Talmadge Street resident Joseph DiMartino will be representing the Second Ward on the Derby Board of Aldermen, according to a letter distributed Wednesday by City Clerk Marc Garofalo.
DiMartino replaces David Lenart, the Republican who resigned Dec. 9 because of an increasingly busy schedule. Lenart is slated to become an assistant chief within the Derby Fire Department.
DiMartino will be sworn in at an Aldermen meeting tonight (Thursday, Dec. 18).
“I am very excited to be back! I am looking forward to representing the people in the second ward and working closely with my fellow Aldermen,” DiMartino said.
DiMartino is a familiar face in Derby.
He works for the city’s highway department and is a long-time Derby High softball coach.
He was elected to the board in 2009, when the Republicans had a 7 – 2 majority over the Democrats.
DiMartino lost a narrow re-election bid in 2011.
In Derby, each ward gets three representatives on the Board of Aldermen.
A recount in the second ward in 2011 showed DiMartino coming in fourth place, with four fewer votes than third place finisher Art Gerckens, a Democrat.
DiMartino returned to the big table in May 2012, when he replaced Alderman James Benanto, who stepped down because he was moving out of town.
DiMartino wasn’t re-elected in 2013 after a crowded race that saw Lenart, Gerckens and Ron Sill take the second ward seats.
He reached his 200th win as a Derby softball coach in 2012.
DiMartino and his wife, Lori, have four daughters.
In a letter dated Dec. 12, Peter Olenoski, Jr., the only other Republican on the board, announced that DiMartino was Lenart’s replacement.
Garofalo, in a communication to the Board of Aldermen, said the board will have to vote to give DiMartino a waiver to serve on the board because he is a city employee.
A Derby Board of Aldermen meeting is scheduled for 7 p.m. Dec. 18.
