ANSONIA – Former Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti’s first book, “The Autobiography of a Third Son” hit the Internet just before Christmas.
Cassetti, 65, said his book covers his childhood and rise to becoming a state welterweight boxing champ, his experience starting his own construction company, and reflections from serving the last 12 years as Ansonia mayor.
Cassetti, a Republican, lost his bid for a seventh term during the Nov. 4 election, ousted by Democrat Frank Tyszka. The father of five and grandfather of three has since returned to his construction roots, working for Birmingham Construction, the company he said he handed off to his son after he became mayor.
“I was approaching my seventh decade on this planet, so it was now or never to write a book,” Cassetti said. “The book in many ways is a record of my life in Ansonia. It’s about growing up in a poor, working-class Italian American family, growing up in the Valley, losing a parent, my boxing career and my political career and so much more.”
Though he grew up poor, Cassetti said he never felt that way.
“We didn’t have much, but I didn’t know that then,” Cassetti said. “I was rich in many other ways. My childhood years, as stark as they often were, were the best. We always had food on the table and our house was full of love.”
Cassetti reflects on how things were especially tough when his father, an Ansonia police officer, died at 40 years old of pancreatic cancer, when Cassetti was just six. That Christmas, Cassetti recalled, he and his two older brothers, Joe and Gary, only had oatmeal to eat.
He said it was an experience he remembered when he later ran for office.
“We had nothing and that’s why when I became mayor I wanted to give back and help others,” Cassetti said. “I’d like the readers to take from this story the real love and dedication that goes into running a city. I hope they understand that pride in your community begins with the person. This book is not just for Valley readers alone, it’s a story of Italian American families, it’s a book about life.”
Cassetti said he is thankful to have served Ansonia residents and is proud of the many things he accomplished during his tenure. He cited as accomplishments a reborn Main Street, the construction of a new police station and senior center, and keeping one of the original factories, the Farrel Corp. still headquartered in Ansonia.
Cassetti published the book through Litchfield Literary Books, based in Virginia.
The former mayor said he wants to write a cookbook with his wife, Alfonsina, who was born in Napoli, Italy.
“She’s from the old country and is a wonderful cook and we’d love to share those old recipes with everyone,” Cassetti added.Cassetti’s book is available on Amazon.