Brookfield Selectman Candidate Profiles: Tinsley-Flynn Vs. Dunn-Slater

Information below is from the Brookfield Republican and Brookfield Democratic websites.

Steve Dunn [D] is running for First Selectman:

• Steve Dunn, recently retired from a long career in the corporate banking world, brings his leadership skills and expertise in finance, bonding, management of pension assets and insurance to the job of First Selectman of Brookfield. Steve has worked for JPMorgan Chase, Citibank and Banker’s Trust Company in various capacities, eventually heading a group at JPMorgan Chase responsible for over $2 trillion of client assets. The Dunn family has lived in Brookfield for 32 years. His four children, Cate, Cullen, Conor and Jack, are 13 year alumni of Brookfield schools. Steve has been active in the community through his leadership in Boy Scouts and as a baseball, lacrosse and soccer coach. Steve has worked with Odyssey of the Mind, guiding Brookfield teams to state and national competitions. He is currently a state judge for Odyssey of the Mind. With his wife, Cassie, Steve led a successful community-wide effort to build a new track at Brookfield High School. They raised over $120,000 in donations. Thanks to their efforts, in 1998 Brookfield High School held its first home track meet in 10 years at the new track. Steve and Cassie are the founders of the Mother’s Day 5 K race, with proceeds designated for support and maintenance of the track. Steve Dunn is a graduate of Manhattanville College and has an MBA in finance from Fordham University.

Sue Slater [D] is running for Selectman:

• Sue Slater brings her extensive business, volunteer and working mother experiences to the DunnSlater2015 team. Sue’s professional career and her understanding of the needs of the community are invaluable assets that will help Brookfield move forward. A graduate of University of Connecticut, Sue is a health insurance broker and advisor for Matson Financial Advisors. She works with scores of local businesses and individuals to provide health insurance plans that meet their specific needs. As the compliance administrator for the firm, Sue oversees the annual documentation required by governmental agencies. Sue is well known in the Brookfield community for her wide volunteer activities. Currently, she is president of the Professional Connections Networking Group, focusing on issues facing local small businesses. As an active member of the Congregational Church of Brookfield, Sue chairs the Church in Society committee. She has been a deacon, church clerk, Sunday school teacher and confirmation mentor. Sue has been very involved with the popular annual Yankee Fair for over 20 years. Sue served on Brookfield’s Alternative Revenue Committee, an ad hoc group formed to examine possible revenue sources other than property taxes. Sue and her husband, Les Slater, Vice President of Stew Leonard’s Norwalk, raised their three sons in Brookfield. Chris, Alex and Andrew are all members of the “Thirteen Year Club”. Sue found time to be a Cub Scout leader and classroom volunteer. She worked on the High School graduation party for several years.

Bill Tinsley [R] is running for First Selectman:

• Bill is a retired business executive. He has held senior executive roles with Duracell, Thomas & Betts, and Chesapeake Corp. He also owned and operated a local small business (2002-2010) with his family, and has worked as a management consultant in the consumer package goods, pharmaceutical, and supply chain services industries. Bill, 64, was elected First Selectman in November 2013. He was also twice elected to the Brookfield Board of Finance and served as its Chairman for the last two years of his tenure (2003–2011). Additionally, he was a former elected member of the Brookfield Board of Education (1995-1999) and served as its Vice Chairman. Bill has an MBA degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business and a BA from the University of the South. He has also had prior volunteer roles as a soccer coach, and fundraising initiatives with the United Way of Northern Fairfield, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of CT, and the National Minority Supplier Development Council. He continues to be an active volunteer with the Handy Dandy Handy Man Ministry led by Pete Brady. Bill has been a Brookfield resident since 1987 and his wife Mary is a Brookfield native. They are members of St. Marguerite’s Parish and are the parents of five children—four of whom survive their brother, Richard Bryan Tinsley, who passed away in 2010. Bill sees Brookfield as a great place to live with vast potential for being an even better and stronger community. In 2013, Bill decided to run for First Selectman because he shared a common concern with an ever increasing number of our residents: that Brookfield was on a spending, taxing, and borrowing trajectory that will hurt our community’s future, affordability and quality of life. Since being elected in 2013, Bill has led the course corrections, and provided a number of solutions that have put Brookfield back on the affordability path (spending and property tax control, economic development, and conservative management of the town’s debt and other obligations).

Marty Flynn [R] for Selectman:

• Marty was Chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals for 10 years prior to becoming a Selectman. He also served as Chairman of the Republican Town Committee and was Annual Town Meeting moderator for 8 years. Owner of a small plumbing business in Brookfield, Marty and his wife, Carol have 2 adult children and have lived in Brookfield for 18 years.