Mayhew
DERBY – A key figure in Mayor Rich Dziekan’s administration has left city government.
Walt Mayhew’s last day was Friday, Nov. 10.
Mayhew was the mayor’s chief of staff. He was hired in January 2022 to replace Andrew Baklik, who now works for the Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments.
Mayhew submitted a letter of resignation to Dziekan on Oct. 2, saying his last day would be Nov. 10.
Dziekan, a three-term Republican mayor, was not nominated by the Derby Republican Town Committee to run again. Instead, the Republicans endorsed Second Ward Alderman Gino DiGiovanni, Jr.
Dziekan challenged the endorsement in a GOP primary, which he lost by a small margin in September.
Dziekan ran as a petitioning candidate in the Nov. 7 general election, as one of four candidates. He came in second to Joseph DiMartino, a Democrat scheduled to take the oath of office as Derby’s new mayor on Dec. 2.
Mayhew played an important, but polarizing, role as Dziekan’s chief of staff.
He butted heads with Derby Town Clerk Marc Garofalo, Democrats on the Derby Board of Apportionment and Taxation, and faced criticism from former Dziekan political allies such as Derby school board chairman Jim Gildea, Third Ward Alderman Rob Hyder, and DiGiovanni.
“My reasons for resigning had nothing to do with politics or the election,” Mayhew told the Valley Indy via a text message Tuesday (Nov. 14). “I simply wasn’t interested in continuing in the position and was looking forward to moving on. I committed to serving for his (Dziekan’s) third term. I believed we had some good work together, I had fulfilled my commitment and helped position the city well for the future and wanted to move in a different direction.”
Dziekan did not announce Mayhew’s departure to the public.
“I received Walt’s letter on Oct. 2, but I knew it wasn’t going to be official until November 10. So, I decided to wait. There was so much going on around election time,” Dziekan said.
The mayor also did not file a copy of Mayhew’s resignation letter with the town clerk’s office. Garofalo, the town clerk, said state law requires his office to get a copy. Derby corporation counsel John Marini concurred with Garofalo’s take on the procedure.
Garofalo’s office received a copy of the letter on Nov. 14, after sending two emails asking whether the letter existed.
Jim Petrino, a former Derby fire commissioner and one-time Dziekan campaign manager, is serving as interim chief of staff until Dziekan’s term ends in December.
Dziekan wished Mayhew well in his future endeavors.
“He told me he was only going to come onboard for my third term, because he wanted to help make an impact,” Dziekan said. “If it wasn’t for Walt, we wouldn’t have gotten a lot done. Walt was a great supervisor and a great manager and helped to get Derby where we are right now, with buildings going up.”
Dziekan said there is a transition meeting between his administration and Mayor-elect DiMartino scheduled for Nov. 28.
Mayhew was paid a salary of $78,221 when he first came onboard as chief of staff.
