As a proud member of the Derby Board of Aldermen since December 5, 2009, I find it necessary to correctly inform the City of Derby residents about one of the reasons GOP candidate Richard Dziekan has indicated that he is running for mayor.
According to Mr. Dziekan, “We have too high a turnover of important City positions. In the past 16 months we had 2 different City attorneys, 3 different Finance Directors (the last one is only interim) and 3 different Board of Aldermen presidents. There is trouble at the top.”
The City of Derby Charter states that at the beginning of each municipal year, the Board of Aldermen shall elect amongst its members, a President.
Mayor Anita Dugatto’s elected administration, including the Board of Aldermen, took the oath of office on December 7, 2013. On said date, I was re-elected the President of the Board of Aldermen (having been elected a year earlier on December 27, 2012) and I held said position until January 22, 2015, when I decided not to seek re-election as President to devote more time in caring for my ill father.
Alderman Arthur Gerckens was elected on said date and continues to serve as the current President.
On or about December 10, 2013 and again in accordance with The City of Derby Charter, Mayor Dugatto appointed Attorney Kevin Blake of the law firm Welch, Teodosio, Stanek & Blake, LLC, as Corporation Counsel. The same law firm of Welch, Teodosio & Stanek, LLC, comprised of individual attorneys (minus one), continue to serve the City as Corporation Counsel.
As to the Finance Director of the City, The City of Derby Charter again states that the mayor shall make an appointment subject to the approval of the Board of Aldermen. Tom Thompson served the City from August 28, 2012 until approximately January 29, 2015.
On September 24, 2015, the Board of Aldermen approved the appointment of Salvatore Coppola as Finance Director, who had served temporarily since July, 2015.
Although I decided on a career in the legal profession, I consider myself astute in mathematics, contributed largely from my education in the Derby school system. You do the math.
The writer represents Derby’s First Ward and is running for re-election to the Board of Aldermen on the Democratic line.
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