Bethel Republican Town Committee Appoints New Leader

BETHEL, CT-- The Bethel Republican Town Committee elected new officers at their meeting Wednesday for the 2016-2017 term.

Bill Hillman replaces Will Duff as the new Chairman of the Bethel RTC. Duff told Patch Wednesday that he is considering the possibility of running for State Representative should Dan Carter decide to challenge Richard Blumenthal for a U.S. House Senate seat. Neither Duff nor Carter has made an official announcement yet. Carter told Patch an official announcement on whether or not he will run will be made in early April.

• Bethel Republican Considers Challenging Blumenthal for U.S. Senate Seat

Hillman said his goal for the coming year is to grow the Republican base and win elections. Other officers for the Bethel RTC are as follows: Vice Chairman: Richard Merrritt replaces outgoing Vice Chairman A.J. Bernard, Treasurer: James L’Hernault, Secretary: Autumn Waggoner.

Hillman, 60, has been an active member of the BRTC since 2009 has been a Bethel resident for 24 years. He currently serves as a member of the Energy Conservation Committee, and had served as a member of the last Charter Revision Commission.

Hillman said he will reach out to unaffiliated, Republican and cross-over voters to join the Republican party, and register to vote in the upcoming Presidential primary on April 26

"Democracy isn’t a spectator sport," Hillman said. "You need to vote to be part of the game."

As part of their non-partisan outreach the BRTC is sponsoring its annual Lincoln-Reagan dinner on April 30. The honorees for the event will be Library Director Lynn Rosato, Stuart Carlsen and Don Goodrich for their many years of service to the community. For more information about this event, contact Kitty Grant (kitty1943@comcast.net).

Bethel Democrats will hold their meeting Thursday evening to select new officers, however, Democratic Town Chairman Nick Vitti told The News Times that he does not expect much change on his panel.