Scott Derby Is Seeking The Republican Nomination For Mayor

DERBY – A westside father of two said he is seeking the Republican nomination for mayor.

Scott Derby, 60, made his intention known last month during a fundraiser for the Derby Republican Town Committee.

“Scott Derby brings a fresh perspective with innovative skills and ideas and the public will see over the next five months he is the right man for the job at hand,” said Gino DiGiovanni, Jr., the city GOP chairman. ​“I am extremely excited to see Scott and the Mayor debate on what their visions are for Derby’s future.”

In an interview with The Valley Indy on Friday (May 30), Derby said city finances are the top issue in the race.

“We got into a hole, and I know Mr. DiMartino has been trying to improve that situation, but finances and budgetary issues are, by far, the biggest issue in Derby,” he said.

DiMartino is Mayor Joseph DiMartino, a Democrat who will be seeking a second term on Election Day, scheduled for Nov. 4, 2025. 

Derby said if elected he will advocate for a forensic audit of city finances. DiMartino promised that before being elected but the audit has not happened. Linda Fusco, the mayor’s chief of staff, sent a statement to The Valley Indy June 2 saying the administration has decided not to pursue a forensic audit.

“Upon taking office, we hired Brian Hall as finance director and in addition to a detailed budget review, we conducted a thorough and comprehensive financial audit of the city’s finances,” Fusco said. ​“Our efforts uncovered numerous budgeting problems associated with the substantial budget deficit of nearly $2 million. In response, we implemented the necessary measures to address this challenge, ensuring the long-term financial health and stability of our city. It was felt by this administration that we took this issue as far as we needed to without further burdening the taxpayers.”

Derby said people still don’t trust city finances due to years of both budgeting mistakes and bad budgeting forecasts. He said a forensic audit is needed, provided it doesn’t break the bank,

“It (a forensic audit) would show, in more granular detail, where the money is going. It would give us more transparency,” Derby said. ​“It would show us not what to do, and how we could do better.”

Derby is a registered Republican who lives in west Derby with his wife, Isa, a former member of the Derby tax board. Their daughter, Yssa, is a 16-year-old junior at Derby High School, and their son, Aiden, is a 14-year-old freshman at the high school.

Derby works as a senior career coach with Goodwill Industries. He volunteers with The Bridgeport Roundtable, a group that advocates for and tries to help incarcerated people re-enter communities. 

His family moved to Derby in 2021 after living in Bridgeport for about 17 years. Prior to that he lived in New Hampshire for almost 30 years.

He said Derby has a lot to offer, including transportation options, history, Dew Drop Inn chicken wings, and a solid school system.

“When I moved here one of the first things I noticed on Chatfield Street was the state of the art football field, baseball field, track and field house,” he said. ​“I’ve never seen such amenities at a public school.”

City Republicans have yet to formally nominate Derby. That could happen in July.

Derby said if elected he’ll work with officials to cut spending in the city, and to make sure things in the budget like tax revenue projections are accurate.

He said more has to be done to combat blight, and that too many commercial properties have had ​“for rent” signs for too long. He said taxes are too high to attract the commercial sector to the City of Derby.

“We need to foster a more business friendly environment,” he said. ​“That’s not to say we are business unfriendly now, but it could certainly use improving. That would require, in my opinion, to improve the tax rate on commercial properties.”

This is Derby’s first time running for political office. From 1998 until 2001 he worked as a legislative attorney for the New Hampshire office of legislative services. He first arrived in Connecticut in 2001 to work at his brother’s company in finance. 

He said his wife told him in April that the Republicans did not have a candidate. 

“I had mentioned in the past that I wanted to run for mayor one day. She said I should do it,” he said.

Jim Gildea, the school board chairman who is also serving as DiMartino’s campaign manager, sent a prepared statement to The Valley Indy saying the mayor welcomes Derby to the race.

DiMartino announced he’s running for re-election in February.

“We welcome all candidates to the mayoral race and encourage a civilized exchange of ideas,” Gildea said. ​“However, it’s important to acknowledge that Mayor Joe DiMartino inherited a $2 million deficit and a city hall struggling with ongoing financial challenges. He has successfully addressed the fiscal mess left by the previous administration. I echo the sentiments of Republican Town Committee Chair Gino DiGiovanni, who has said that he believes Joe DiMartino deserves another term.”

Gildea’s reference to the previous administration is to former Mayor Richard Dziekan, a Republican who lost a primary from within his own party before losing the general election to DiMartino in a four-way race in 2023.

DiGiovanni was the Republican-endorsed candidate in 2023. DiGiovanni told The Valley Indy in January he wasn’t planning to run for mayor this year because incumbents usually deserve two, two-year terms, which Gildea referenced in his statement.

In an email June 2, DiGiovanni said most mayors get a second term but ​“I did not give any endorsement to the current administration.”

“When you have a complete majority of all boards, especially a 9 – 0 majority on the BOA/A, more progress should have been made by now or at the least started,” DiGiovanni said. ​“As we all know from previous elections the last administration will always be to blame when there is lack of progress. It’s time to elect someone that isn’t a career politician and bring Derby into the 21st century.”