Mayor confirms reelection plan, faces possible challenge
DERBY — Mayor Richard Dziekan confirmed he plans to seek a third term but may face an unexpected challenger.
Thomas Donofrio, a third-term first ward alderman, submitted his resignation Dec. 10 because he moved out of his ward. His next campaign may very well be for mayor.
“That’s something I will spend the next couple of months thinking about,” Donofrio told Hearst Connecticut Media. “I’ll probably make a decision early next year.”
Donofrio, a Democrat, submitted his resignation to Joseph DiMartino, the Aldermanic president, who said he planned to read the two-page letter into the Aldermanic record during Thursday night’s meeting. However the meeting was canceled because of a lack
of a quorum.
“It’ll be done next month,” he said.
Donofrio, a lifelong city resident, told Hearst that he recently sold his home in the first ward and moved to the second ward. The City Charter requires aldermen to live in the ward they are serving.
Donofrio said he is not interested in running as an alderman in another ward.
“I realize the importance of our strong and effective local legislative body and wish I could continue to serve,” he said. “It has been a privilege to serve with such dedicated and loyal members throughout the years.”
It is now up to the five other Democrats on the nine-member board to choose Donofrio’s replacement from interested first ward residents.
“Tom served the city well for a lot of years both as a police officer and aldermen,” Dziekan said Thursday night. “We worked well together and I wish him the best.”
Dziekan, a Republican, told Hearst he will seek re-election to a third term.
“I love this job and I love working for our residents,” said Dziekan, also a lifelong city resident and a retired
Hamden police officer. “All I can tell Tom is being mayor involves a lot of work.”
This is the second city position that Donofrio has left in the past weeks. On Oct. 31, Donofrio retired from the city’s police department. He was a supernumerary officer appointed in March 1987 and was promoted to a full-time position in 1996.
Had Thursday’s meeting taken place, the Aldermen were expected to meet in executive session to discuss the three vacancies in City Hall as well as the possibility of combining the city’s vacant Finance Director position with the soon-tobe vacant Board of Education’s business manager postion.
The vacancies began this summer when Carlo Sarmiento, the city’s building official, resigned his roles as the zoning code and inland/wetlands en
forcement officer during the ongoing controversy involving the Punishers Motorcycle Club. The Club has come under fire from the Planning and Zoning Commission for using a Burtville Avenue garage as a meeting place.
Sarmiento, not only served as the commission’s enforcement officer but also belongs to the club made of up law enforcement members. The Pun
ishers use of the garage has resulted in a cease and desist order issued by the Planning and Zoning Commission.
Earlier this fall, Denise Cesaroni retired as the city’s Tax Collector. Two weeks ago, Keith McLiverty resigned as the city’s interim finance director. Then Mark Izzo, the Board of Education’s business manager, announced he would be retiring Jan. 18.