Election 2015: Bethel Treasurer, Board of Finance Candidate Profiles

Information is provided by the Republican and Democratic Town Committee’s websites.

Daniel O’Grady [R] for Treasurer

• Dan is a 38-year resident; self-employed Attorney at Law. Past offices held include Judge of Probate 1990-2010; Town Counsel, Assistant Town Counsel; previous member Zoning Board of Appeals; member Bethel Republican Town Committee. Public service activities include Director, Newtown Lions Club; Graduate, CCSU BS Admin Science; MBA, UConn; JD, Quinnipiac. Dan and his wife, Elise, have three adult sons.

James L’hernault [R] Board of Finance

• James, a 30-year Bethel resident, lives here with his wife Linda and is a Tax Accountant with Hitachi Capital America Corp. He is currently an alternate (appointed) on the current Inland-Wetlands Commission. His community service includes Stony Hill Volunteer Fire Dept. EMR; 5 years Treasurer Stony Hill Fire Dept.; Ridgefield Fire Dept. Fire Police Officer; and Member of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary. James attended Western Connecticut State University, Finance.

Cynthia McCorkindale [I] Board of Finance

• 20+-year resident; self-employed, Music: singer, vocal coach and instructor; Freelance – Marketing: coordinator, copywriter, graphic design; Member Board of Education 2009 – 2011; Chairperson of local advocacy group. Attended Boston Conservatory of Music; Western Connecticut State University, Bachelor of Music – Vocal performance and piano; recipient of Certificat d’Excellence, l’Alliance Française – bilingual English/French.

Bryan Terzian [I] Board of Finance

• 14-year resident of Bethel; Board of Education member 2011-2013; 20-year Police officer, Captain; Graduate, Castleton State, B.A. Criminal Justice and Sociology, minor in History. Bryan and his wife Kristen have one child attending Bethel Middle School.

Whitney Vitti [D] Treasurer

• Whitney is a long time Bethel resident with over fifteen years of accounting experience in both the private and non-profit business sectors. She is employed as a Staff Accountant in the business office at Sacred Heart University. At Sacred Heart she has gained substantial experience analyzing tax exempt bond compliance and preparing large-scale, tax exempt financial statements, and the Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax form (Form 990). She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Fairfield University where she attained a bachelor’s degree in Political Science. While at Fairfield, Whitney was the recipient of the Passarelli-Guinta Award for Academic Excellence in Politics and was also inducted into Phi Betta Kappa, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious academic honor society. Whitney continued her studies in the accounting field at Northeastern University where she earned a grade point average of 3.9. She is currently enrolled in the MBA program at Sacred Heart for accounting (MBA completion slated for 2016-17). Whitney grew up in Redding before moving to Bethel with her husband Nick Vitti (lifelong resident and Democratic Town Committee Chairman) [D] Board of Finance. She said that the combination of Bethel’s historic small town charm, close-knit community and thriving educational system are a few of the reasons she chooses to call Bethel home. When asked why she is running for Treasurer Whitney said that “Bethel deserves a Treasurer with extensive financial experience; one who will strive to protect the financial interests and AAA bond rating of the Town.” However, Whitney’s proudest accomplishments are her two young daughters, Logan, age 7 and Peyton, age 2.

Claudia J. Stephan [D] Board of Finance

• Claudia loves to serve the community. Her career in financial planning and analysis has been a great fit with her twelve years on the Board of Finance where she currently serves as Vice Chairman. Claudia has a BA degree in Economics from Colgate University and an MBA in Finance from the University of Connecticut. She is a 23-year resident of Bethel, a parishioner of St. Mary’s, a former member of Bethel PTO and the Bethel Newcomers, and is currently Colgate University Alumni Admissions Chairperson of Fairfield County. Claudia and her husband, George Braden, have two grown children.

Ellen Freebairn [D] Board of Finance

• Since 1959 Eileen and her family have been active participants in the life of Bethel. Following her thirty-year banking career holding positions of branch manager, commercial loan officer, auditor and credit officer, Eileen continues to volunteer her financial expertise to the community, currently serving her first four-year term as a member of the Board of Finance. Eileen previously served as Treasurer on the Bethel Public Library Board of Directors, and now serves as Treasurer for the Friends of the Library. She is a twenty-year member of Quota International of Candlewood Valley and its past President, volunteers on a regular basis at Dorothy Day, and is a former committee member of Bethel’s Relay for Life. She was a member of the Western CT Chapter of the American Red Cross for twelve years, serving as its Treasurer for six. Eileen is a member of St. Mary Parish, and has four children and nine grandchildren.

Patricia Smithwick [D] Board of Finance

• Pat says Bethel is a wonderful community where people care about their surroundings and neighbors and wish to make it a better place. As a member of the Board of Finance she thinks she can help with many of the decisions that keep us moving forward in those endeavors and stop some of the negativity that always seems to come to the surface. Pat has been most active as part of the business community, as owner of Bethel Baby Boutique and as President of the Bethel Chamber of Commerce for ten years. In addition to serving on the Board of Finance for the last four years, Pat is currently the Community Liaison for the Bethel Visiting Nurse Association where she does marketing and grant writing. Pat grew up in the Bronx, raised her family in Yorktown Heights, and worked many years as an office administrator before moving to Bethel 16 years ago. She is a member of the Bethel Emergency Preparedness Committee, and the Northwest Regional Workforce Investment Board of Directors where she is Chair of their Worker Training Committee. Pat is a member of St. Mary Parish, enjoys gardening and dancing, and has enjoyed watching her two daughters and five grandchildren grow into wonderful caring and productive people who care about the world we live in.