3 Simmons appointees clear Board of Representatives

STAMFORD — The Board of Representatives has signed off on Mayor Caroline Simmons’ picks for director of operations, director of public safety and director of legal affairs.

Simmons chose to appoint Matthew Quinones, the former president of the Board of Representatives, as director of operations and Doug Dalena, who has been deputy general counsel in Gov. Ned Lamont’s office since 2019, as director of legal affairs. She also decided to reappoint Ted Jankowski as director of public safety, health and welfare.

On Monday, the board voted 27-4 to approve Dalena’s appointment, with eight members abstaining.

Two of the board members who voted against Dalena’s appointment — Rep. Bradley Bewkes, R-1, and Rep. Nina Sherwood, D-8 — said their objections were based on his affiliation with Gov. Ned Lamont’s administration and their concerns with the governor’s pandemic mandates.

When Simmons’ announced that she had tapped Dalena for director of legal affairs, the release from her office noted that he “helped create and coordinate the legal framework for the state's response to the COVID-19 pandemic.” Lamont also highlighted Dalena’s work in that area in a separate release.

“He particularly has impressed me throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, providing me with trusted information regarding our ability to protect the safety of the public, and helped guide our office on the enactment of those muchneeded policies,” Lamont said.

During his interview with the board’s Appointments Committee, Dalena said that “it's not the legal team that decides policy, ultimately.” Rather, the team assesses “whether there are legal risks to certain actions.”

At the full board meeting this week, Bewkes, while arguing against Dalena’s appointment, said he thinks Lamont “has been overusing” the emergency powers he has been granted during the pandemic. Sherwood, D-8, agreed.

Reps. Sean Boeger, D-15, and Carmine Tomas, D-15, joined Bewkes and Sherwood in opposing Dalena’s appointment but gave no comments.

Quinones’ appointment received 33 votes in favor and no votes against, with four members of the board abstaining.

Rep. James Grunberger, D-18, who abstained from the vote, said while he thinks Quinones is “very bright,” he doesn’t appear to be “trained for this kind of position.”

District 20 Rep. Susan Nabel, a Democrat, disagreed, saying she “was particularly struck … when Mr. Quinones reviewed his resume with us and detailed his prior experience” in the National Guard. Quinones told the Appointments Committee that his experience included serving as one of five staff officers for a battalion that included about 1,700 soldiers. Most recently, Quinones was the CEO of the Stamford Public Education Foundation.

Rep. Jeffrey Stella, D-9, spoke in support of Quinones as well on Monday, saying he “was instrumental during the time when COVID first hit Stamford.” Quinones worked with then-Mayor David Martin to launch several volunteer programs in spring 2020.

Jankowski’s reappointment was approved in a 29-3 vote with five abstentions and no discussion among the full board. Sherwood, Grunberger and Democratic Rep. Jennifer Matheny of District 19 voted “no.”

Simmons has announced two other cabinet picks: Sandy Dennies for director of administration — a reappointment — and Loren Nadres for director of economic development. Both must go through the Board of Representatives’ approval process.