Ansonia Mayor David Cassetti had hoped Rich Dziekan would be mayor of Derby by now, with the two working together to help both municipalities.
But Dziekan, the Republican party’s nominee in last month’s elections, lost to one-term incumbent Anita Dugatto by about 100 votes.
He and Cassetti will still be forming a partnership, though — Dziekan will start a new job at Ansonia City Hall as the mayor’s right hand man.
Dziekan will fill the role formerly served by Chris Tymniak, who Cassetti hired as his chief of staff soon after he was elected in 2013. That post has been vacant since August, when Tymniak left to focus on his campaign for First Selectman in Fairfield.
Tymniak lost the First Selectman’s race by 773 votes, but serves as one of three selectmen in Fairfield.
Cassetti is proposing to pay Dziekan a $50,000 salary in the new post.
Tymniak was earning a salary of $74,440.
The Board of Aldermen will have to approve the change, and may do so at a special meeting scheduled for Tuesday (Dec. 15).
Tymniak served as Cassetti’s “chief administrative aide.” Cassetti wants the position to be re-titled as “director of constituent services.”
Say an resident walks into City Hall angry about an issue. Dziekan would be the point person to talk to them and direct them to wherever they need to go to get the issue resolved, be it the mayor or another city department.
He will also serve as the mayor’s liaison to the Board of Aldermen and other city commissions.
Dziekan will start work in January, but may spend a few days in City Hall familiarizing himself this month.
The mayor said Dziekan, a retired Hamden police officer and Air Force veteran who has also served as an Alderman in Derby and as a member of Derby’s tax board, will bring a wealth of experience to the job.
“I thought he’d be a perfect candidate,” Cassetti said. “He’s a former police officer, military man, a very sharp individual.”
The mayor said he hopes Dziekan can put the government experience he gains in Ansonia to another run against Dugatto in 2017.
“He came very close to winning,” Cassetti said of this year’s election. “I was hoping to have him as a partner in the Valley, to work together with him. I hope he runs in 2017.”
Reached by phone Thursday, Dziekan said he hasn’t made any decisions about another mayoral run in Derby.
“We’re looking into it,” he said.
If he does run, he said working with Cassetti, a popular mayor who was re-elected last month in a landslide, will definitely help burnish his credentials with voters.
“I’m going to be working side by side with the mayor of Ansonia,” Dziekan said. “It’s a home run for me.”
He said he didn’t hesitate to take up the mayor’s offer a couple weeks after last month’s election.
“I’m very psyched to do it,” he said. “I’m very honored that Mayor Cassetti chose me for the position.”
Cassetti has also hired Corrine McManus as his administrative assistant, replacing Anna Andretta, who was promoted to an accounting position in the city’s finance department.
