Derby City/Town Clerk Marc Garofalo administers the oath of office online to Kevin Sharkey on Dec. 9.
DERBY — A school administrator with deep ties in the Valley was appointed to the Derby Board of Aldermen & Alderwomen during a meeting last Thursday.
Kevin Sharkey, a graduate of Ansonia High School, was chosen by the Democratic majority on the board to replace Linda Fusco in the city’s Third Ward. Fusco was also a Democrat.
Fusco was elected by voters in November.
However, she also serves as chairwoman of the Derby Housing Authority. Fusco said during the campaign she learned state law prevents her from serving on both bodies. She had been planning to leave the housing authority, but decided the housing authority needed more attention because of a number of personnel changes both on the volunteer board and within the organization.
So she vacated her seat on the city’s legislative body Dec. 6 and opted to remain on the Housing Authority, which has been turning itself around from previous financial problems revealed to the public in 2017.
“I feel terrible for the 500 plus people in the Third Ward who trusted me to represent them,” Fusco wrote in an email to The Valley Indy last week. “I had many congratulatory calls from both sides of the aisle. I’m so grateful and humbled by their confidence in me. Trust me, if there was a way to do both, I would.“
Sharkey took the oath of office during an online meeting of the Derby Board of Aldermen/Alderwomen held Dec. 9.
Sharkey was a standout football player during his years at Ansonia High School. He has a bachelor of arts in political science from Brown University and a master’s degree in education from Sacred Heart University. He’s currently an administrator at Amistad Academy Middle School in New Haven. Sharkey has lived in Derby for 18 years with his wife, Diega. They have two children — Ava, 14, and Kevin, Jr., 12.
Sharkey has an extensive coaching background, too.
He ran for Third Ward Aldermen/Alderwomen during the Nov. 2 election but came in fourth out of six candidates. The top three were voted to the board.
“I decided to run for Alderman because I want to help do whatever it takes to make our community stronger,” he wrote in an email. “I have sat ‘on the sidelines’ for far too long, and it was time for me to take action and become part of the solution.“
Sharkey was interviewed about his high school days during a Nov. 1 appearance on “Hometown Heroes,” a YouTube talk show hosted by Derby’s Mike Cannici.
The interview is embedded below.
