Dunn starts second tenure in school that he helped get built

By Scott Benjamin

BROOKFIELD – Standing on the stage of an elementary school with a water stream running in front of it - his family standing behind him and the lieutenant governor in front of him, Democrat Steve Dunn took the oath of office for his second tenure as first selectman in the town where he has lived for the last 40 years.

In three and half minutes of remarks, he said, among other things, that, “To do what is right for Brookfield there was no one better than Bob Belden,” who was his running mate and will now serve with Dunn on the three-member Board of Selectmen.

In less than an hour, Town Clerk Andrea DeStephan, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Greenwich) and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz (D-Middletown) swore in the officials elected in the November 7 election and some of them and the more than 100 people in the audience took tours of the $78.1 million Candlewood Lake Elementary School (CLES), which opened this fall to rave reviews.

The project was approved at a February 2019 referendum during Dunn’s earlier six-year tenure as first selectman.

“Everyone who has visited here has said it is the most incredible school that they’ve been in,” Dunn said in an interview with Patch.com.

The stream near the entrance is where there previously was a baseball field at what was the site of the former Huckleberry Hill Elementary School, which had opened in 1965. CLES educates students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade.

Dunn remarked, “With the stream, with the way the building is structured, it has an environment that is welcoming and happy. This school fully epitomizes that.”

Blumenthal said, “There is no better place for this ceremony than a new school.”

Dunn was defeated by Republican Tara Carr, who had served in the U.S. Army for 25 years, in the 2021 election. This last June, he formally launched his bid to regain his former position, with Belden, a former Republican who had become an unaffiliated voter about three years ago.

Dunn scored a 407-vote plurality in the balloting following an ambitious campaign that included the opening of a permanent Democratic Town Committee headquarters on Federal Road.

Belden moves to the Board of Selectmen from serving as chairman of the Board of Education. He worked with Dunn and other municipal officials on the development of CLES.

Carr who tallied enough votes to earn the other seat on the Board of Selectmen did not attend the inauguration ceremony.

The first meeting of the Board of Selectmen for the new term is scheduled for Monday at 7 p.m. in the Municipal Center on Pocono Road.

During her remarks, Bysiewicz not only honored the municipal elected officials but asked their family members to stand and be recognized for the support and sacrifice that they have provided.

In 2009, when she was secretary of the state, Bysiewicz had administered the oath of office at the first inauguration for First Selectman Bill Davidson, who was among those in the audience at CLES.

The Democratic nominee has captured the first selectman’s post in six of the last eight municipal elections in Brookfield.

Bysiewicz mentioned the many phone conversations she had with Dunn during the pandemic as he sought insight and assistance. She also noted that he had been a volunteer on a variety of projects in Brookfield before he was initially elected first selectman. Most notably, Dunn and his wife, Cassie, led a group that raised funds to refurbish the all-weather track at Brookfield High School, where she coached at that time.

“There is no one better prepared for this job,” Bysiewicz said of Dunn.

In the interview, Dunn again said, as he did during the campaign, that the enlargement of the current police headquarters on Silvermine Road or the construction of a new facility would be his top capital priority.

“We need to start the police headquarters discussion immediately because we have state standards to comply with” he commented. “We’re going to use the same process that we had with the Candlewood Lake Elementary School, we’re gong to engage the community in a discussion of what they want.”

Municipal officials have said the town won’t be able to embark on any major debt service before 2026 when the payments will conclude for the renovations to Brookfield High School, which were approved at referendum in 2003.

However, Dunn has said that even with an immediate discussion of options it would be at least 2026 before any construction began.

Dunn said the “first thing” he will do on Tuesday, his first full day in office, will be to meet with all of the municipal department heads. He said about half of them were in their positions when he left the first selectman’s job two years ago.

Les Slater, who was recognized by Dunn at Democratic Headquarters on election night for being a prominent supporter, was the master of ceremonies. Slater’s wife, Sue Slater, was on the Board of Selectmen with Dunn from 2015 to 2021.

The Rev. Jen Whipple gave the invocation, the Brookfield Scouts did the presentation of the colors, the Brookfield High School chorus sang the National Anthem and the Brookfield Youth Commission led the Pledge of Allegiance.

U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-5) of Wolcott gave a short speech. Dunn has been a supporter of hers since the 2018 primary, and has praised Hayes for her “intelligence.”

How does the fourth inauguration compare to the first in 2015?

“We had more people at the first inauguration [at Center Elementary School, which recently closed and has been ceded to the municipal government],” Dunn said. “But the spirit around here was as joyful and meaningful as any of them.”

The municipal elected officials elected last month for the new term are: DiStephan; Julie Kerton and Shannon Riley, Board of Assessment Appeals; Courtney Knapp and Scott Dale, Planning Commission; Anthony Papucci, Sean Turner and Jeff Kass, Zoning Commission; Elijah Huling III and Richard Briggs, Zoning Board of Appeals; Sarah Devine, Robert Fischetto, Stephanie Sikora and Wendy Youngblood, Board of Education.

Also, Brian Hoffmann and Naheed Quaisar, Board of Finance and John Lucas, Town Treasurer.

Democratic Town Committee Chairman Aaron Zimmer, who has been praised for revitalizing the local party over the last year, served as the event photographer, including snapping shots of Dunn as he raised his hand to start his second tenure in the coveted corner office in the Municipal Center.