Democrats will seek to make it seven wins in nine outings

By Scott Benjamin

BROOKFIELD -- Between 1997 and 2007, four times the Brookfield Democratic Party didn't even nominate a candidate for first selectman.

Since 2009, the party's nominee has been the winner six out of eight elections even though there are currently about 750 more registered Republicans in town.

On Wednesday night, July 16, at six o'clock the Democrats are expected to nominate former Wall Street executive Steve Dunn, the incumbent, as its candidate to continue to be the top elected municipal official. It will be for the sixth consecutive time that Dunn will be nominated for the position.

As of the fiscal year that concludes June 30, the position pays $123,719 a year.

He will be running again with Other Selectman Bob Belden, an unaffiliated voter who was elected on the Democratic slate two years ago after serving as chairman of the Board of Finance and the Board of Education.

"Steve and Bob don't create crises, they are ones that put out crises when they happen," said Brookfield Democratic Town Committee Chairman Shannon Riley, who announced the panel's recommended slate for the caucus, which will be held at the permanent headquarters that was established two years ago on Federal Road.

Riley added, "They've managed the town in a fiscally-responsible and socially-responsible way."

With the help of the Board of Finance, Dunn said the town currently has a 16 percent fund balance - perhaps the highest it has ever been. For years it has had an AAA bond rating from Standard & Poor's. The pension payments for the municipal employees are at 102 percent, Dunn commented. The rating agencies state that 80 percent and above is considered excellent.

Riley said that Dunn, who was a vice president at J.P. Morgan Chase, and Belden, who was a vice president at IBM, are the ideal candidates to make decisions on the expansion of police facilities and the future of the former Center Elementary School - issues that the three-member Board of Selectmen will likely address during the the two-year term that will begin in early December.

There are separate ad-hoc committees that are studying each of those projects

In an interview with Patch.com, Dunn said that in the coming weeks he plans to propose that the selectmen hire a planner for the town to study all the pieces to the puzzle. He said the topic was discussed earlier this month at a Board of Finance meeting.

He said if voters ultimately decide at referendum to move the current library to part of CES and also build a new police station on another section of the municipal campus or at another site, then the current library and police headquarters would each be vacant and available for community uses.

Dunn said there needs to be a thorough examination on what would be the best way to utilize those buildings if they become vacant.

He acknowledged that such a study would at least slightly delay a decision on how to proceed with the projects. However, he added that he doesn't anticipate that there will be any referendum votes until the latter part of 2026 or sometime in 2027.

Dunn noted that at that point the town will be ready to embark on additional capital spending after the final payments have been made on the renovations to Brookfield High School, which were approved at referendum in April 2003.

Dunn and Belden have emphasized that the police facilities would be the first project to be considered by voters since the current headquarters on Silvermine Road has become outdated and doesn't conform with federal standards.

Dunn was initially elected as first selectman in 2015 and re-elected in 2017 and 2019. He lost to Republican Tara Carr, a 25-year U.S. Army veteran, in 2021 but returned to defeat her in 2023.

Dunn said he was enthused about the Democratic Town Committee's recommended slate, indicating that the candidates are "smart, capable."

The Democrats held a recruiting event on May 1 at Twins along Junction Road. Riley said other potential nominees contacted the Democratic Town Committee 'privately" and others surfaced after e-mail and social media messages were sent.

She said all potential nominees went through a thorough background check and some were invited for a second interview by the Vacancy Committee.

The Brookfield Republican Party will also hold its caucus on Wednesday night, July 16. It will start at seven o'clock in the Brookfield High School auditorium.

The local Republican Town Committee approved its recommended slate on April 29.

It appears that the contested races at the GOP caucus will be for first selectman and Other Selectman.

The Republican Town Committee recommended the nomination of Zoning Board of Appeals Vice Chairman Karl Hinger for first selectman. He is being challenged by Austin Monteiro, who ran as a petitioning candidate for first selectman in 2021.

The Republican Town Committee recommended Zoning Board of Appeals Chairman Alan Donnelly for Other Selectman. It is anticipated that Carr, who is currently an Other Selectman, will be nominated at the caucus to continue in that position.

As of June 17, the Brookfield registrars of voters report that there are 5,036 unaffiliated voters, 3,794 registered Republicans, 3,058 Democrats and 212 who belong to other parties.

The election will be held on Tuesday, November 4. The Greater Danbury Chamber of Commerce will hold a debate with the candidates for first selectman on Tuesday night, October 7, at seven o'clock in the Brookfield High School auditorium.

The rest of the Democratic Town Committee's recommended slate for the party caucus:

• Board of Finance: Joseph Levanti
• Board of Finance: Kenneth Schwartz
• Board of Ed: Richard Briggs
• Board of Ed: Caroline Cowles
• Board of Ed: Adam Wollowick
• Board of Assessment Appeals: Shannon Riley
• Planning & Zoning Commission: Curtis Timmerman
• Planning & Zoning Commission (2 year position): Marc Loewengart
• Zoning Board of Appeals: Douglas Clemons