Grimes qualifies for Republican primary for first selectman

(This story was updated on Wednesday, August 9, at 10:05 a.m.

By Scott Benjamin

BROOKFIELD -- Former Board of Education chairman Matt Grimes has garnered more than the required petition signatures to force a primary against first-term incumbent Tara Carr for the Republican nomination for first selectman.

An e-mail message from Mel Butow, the Republican registrar of voters, indicated that Grimes and his slate had 198 verified signatures. A total of 194 was needed to qualify, since that represents five percent of the registered Republicans in Brookfield.

Grimes said additional petition signatures were submitted after the notice of verification.

He said that the September 12 balloting will benefit the local GOP.

Carr was recommended by the Republican Vacancy Committee and the Republican Town Committee. She again prevailed on July 20 by taking 171 votes at the party caucus to 126 for Grimes.

"This is the best way to determine the nominee, with the roughly 3,900 Republicans eligible to vote in the primary," Grimes said in a phone interview with Patch.com. "It is better than leaving it just to five people on the vacancy committee, the 25 people on the Republican Town Committee and the nearly 300 people who attended the caucus."

Grimes and Selectman Harry Shaker, his running mate, raised concerns about how the caucus was run. Grimes told Patch.com that resulted in generating more support for their slate, as some of the Republicans signing their petitions had similar feelings.

Grimes said the principal issues among the voters he has spoken with are property taxes and the expansion of the current police facilities, which were constructed in the mid-1980s.

"People see the state of Connecticut cutting income tax rates and they wonder why Brookfield cannot reduce their property taxes," he remarked.

Carr, Grimes and former First Selectman Steve Dunn, the Democratic nominee, have all said that the expansion of the police facilities is their top capital priority.

However, Dunn has told Patch.com that due to the current bonded debt from the renovations to Brookfield High School, which began in 2006, and the bonding for the Candlewood Lake Elementary School, which should open later this year, the town probably will not tackle that project until at least 2026.

Grimes said that there should be immediate action taken and the approval of funding should be on the presidential election ballot in 2024 as a referendum question.

"It was discussed at the debate for first selectman in Brookfield six years ago," he commented. "No proposal has been presented to the voters."

Dunn has said that the current police headquarters on Silvermine Road probably is not in compliance with federal regulations.

When asked about Grimes' platform in an e-mail interview with Patch.com, Carr stated:
"Frankly for the last nearly two years I’ve been solely focused on Brookfield and my administration’s agenda of doing everything we can to make Brookfield better, not just now but for future generations. I do not have the luxury these days to concern myself with distractions or sideshows that really have no bearing on how the day-to-day governance of the town is being conducted. What I can tell you is that Mr. Grimes has done nothing to contribute to the Republican party since we won by a landslide in 2021. He comes across as impetuous as he has sat on the sidelines and kibbitzed, but has not really offered any substantive ideas or thoughts that would suggest he’s prepared to lead a town. I think the voters of this town are tired of the “good ol’ boys.' "

When asked about what are the top issues among the voters that she has spoken with, Carr responded: "It's far too early to reveal our town talking points while we are not even through the primary, and I’m certainly not going to offer Mr. Dunn or anyone else an opportunity to develop a defense. Suffice it to say that I communicate with the voters daily…from all parts of the political spectrum and I do my best to get back to them either personally or via one of the town offices. I think that’s the advantage of not being a career politician because to most, I’m just Tara from Brookfield and they find it easy to step up and talk to me. I am keenly aware of their concerns and they only justify what I’ve been saying, which is that our work is not yet done and we still have work to do to keep Brookfield on a positive glidepath."

Grimes noted that a generation ago Brookfield had four Republican primaries for first selectman - 1995, 1997, 1999 and 2003.

In each instance the candidate that petitioned for the primary won the September balloting.

Bonnie Smith defeated Martin Foncello in 1995; Smith prevailed over Fred Standt in 1997; Foncello bested Smith in 1999; and Jerry Murphy outpolled Foncello in 2003.

State Sen. Stephen Harding (R-30) of Brookfield and Austin Monteiro, a former petitioning candidate for first selectman who is now a Republican candidate for a seat on the Board of Education, have praised Carr's performance in recent interviews with Patch.com.

Both have said that she has been visible in the community, posted pertinent messages through social media and has been responsive to constituent concerns.

Harding also has said that she has addressed the costs in the items in the municipal budget and has worked with the land-use commissions to monitor how the housing and business development in Brookfield is progressing.