Politics & Government
Grimes endorses Hinger
Longtime Brookfield Republican leader will not seek party's nod for first selectman
By Scott Benjamin
BROOKFIELD -- Matt Grimes has been part of the fabric of Republican politics in town since at least 1997 when as a recent Brookfield High School graduate he managed his grandfather - Fred Standt's- campaign for the GOP nomination for first selectman.
He has been chairman of the Board of Education and the Republican Town Committee.
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Two years ago, Grimes, an attorney, unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for the town's top elected position.
He has opted to not run for that office this cycle, and in an e-mail message to Brookfield Patch endorsed Karl Hinger.
Find out what's happening in Brookfieldfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Hinger, 30, the vice chairman of the Zoning Board of Appeals, formally announced his candidacy on February 14 and held a campaign event at The Cafe in Brookfield Town Center on March 25. State Senate Republican Leader Stephen Harding (R-30) and state Rep. Marty Foncello (R-107) of Brookfield attended that event.
He has expressed concern about the rapid housing development, calling for a town-wide moratorium on new construction. The town currently has a moratorium in the 198-acre Brookfield Town Center.
Hinger, a graduate of Western Connecticut State University (WCSU), faces Austin Monteiro, also a WCSU alumnus, in the race for the Republican nomination.
Monteiro announced in late April that he would seek the seat and former first selectman and current Other Selectman Tara Carr would be his running mate.
Carr was defeated in 2023 by Democrat Steve Dunn in her bid for a second term. She had defeated Grimes in the September primary.
Dunn and Other Selectman Bob Belden are running for another term and had a campaign event scheduled for May 1 at Twins on Junction Road.
Dunn is seeking his fifth nonconsecutive term as first selectman.
It appears that Hinger and Monteiro will compete at the party caucus in July and possibly a September primary.
Monteiro was a candidate for first selectman as a petitioning candidate in 2021, finishing a distant third in a three-way race. He moved to Danbury last year and was the Republican nominee in the 110th District, losing the race to Democrat Bob Godfrey, who was initially elected in 1988. However, Monteiro performed better than Godfrey's more recent opponents, as he took nearly 40 percent of the ballots.
