, who hold the majority on the Board of Selectmen, refused. Instead they appointed Schwanfelder. (Click here to read that story.)
.
The Cosgrove Name & The Taxpayers Party
Schwanfelder’s decision to seek the Republican nomination apparently caught the Republicans by surprise. For weeks the only name under consideration for the top town spot was Jamie Cosgrove, a grandson of Dan Cosgrove, now 95, who was known as the Boss of Branford. The elder Cosgrove ran Branford Democratic politics and behind the scenes ran Town Hall for decades until he founded the Taxpayers Party. Now the Cosgrove name is aligned with the Republican Party.
“The Cosgrove name connotes a lot of different things to different people,” Schwanfelder said. “They were Democrats who created the Taxpayers Party but before that they were the conservative part of the Democratic Party. Many in town still remember that.”
“Young Mr. Cosgrove would have to prove himself. He could be entirely different from his own family history. That would have to be proven over a period of time.”
“I think I have proven myself. I am pretty knowledgeable on the issues that are concerning the town and the issues we will be facing in the near future. I don’t agree with that, obviously,” Cosgrove responded Monday.
In recent years the Republican Party has attracted Tea Party members. Schwanfelder said that in many ways they resemble the conservative political philosophy of Dan Cosgrove and the Taxpayer Party. (Dan Cosgrove described how he ran the town in an interview in 2006 with the Eagle. Click here to read it.) Schwanfelder said he believes it is time to bring back older more moderate Republicans who are no longer involved in the Republican Party.
“It’s not that we left the party,” he said. “It’s that the party left us.”
Asked about Schwanfelder’s take on the party, Cosgrove told the Eagle: “Let me see what he says and I will comment on that later.”
Schwanfelder said he is the Republican candidate who can restore the moderate voice to the party and return alienated Republicans to the fold.
Asked about his up-and-down relationship with the Republican Party, Schwanfelder said: “ I have had an up and down relationship with both parties. I have been in favor on the Democratic side and the Republican side, and I have been in disfavor of both sides also. I am not a well-loved child in anyone’s camp.”
What makes him unique in the current political world, he said, “is that I am not somebody who can be controlled.”
Why Schwanfelder Is Running
Schwanfelder said he began to think about running for first selectman after various candidates emerged for the top slot. His arrival brings to five the number of candidates who want the first selectman’s job.
“They made me think about running. I want the town to move forward. And what I see in these candidates are people who would not know how to lead the way.” In his opinion, leadership for the top position is lacking on both sides.
“Will I be able to prevail?”he asked. Then he answered his own question: “I have to try.”
So about two weeks ago Schwanfelder let Dennis Flanagan, the current RTM clerk and a key official of the RTC, know that he was interested in running.
RTM member Ray Ingraham, 50, had told RTC members that he was stepping aside as chair of the RTC because he was running for the select board with Cosgrove. Robert Imperato, a member of the RTC, is the new chair of the RTC. Schwanfelder said he only recently learned that Imperato was the new chair. Imperato told Schwanfelder to submit his application, saying he was happy to look at a new name.
“So I gave him all the information. I wrote to him and I said I am very serious about this. I would like to at least have an interview with nominating and go through the process.”
Schwanfelder plans to outline his qualifications for the post and answer questions at a quickly called RTC nominating committee meeting. It may take place as early as tonight. RTM member Peter Black is the nominating chair, replacing Kyle Nelson who held the post for many years.
“If elected I could start day one. I have a fairly good rapport with all the department heads as it stands right now. I know the daily ins and outs in how to keep the town moving. I pretty much am on line with the major items happening at this point in time. I could pick it up and move swiftly along without as much as a stammer.,” he said.
Schwanfelder said if he is chosen at the party’s candidate for first selectman, “and I run and I don’t prevail, I will still have my seat on the Board of Finance. And I think that would be very advantageous to the Republican Party.”
As for getting those Republicans who have left the party to return to the fold, Schwanfelder said, “I am hoping that my presence would do that. I think what has happened is just as you have people disillusioned by the philosophy on the federal end, there is some of that philosophy that has trickled its way down here. But I don’t think the Tea Party is as revered as people think it is.”
###
