In Ansonia, All Politics Is Local – And Clearly Personal

ANSONIA – Mayor David Cassetti told The Valley Indy he didn’t appoint people recommended by Democrats to fill two open Democratic seats on the city’s tax board because he didn’t want ​“troublemakers” in the mix.

“These people want to make trouble for me. They are troublemakers,” Cassetti told The Valley Indy. ​“They don’t understand why we have so much success, and it bothers them.”

In response, John Feddern, the new chairman of the Democratic Town Committee, said the mayor treats political dissent as a personal attack.

“It’s his prerogative as the mayor to pick the people who serve on these boards, but it seems like even the littlest bit of dissent by anybody, they are turned into enemies,” Feddern said. ​“This country was founded on dissent. This administration is very thin-skinned. I wish they would see dissent not as an attack but as part of the normal discourse that has built this country.”

BACKGROUND

The Ansonia Board of Apportionment and Taxation (BOAT, or the tax board) is a nine seven-person board that plays an important role in creating a budget for the city each year.

It has nine seven members: three Republicans, three Democrats, and one member who is not affiliated with either political party.

Last month Feddern pointed out the tax board had just five members – with the only registered Democrat on the board being the mayor’s brother – and had been operating with that number for almost a year. The two open seats were for Democrats.

Feddern and the city Democrats then submitted three names to Cassetti for the mayor to consider for two spots:

• Brian Perkins, the Democratic Town Committee’s treasurer, a U.S. Marine veteran and a staffer for U.S. Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro

• Diane Stroman, a former Alderwoman and the retired executive vice-president of TEAM Inc. 

• Jonathan Vining, a small business owner new to the politics who ran for Alderman

CASSETTI AND THE ALDERMEN

At the March 8 meeting of the Ansonia Board of Aldermen, the city’s legislative body voted to approve two registered Democrats suggested by Mayor Cassetti. 

The new BOAT members are:

• Mike D’Alessio, the director of the Ansonia Public Works department who was first appointed to the job in 2015. D’Alessio also serves on the Ansonia Planning & Zoning Commission. Alderman Tony Mammone voted against this pick.

• Rasheem Gonzalez, a youth football coach. The Alderman’s vote to approve was unanimous.

REACTION

Feddern questioned the appointment of D’Alessio, saying a city employee who crafts a department’s budget shouldn’t be on the board that reviews those same budgets.

Feddern also pointed out that Gonzalez only registered as a Democrat on March 2, a statement confirmed by voting records.

“Unfortunately, the mayor’s nominations for the Democratic vacancies that the Aldermen will consider tonight are not from our list,” Feddern said. ​“This is disappointing, but unfortunately not surprising. The mayor has been combative toward anyone he perceives as disagreeing with him and treats them as enemies instead of professional colleagues.”

In an interview, Cassetti said he prefers to have ​“like-minded” citizens serving on Ansonia boards and commissions.

“I put like-minded people like myself on boards to get everything done. Why do you want gridlock and fighting when you can have like-minded people working together to get things done? That’s what I’m all about.”

Cassetti said he didn’t see a conflict appointing D’Alessio to the tax board, and that Gonzalez approached him a month ago with a desire to serve the city.

“I told him to register to vote, not caring what party he registered for. He’s a youth football coach and is a great guy,” Cassetti said.

Feddern pointed out that Stroman is respected for her community service in the Naugatuck Valley, and has been recognized for her work countless times.

But Cassetti said comments Stroman made when she was an Alderwomen disqualified her from serving.

“Diane is a wonderful person,” Cassetti said, ​“but if you listen to the November Aldermen meeting, she came after me and my administration.”

During that Aldermen meeting, Stroman asked why Ansonia Republicans circulated political campaign flyers saying a new recreation facility would be opening on Olson Drive in 2023 – while also saying at public meetings that no deal was in place. Click here for The Valley Indy story.

The Valley Indy reached out to Stroman for comment.

“I don’t look at myself as a troublemaker,” Stroman said. ​“I was not coming after the mayor, I was just trying to get clarification. During my two years on the Board of Aldermen I supported the majority of what the mayor brought forth if I thought it was the right thing to do. Is that being a troublemaker? I was never coming after him.”

PERKINS

The suggestion to Cassetti to appoint Brian Perkins to the tax board was never going to happen. 

“Team Cassetti” members have grudges against Perkins because they say he contributed to a toxic ​“City O’ Ansonia” parody page on Facebook around 2019 or so. Perkins denies he was involved. The page no longer exists.

The Valley Indy explained the history in a story published when Perkins was running for Alderman.

During the March 8 Aldermen meeting, Sharon Voroschak, a school board member, spoke out specifically against Perkins, saying he had done ​“terrible things,” including creating a ​“burn page” (presumably a reference to the old Facebook page) where insults were posted.

Alderman Dan King said appointing Perkins to the tax board would be like putting Vladimir Putin in charge of NATO.

The video from the March 8 meeting is on YouTube. Perkins told The Valley Indy he has requested the video be removed from YouTube for violating harassment and cyber-bullying policies.

“It seems that the Cassetti administration likes to make egregious claims about people in order to influence their people,” Perkins said. ​“I don’t care that they said crazy things, I care that any constructive criticism given to Team Cassetti is taken as a declaration of war.”

Cassetti and the Republicans have political capital to spare. The mayor ran for re-election unopposed. When he has an opponent, he wins by landslide. ​“Team Cassetti” members dominate the Board of Aldermen. Two Democratic leaders switched to Republican earlier this year.

Still, Feddern said Democrats have a duty to keep tabs on city government.

“We have put out olive branches and tried to heal this divide, but the mayor will not work with the Ansonia Democratic Town Committee,” Feddern said. ​“We will give credit where credit is due, but we are not going to stop dissenting.”