Ansonia’s Board of Aldermen is short two members.
The board’s usual complement of 14 Aldermen has been reduced to 12 after two Republican members recently resigned.
A meeting to appoint two men to the vacancies this month was canceled days before it was to happen.
The Resignations
The Aldermen who have left are Ashley Rogers of the Fourth Ward and Matthew Edo of the Sixth Ward, both Republicans.
In a May 27 letter to Mayor David Cassetti, Rogers wrote that she had to quit the board due to career and personal demands.
“Currently the requirements of my career have become more demanding to include hours that the Board of Aldermen usually meet,” Rogers wrote. “At this time I need to focus on my career and personal matters, whereas this will require me to resign my position as Alderman.”
In her letter, Rogers also thanked the voters of the Fourth Ward for electing her last November.
In a June 20 letter to Tripp and fellow Aldermen, Edo, who was first elected in 2013, said he was resigning because he is moving to Seymour.
“It was my distinct honor and privilege to serve with you on the Board of Aldermen and to serve the residents of this great City,” Edo said.
Article continues after Rogers’ and Edo’s resignations.
Meeting Canceled
Mayor David Cassetti immediately announced his two picks to replace the departing Aldermen — Edward Bostic Jr. and Ralph Villers.
Aldermen were due to appoint two new members at a special meeting that was scheduled immediately before the Aldermen’s regular monthly meeting July 12.
Bostic, a Jackson Street resident, is one of the owners of the PM Lounge, a club on Main Street. Villers, an Upland Terrace resident, in the chairman of the city’s cultural commission.
NOTE: Villers’ wife, Patricia, a former longtime New Haven Register reporter, has freelanced for the Valley Indy.
Both are registered Republicans. So if they’re appointed, the GOP will maintain the 12 – 2 stranglehold it has had on the board since Cassetti’s landslide re-election last November.
Article continues after photo.
But the special meeting at which the mayor hoped to see Bostic and Villers appointed was canceled July 8.
At their regular meeting, the city’s 12 remaining Aldermen didn’t discuss why the meeting had been called off, but they voted unanimously to send letters thanking Edo and Rogers for their service to the city.
Reaction
The last-minute cancellation left some scratching their heads. Several people showed up to City Hall expecting to see Bostic and Villers become new Aldermen.
Timothy Holman, an employee of the city’s public works department and one of Bostic’s best friends, told Aldermen during the meeting’s public session that he was “a little disappointed” because he had cut his vacation short to go to the meeting in support of Bostic.
“But nevertheless I’m here to show my support,” Holman said, adding that Bostic has been meeting with Fourth Ward residents so he can hit the ground running if appointed.
“Eddie’s going to be an asset to this community,” Holman said.
His remarks were applauded by many in the audience, and echoed by Greg Johnson, the president of the Ansonia NAACP, who also spoke to the Aldermen.
Click play on the video below to see Holman and Johnson speak at the meeting. Their remarks are about the 10:30 mark.
The mayor said the Aldermen told him “they didn’t have enough information” on Bostic and Villers to make an informed decision — even though he had publicly announced their names on the Valley Indy’s podcast, as well as a CT Post story.
The Valley Indy left phone messages last week and Monday with Phil Tripp, the president of the Board of Aldermen.
Cassetti said he chose Bostic and Villers because they were the best candidates among people who had expressed an interest in being appointed Aldermen.
One of those expressing interest was former Town and City Clerk Elizabeth Lynch, who lives in the Sixth Ward and e‑mailed the mayor last month asking “to have my name placed in nomination” to complete Edo’s term.
Lynch, who represents the Sixth Ward on the city’s Democratic Town Committee, said she still holds out hope of being appointed, though it’s a long shot given the Board of Aldermen’s 12 – 2 Republican majority.
But she said the Aldermen should have at a minimum explained why the meeting scheduled to appoint the replacements was canceled last week.
“I don’t understand why there was no explanation given as to why the special meeting to fill the vacancies was cancelled last week,” she said in an email. “A full board is necessary to conduct city business in a timely manner and with the current absences due to illnesses and vacations that may be difficult.”
