Straiton, if elected, chooses Cosentino to fill selectman seat
BETHEL — If he wins next week’s special election for first selectman, Acting First Selectman Rich Straiton says he will suggest that former local principal Pat Cosentino fill the vacant seat on Bethel’s Board of Selectmen.
Straiton, a Democrat, announced his recommendation Monday afternoon, noting his experience in working with Cosentino.
“I worked closely with Pat during her tenure in Bethel and welcome the opportunity to do so again,” he said.
Cosentino, a 20-year Bethel resident, is a former Frank A. Berry Elementary School principal of five years and former Bethel High School principal of six years.
After leaving Bethel’s school district in 2012 to become superintendent of Regional School District 12 in Bridgewater, Roxbury and Washington, Cosentino served four years as superintendent of New Fairfield Schools before becoming interim part-time superintendent of the Sherman School in July 2022.
Straiton said Cosentino would “bring her wealth of talent, creativity and proven management skills” to town government, and he looks forward to working with her to maintain Bethel’s “upward trajectory while finding solutions to (the town’s) varying problems.”
Bethel will hold a special election next Tuesday, to replace the town’s longtime first selectman, Matt Knickerbocker, who left in September. The Board of Selectmen has been without a third member ever since.
Straiton is running against Republican Dan Carter, a former state representative and veteran, to finish the remainder of Knickerbocker’s term, which ends in November.
Carter — who has not recommended anyone to fill the vacant Board of Selectman seat — said residents “should be alarmed” about Straiton’s announcement
“It speaks volumes about Rich’s own confidence, as well as the confidence of his party, in his ability to be the first selectman,” he said in a statement. “By choosing a running mate with more experience and education than himself, Rich won’t be helping residents.”
Carter said the first selectman position “requires a full-time administrator and leader with the energy and experience to lead the town forward” and is “not a job for co-first selectmen or a retirement job.”
“Rich remains a diligent public servant and has used his knowledge to help multiple building committees in town and he supported the goals of the past first selectman for 13 years,” Carter said. “But if we are going to control the development in town and keep the town affordable, we need a first selectman with actual leadership experience and the ability to work with others around the state to lead Bethel into the future.”
If elected, Carter said his approach to filling vacancies on boards will be to follow the town charter and the law, and “act in a nonpartisan fashion by supporting appointments from all political parties.”