Dems Pick Their Republican

The Board of Selectmen appointed Kurt Schwanfelder to the town’s finance board by a 2 – 1 vote during a contentious meeting Wednesday, after failed attempts by the sole Republican on the panel to nominate Jennifer Aniskovich and John Opie.

Aniskovich was ousted from her seat on the Board of Finance (BOF) two weeks ago when First Selectman Anthony ​“Unk” DaRos and Second Selectman Andy Campbell, both Democrats, voted against her reappointment. Campbell said she had politicized the BOF, which has traditionally been bipartisan. When Campbell placed Schwanfelder’s name in nomination at the July 18 meeting, Third Selectman James Cosgrove asked for more time so that the Republican Town Committee (RTC) could recommend another name. Click here to read that story. Aniskovich, Opie and Schwanfelder are all Republicans.

Instead of suggesting a new name Wednesday, Cosgrove asked that Aniskovich be reconsidered. When his motion was not seconded, he then placed former first and third Selectman John Opie’s name in play. That motion also died for lack of a second. It was Opie who first suggested that the RTC should be given time ​“to make another recommendation.”

Cosgrove said he had anticipated that his attempt to place Aniskovich back on the board would fail, but he thought the motion to appoint Opie would succeed. 

“I’m shocked that it wasn’t seconded,” Cosgrove said. ​“I have to ask why.”

“I don’t think he’s the most qualified person for the position,” Campbell said in regard to Opie. He said Schwanfelder has served the town for three decades, including 22 years on the Representative Town Meeting (RTM), and on various boards and commissions, including his current position on the Police Commission. He is a local businessman.

“No one questions his loyalty and dedication to the town,” Campbell said.

DaRos said there was a time he could have considered supporting Aniskovich’s reappointment, but that in her first year on the BOF in 2011, she voted no on every line item in the town’s operating budget. During the BOF meeting in March 2011, she voted no whether a department was slated to receive an increase, a decrease or remain the same. Click here to read that story. She has been more generous when it comes to funding the school budget. 

Marc Riccio, vice chair of the RTC and a member of the RTM, was the harshest critic of DaRos and Campbell.

“The two of you have made a mockery of this process,” Riccio said, claiming the reason they won’t support Aniskovich or Opie is because they cannot control them. ​“Let’s call a spade a spade. That’s what you’re all about. You’re about control and you’re looking for people to put on a board that you can control.”

Riccio said he hated to say this at a televised meeting, but that ​“the two of you are acting like fools.”

DaRos made it clear that Schwanfelder was not under the democrats control. He said he hasn’t agreed with Schwanfelder many times over the years. ​“We’ve had our battles. There’s no love lost between me and Kurt Schwanfelder. But there’s one thing I will say about the man: I’ve never seen him — in all the years I’ve ever seen him in action — do anything that was political or against the town of Branford. The town of Branford was his main passion and he served it well.” 

Schwanfelder, who was not at the meeting, later talked with the Eagle about his appointment. “ I am very happy and I am very pleased. There is a little bitter sweetness to this because I have enjoyed my time on the Police Commission. We accomplished a lot,” Schwanfelder said, adding that he is looking forward to serving on the finance board. ​“I have wanted to be on the Board of Finance for many years. I have the best interest of the town in my heart. The present and past administrations may not agree with me and I may not agree with them all the time, but we do have spirited conversations and will always do what is right for the entire community.” 

RESIDENTS SPEAK OUT

About 30 residents attended the meeting. Many took to the floor to express their concerns.

Ray Ingraham, who chairs the RTC and is also a member of the RTM, said the committee felt that Aniskovich is the ​“right person for the job” and asked that she be given another consideration. 

Cosgrove said Aniskovich’s background working for non-profit agencies brings a unique perspective. ​“I feel the town should be run like a non-profit, a well-run non-profit,” he said.

Before his own name was placed in motion, Opie voiced his support for Aniskovich’s reappointment. ​“I think she’s done a fine job on the board. She’s superbly qualified. The RTC reviewed the situation. We have a policy at the RTC: if you haven’t embarrassed yourself or the town, you really should be able to continue on and serve the town in a volunteer manner.”

RTC member Kyle Nelson (pictured) accused the current administration of attempting to chastise Aniskovich for disagreeing with them. ​“Raising questions and seeking further insight as to the justification around some of the decisions the administration makes, is what a board should be doing,” Nelson said.

Kate Ross and Nichole Cipriano, who spearheaded a movement to install soundproofing at Walsh Intermediate School, spoke in support of Aniskovich for championing their cause. They also spoke at her last BOF meeting Monday night, saying she should remain in some role in public life. Click here to read that story. 

Pat Santoro (pictured), the chair of the RTC’s 2013 Steering Committee for the 2013 town election and a member of the
RTC’s nominating committee, said there should be a woman on the BOF. ​“Wouldn’t it make sense to have both sexes represented?” she asked. Campbell said there had been two women on the BOF over the years and there would be another female appointment in the future.

Resident Judy Miller said Santoro doesn’t speak for all women. ​“I don’t want representation on the basis of gender. I want representation on the basis of quality,” Miller said.

When it was apparent that Aniskovich’s nomination would not succeed, Cosgrove spoke up. ​“I’m disappointed this is how it ended,” Cosgrove said as he thanked Aniskovich. ​“I’ve given this a lot of thought and preparing if this was the outcome at to who else I would like to see fill that spot. It should be somebody who uses logic and common sense, somebody who’s well-respected on both sides of the political parties,” he said as he nominated Opie.

After Opie’s name was suggested, Aniskovich (pictured) thanked everyone for the their support. ​“It’s been a real pleasure to serve on the Board of Finance…I’d like to speak in favor of John’s nomination. I think that if I can’t be on the board, I can think of no one else better qualified than John,” Aniskovich said. ​“I’m disappointed but not surprised that the motion was not seconded either. It appears to me that this is in character of what this administration does. And that they worked out a backroom deal.” She said it was a pitiful commentary on Branford politics. ​“The first selectman and the second selectmen are eliminating from the democratic process any and all viewpoints that are not in lockstep with what they believe.” ( There are two other Republicans on the BOF, Charles Shelton and Kenneth Kaminsky.)

Peter Black said he has known both Schwanfelder and Opie for many years, but that Opie is more experienced because he served on the Board of Selectmen and as first selectman. ​“Mr. Schwanfelder doesn’t have that knowledge and frankly I don’t think he really has the temperament for it.”

Opie said he would never speak negatively of Schwanfelder, but quickly offered his own qualifications which include 12 years on the RTM and 10 years on the Board of Selectmen. (Opie and Schwanfelder were running mates in the first selectman’s race in 2007 but subsequently had a falling out.)

“I probably logged more hours in this building than anybody in this room,” Opie said as he looked around the Canoe Brook Center, where boards and commissions meet.

After the meeting, Opie told the Eagle that he wasn’t surprised by the outcome. ​“I really didn’t think they would do anything different,” he said.

Aniskovich’s appointment to the BOF in 2010, to fill a vacancy created when Lorraine Young stepped down, set off a political firestorm. Opie, who was serving as third selectman at the time, attempted to nominate her three times, but his motions failed to gain a second from DaRos or then Second Selectman Fran Walsh. However, she was approved the following month when Walsh and Opie voted in her favor, and DaRos abstained from voting. Walsh initially said he feared Aniskovich would politicize the BOF, but apparently changed his mind after meeting with her and Ingraham prior to the October meeting.

At the time he said he hoped her appointment would be beneficial to relations between the political parties. 

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