Ansonia Republicans may have reached a compromise in their fight over two vacancies on the Board of Aldermen.
After months of separate blocs within the local GOP fighting over who will fill the vacancies Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti said the factions have agreed on the appointments of Republicans Martin Dempsey for the Fourth Ward and Joshua Shuart for the Sixth Ward.
But the deal could be tested by Cassetti’s reluctance to foot the bill for a four-page legal opinion the mayor said the Board of Aldermen’s president sought without authorization — and for which the lawyer who wrote it submitted a $1,181 invoice.
“I’m not going to pay that fee,” Cassetti said Monday (Sept. 12). “Eleven hundred dollars, are you kidding me?”
Phil Tripp, the president of the Board of Aldermen who requested the opinion, did not return calls seeking comment for this story.
Votes, Vetoes
The Aldermanic vacancies opened in June with the resignations of Republicans Ashley Rogers and Matthew Edo, who were both elected in 2015.
During a contentious meeting last month the Aldermen voted 6 – 5 to appoint Keith Maynard and Joshua Shuart to the board, but Mayor David Cassetti vetoed those votes.
Cassetti had nominated two other candidates — Marco Ayora and Ralph Villers.
Later, the Aldermen voted to seek a legal opinion on whether the mayor could veto their votes — but from someone other than John Marini, the city’s corporation counsel, who they said was biased toward the mayor.
The Republicans hold a dominant 12 – 2 majority over Democrats on the Board of Aldermen.
But last month’s dispute showed two clear factions emerging within Ansonia Republicans — one aligned with Cassetti and one aligned with Tripp.
And with the votes on the new appointments so close, a chance to appoint two new members to the board meant an opportunity to tip the balance of power until next year’s elections.
New Members
Now, the mayor and his advisers say the two sides have compromised. On Thursday (Sept. 8), Cassetti submitted two names to be considered for the vacancies — Martin Dempsey and Joshua Shuart.
Shuart, a business professor at Sacred Heart University, is aligned with Tripp’s faction. Dempsey, the dean of students at Trumbull’s St. Joseph High School, is aligned with the mayor’s.
Dempsey lives on Rutland Street and had been a registered Republican since 2003. Shuart lives on Prindle Avenue and registered as a Republican last August.
Cassetti said Monday that after last month’s tumultuous Aldermen’s meeting, the city’s Republicans met several times to hash out their dispute.
Aldermen are scheduled to meet Tuesday at 6:45 p.m. to consider the appointments of Dempsey and Shuart.
“We’ve had a series of meetings to discuss our differences, to make sure that we’re all on the same page and we’re looking out for the best interests of the residents of Ansonia,” Cassetti said. “That’s what I told Phil, we’ve got to work for the residents.”
But Who’s Going To Pay This Bill?
But the two sides definitely are not on the same page with respect to a legal opinion sought by Tripp after last month’s meeting.
At the meeting, the Aldermen voted 8 – 2 to get an opinion from someone other than Marini on whether Cassetti had the authority to issue the vetoes.
The opinion was written by Francis Teodosio, a lawyer who worked as the city’s labor counsel under the administration of Democrat James Della Volpe.
In a four-page memorandum filed in the town clerk’s office Thursday (Sept. 8), Teodosio reached a similar conclusion to the one Marini relayed to Aldermen during their Aug. 9 meeting — that parts of the charter conflicted with each other.
Article continues after document.
On the one hand, Teodosio wrote, Section 143 of the charter gives Aldermen the right to fill vacancies. On the other, Section 8 gives the mayor veto power over the Aldermen’s decisions.
“Whether within the context of the entire charter that interpretation is correct, is debatable, with strong arguments for and against,” Teodosio wrote.
The lawyer then submitted a $1,181.25 bill for the opinion, itemized into 6.75 hours of research, meetings, and writing, which works out to a billable rate of $175 per hour.
Cassetti on Monday said Tripp sought the opinion without proper authority.
“Phil just went ahead and hired him, without saying ‘Here’s a guy, here’s his price,’” Cassetti said.
The mayor said the city shouldn’t be on the hook to pay the lawyer’s bill.
“Eleven hundred dollars?” Cassetti said. “Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me?”
