ANSONIA – Frank Tyszka said the city is bleeding money under Mayor David Cassetti’s administration.

“The city’s in a real financial chaos right now,” Tyszka said in an interview Oct. 6.

Tyszka, 70, is running for mayor as a Democrat against Cassetti, a Republican. Tyszka told The Valley Indy that the Cassetti administration plays fast and loose with city money. He said Cassetti had to sell the city’s sewer system to make ends meet.

“Selling the WPCA is not a long-term budget solution,” Tyszka said. “That’s the first point.”

Tyszka, who holds a master’s of business administration degree from Sacred Heart University, said he’s running for office to get the city’s finances in order. He said Cassetti’s administration spent $4 million over its budget last year, and that recent budgets have relied on proceeds from the 2024 sale of the city’s WPCA.

If elected, Tyszka said he would hire a full-time. professional finance director and begin a search for a new city auditor. 

“(I’d) hire based on qualifications, not partisanship. I like to use the term ‘best and brightest,’” Tyszka said.

He said he would also order a forensic audit to investigate the city’s finances, including the WPCA sale.

Tyszka, a retired Sikorsky engineer and lifelong Ansonia resident, is a former Alderman and former member of the city’s police and fire commissions. In July, he told The Valley Indy he decided to run after people called him and asked him to take on Cassetti.

Cassetti, meanwhile, is running for a seventh two-year term in office. First elected in 2013, he’s won each of his mayoral elections since then handily. His closest race was against Phil Tripp in 2019, a Republican who switched to Democrat after a falling out with Cassetti.

In 2023, Cassetti beat Democratic challenger Thomas Egan by a count of 2,676 votes to 741 votes. Egan is running for mayor again this year, this time as a petitioning candidate.

However, Cassetti suffered one recent loss, to state Rep. Kara Rochelle, after he challenged her for her seat in 2024.

Tyszka said people have grown tired of Cassetti since then. He said the mayor disrespects his constituents, pointing to a controversy earlier this year when Cassetti called another person a “moron” in an expletive-laced Facebook comment.

“I don’t call people names,” Tyszka said.

In September, Tyszka said he opposes Cassetti’s plans for potential developments at former industrial sites in town. A Hearst Connecticut article cited Cassetti as saying he would consider a waste-to-energy plant on North Main Street, which Tyszka said would turn Ansonia into “the garbage capital of Connecticut.”

Cassetti later said in a citywide robocall that he would ask the Board of Aldermen to pass a deed restriction to prevent any form of trash burning on the property. The Aldermen did that at a meeting Oct. 14. Look for a Valley Indy story next week.

Tyszka said he would pursue redevelopment by consulting with agencies and nonprofits throughout the state. He said he’d like to see Ansonia Copper & Brass revitalized into something resembling Quarry Walk, the $70 million commercial and residential hub along Route 67 in Oxford.

“I plan on seeing if we can do that. I will meet with (Quarry Walk developer) Tom Haynes if I’m elected, to see what we can do,” Tyszka said.

He said he would seek technical advice and grant-writing help from groups including the Connecticut Main Street Center and Naugatuck Valley Regional Development Corporation. He said he would re-form the city’s economic development commission to lay out development plans.

Tyszka said he would also terminate an agreement between Ansonia and the Shelton Economic Development Corporation signed by the Board of Aldermen earlier this year. The agreement has allowed former economic development director Sheila O’Malley to provide continued input on Ansonia’s development plans.

Tyszka said he would seek the advice and help of state elected officials instead.

“I have already met with Gov. (Ned) Lamont, and he’s agreed to support some of my initiatives if I’m elected,” Tyszka said.

If elected, Tyszka said he wants to bring more summer programs into the city. He said he wants to see more employment programs for families, adult education programs, and youth recreational activities.

“The nice thing about a summer program, it builds community spirit. It allows parents not to have to pay for daycare. The city provides a safe place for kids to meet, congregate, play sports, play games, meet each other, become friends. It’s just a really nice thing, and we need to bring that back,” Tyszka said.

He said summer programs would ease the financial burden on parents when school isn’t in session.

“I want to make Ansonia affordable by building a brighter future that works for everyone and not just a privileged few insiders,” he said.

Tyszka also addressed comments he previously made to The Valley Indy regarding the construction of a new middle school in town. In July, he said he would talk to the board of education to consider holding off on the school, which will cost the city about $13 million after state reimbursement. He said holding off could save the city money.

The Ansonia GOP later quoted that article in a Facebook post that said Tyszka’s plan would “backfire spectacularly on Ansonia taxpayers.”

Tyszka told The Valley Indy he wasn’t aware of the state reimbursement when he made his earlier comments. He said he supports allowing the project to go forward with the aid of the state.

“I totally, one hundred percent support a middle school. We need it, and it should be done as soon as possible,” Tyszka said.

Tyszka lives on the hilltop with his wife Paula, who was nominated to run for the board of education but later withdrew from the race. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, N.Y.

Election Day is Nov. 4.