Brookfield RTC elects business owner as chairman

BROOKFIELD — The Republican Town Committee announced newly elected leadership, with a campaign season ahead that includes state legislative races and a tightly contested 5th Congressional District race in addition to the U.S. presidential election.

Robert Guarino, a town resident for 13 years, local business owner and general manager of ADT Commercial, will lead the party for the next two years, according to a Brookfield RTC news release.

Local Republican Austin Monteiro will serve alongside Guarino as the party’s newly elected vice chairman. According to the Brookfield RTC, Monteiro, a 17-year resident of the town, is the current sales director for Hudson Steel and acquisition manager for BNB Leverage.

Both leaders were RTCendorsed candidates in last November’s municipal election.

Guarino ran as the GOP candidate for Brookfield town treasurer in that contest. Democrat John Lucas defeated Guarino in that race, 2,811 votes to 2,362, according to the Secretary of the State’s office. Monteiro, meanwhile, ran unsuccessfully on the GOP ticket for a seat on the Brookfield Board of Education.

Guarino succeeds George Blass as the town committee’s chairman.

Guarino, when reached by phone, told Hearst Connecticut Media that he didn’t seek the leadership role. However, other Republican Town Committee members encouraged him to take on the new role based on the leadership he showed during the last election cycle.

Guarino said those members made him “feel like I was a fit” to chair the party, and after taking some time to think about it, he agreed to pursue the role.

Monteiro, the party’s new vice chairman, when reached by phone, told Hearst that his party town committee’s goal is community building, and to take the local GOP into a “different direction than maybe what we’ve seen in the past.”

He described the party as having a “great mix” of younger people as its new membership, along with those who have “more experience” in local politics.

“The future is bright,” Monteiro said.

Monteiro said with new leadership in place the town committee is now geared to tackle a series of what he called “actionable steps.”

“Obviously winning the election is number one. There’s engaging Republican and unaffiliated voters — increasing voter rolls, increasing voter engagement in turnout,” Monteiro said.

The town committee’s new leadership also includes newly elected treasurer Elena Lopez, Secretary Gwen Arment, and Deputy Secretary Chris Dickinson.

“The Leadership team would like to thank their members and supporters for an enthusiastic turnout and commitment to the current town committee and we look forward to their involvement in the current campaigns and growing the party,” the news release stated.