After two terms, Mayor Anthony Staffieri is still getting comfortable with the idea that he is a politician.
How can you tell?
After being nominated by fellow Republicans Thursday to run for re-election, he walked to the side of the speaker’s podium, then in front of it, then to the side of it again.
He opted to speak off the cuff for more than two minutes before settling into his acceptance speech.
“Remember, I’m not a good speaker. I’m not a politician,” said the Purple Heart recipient. “All my team gets upset with me. I’m learning,” he said.
And with that, Staffieri switched into re-election mode, reading a seven-page prepared statement with a laundry list of accomplishments that have happened in Derby since his administration moved into City Hall.
First and foremost among the Republicans — a zero percent tax increase and a solid bond rating, proof that Derby government is fiscally sound.
“In a time of massive corporate and small business layoffs, weakening economic conditions, dwindling savings and retirement accounts, the City of Derby continues to have solid financial performance,” Staffieri said.
Staffieri also pointed to progress in Derby.
A new middle school is “on time and under budget,” the mayor said.
His administration is “business friendly,” Staffieri said, pointing to Griffin Hospital’s new cancer care center as an example.
Staffieri was unapologetic about the unraveling of a proposed downtown redevelopment, saying the deal his administration inherited when they took office was not good for Derby.
“We have terminated that contract and have been moving forward,” Staffieri said.
MAYOR
Anthony Staffieri
CITY CLERK
Laura Wabno
BOARD OF ALDERMEN
Ward 1
Anthony Szewczyk
Bev Moran
Sam Pollastro
Ward 2
Dave Lenart
Jay Benanto
Joe DiMartino
Ward 3
Ken Hughes
Joe Bomba
Scott Boulton
BOARD OF EDUCATION
Casey Picheco
Rebecca O’Hara
James Stadt
Mary Porter
Brenda Cayer McCarthy
Laura Harris
TREASURER
Keith McLiverty
CONSTABLE
Randall Colette
TAX BOARD
Carolyn Duhaime
Judy Szewczyk
Mark Nichols
Nelson Cummings
Jeremy Bell
Leo DiSorbo
