The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Change in the election lineup
Former BOE member steps in to run for selectman
PORTLAND — Like a baseball manager bringing in a relief pitcher, town Democrats have brought in a relief candidate.
Andrea Alfano, the former vice chairwoman of the Board of Education, has agreed to run for the Board of Selectmen in the November election.
She replaces incumbent Selectman Benjamin R. Srb in the Democrats’ lineup.
Srb, who has been a selectman since 2015, had asked that his name be removed from the list of candidates for the Democratic Party.
In a telephone conversation Friday, Srb said he was stepping away from the board as he pursues a business opportunity.
He declined to be more specific than that, however.
Srb, who is married and the father of five children, is a builder and developer.
He also has been active in town affairs.
He served on the Zoning Board of Appeals from 200315 and was a member of the Board of Education from 200815.
This not the first time Alfano
has come forward to fill a vacancy.
In 2008, she stepped in to fill a vacancy on the Board of Education.
She subsequently was twice reelected to consecutive fouryear terms.
She served as both secretary and vice chairwoman of the board and she was chairwoman of the board’s policy subcommittee.
In a prepared statement, Alfano said she is “a strong advocate for public education.”
She was involved in the budget process and also “supported many important educational initiatives.”
During her tenure on the board, two schools — the Brownstone Intermediate School and the Portland Middle School — received Blue Ribbon School awards “for academic excellence.”
In her statement, Alfano said she is running for the Board of Selectmen “to continue her commitment to public service in…Portland.”
She identified a number of ongoing projects that have created “so much positive activity” within the town.
Those projects include conversion of the Elmcrest property as a mixed
Benjamin R. Sbr officially withdrew from the race when he presented a handwritten note to Town Clerk Ryan J. Curley early on the morning of Sept. 13.
use development, “the Brownstone (Avenue) land purchase, completion of town park, (and installation of ) new sidewalks.”
“I would welcome the opportunity to support our community and continue the momentum,” she said.
Sbr officially withdrew from the race when he presented a handwritten note to Town Clerk Ryan J. Curley early on the morning of Sept. 13.
The letter was addressed to First Selectwoman Susan S. Bransfield.
“The last day for a candidate to withdraw from the race is 10/11/19 (24 days prior to election) and the last day to replace a candidate is 10/15/19 (21 days prior to election),” Curley said in an email Friday morning.
“As far as history goes, a candidate has not withdrawn from the ballot in recent memory,” Curley added.
Bransfield praised — and thanked — Srb for his service to the town over the past 16 years.
“I’m sorry he’s not running again, and I certainly want to congratulate him and thank him sincerely for his service to our town,” Bransfield said.
Srb was never shy about putting his message forward.
In particular, he was outspoken about the Elmcrest proposal, attending virtually every Planning and Zoning Commission meeting on the topic.
Srb repeatedly told PZC officials his concern was that the procedure for eventually approving the proposal be done correctly.
On Friday, he said, “I wasn’t opposed to the project; I was opposed to 240 apartments not paying taxes.”
Were Alfano to win a seat on the board, it would be a step closer to restoring the male/female balance on the sevenmember board.
The previous board included three women: Bransfield, Kathleen G. Richards, and Kitch Breen Czernicki.
At present, Bransfield is the lone woman on the board.
There is no requirement for male/ female parity on the board.
But with the centennial of the passage of the 19th amendment, which guaranteed women’s right to vote coming in 2020, increasing female representation on boards and commissions in general is on the minds of many officials.