The Democratic Town Committee Thursday endorsed a slate of familiar faces – but not before an old name briefly surfaced at the party’s caucus.
When committee chairman Pauline Sampieri added her heartfelt second to incumbent Mayor James Della Volpe’s nomination, she slipped and asked for votes to endorse James Finnucan instead.
Finnucan is a former mayor of Ansonia and the current executive director of the Ansonia Housing Authority.
After laughter thundered through the meeting room at John J. Sullivan’s in Ansonia, Della Volpe rose to accept the endorsement.
He is running for his sixth consecutive term as mayor. The party also endorsed a full slate of incumbents for other boards and positions. Democrats currently make up the entire Board of Alderman.
Della Volpe noted the length of service of many of those Democrats at the caucus.
“We have made progress,” Della Volpe said. “Overall, crime is down in Ansonia. And even with a very difficult national and state economy, investment and optimism are up.”
Della Volpe later responded to questions about two recent murders in the Riverside Apartments on Olson Drive, saying the town has been working to keep the neighborhood safe.
The Housing Authority is discussing additional security measures, such as identification cards and curfews, and Della Volpe said a Housing Authority liaison will take up office at the apartment complex on Monday.
“Obviously, we are concerned about having safe neighborhoods,” Della Volpe said. “It’s something we’ve worked hard on over the past 10 years.”
Della Volpe promised to push for more business development in hard economic times, and said the city would work to cut back on its “carbon footprint” with energy efficiency programs.
He mentioned the Fountain Lake corporate park project, which is being constructed by Robert Scinto, as a way to bring in new jobs. However, the city just received an economic blow when Farrel Corp. announced it was looking to relocated — mostly likely to Shelton, where it recently approval for a new building.
Several members of the party, including state Representative Linda Gentile, spoke of Della Volpe’s work over the past 10 years and their confidence in his leadership in the future.
“Jim Della Volpe is a mayor who gets the job done,” said Steve Blume, the president of the Board of Alderman. “He has brought positive change to our city. Under Dell’s leadership, the next two years will bring forth a culmination of all his hard work.”
The party also nominated the following:
Board of Aldermen:
Ward 1
Peter Danielczuk
Robert Duffus
Ward 2
Jason G. Bender
James Fainer
Ward 3
Gale M. Banks
Joseph A Jeanette Jr.
Ward 4
Jerome Fainer
Keith Maynard
Ward 5
Spero Jordanides
Pasquale M. Pietrangelo
Ward 6
Scott Nihill
Eugene T. Sharkey
Ward 7
Tara Kolakowski
Stephen I. Blume
City Treasurer
Ron Greski
Town and City Clerk
Madeline Bottone
Board of Education
Frances DiGiorgi
John Lawlor
*Sheriff *
Sean Rowley
Lou Macero
Tim Holman
