Democrats Oust DiPace as Town Committee Chairman

Former Enfield Board of Education Chairman William Thomson was overwhelmingly elected chairman of the Democratic Town Committee at a meeting in the Town Council Chambers Wednesday night.

Thomson received 52 votes to easily outdistance incumbent chairman Anthony DiPace, who was named on 28 ballots.

Thomson served on the school board from 1995-2003, with the last four years as chairman.

He was unavailable for comment Wednesday morning.

DiPace, a former chairman of the Planning & Zoning Commission, served four years as the party chairman.

"There's an old saying in politics: if you win, you win, and if you lose, you win,"  DiPace said in an interview Wednesday morning. "There's a lot less work for me to do now. I wish Bill the best, and I really hope he can do it."

DiPace said the party has been divided into two factions for some time, which played a role in Republicans gaining the majority on the Town Council and Board of Education in 2009. Democrats regained control of the school board in the November 2011 election.

"There's a faction there that wanted me out, so be it," DiPace said. "Until these factions come together and start working together as one, the Democrats are not going to win. I'm going to stay active with the town committee and help them out any way I can. I'd like to see party unity; until we get unity, we can't really move forward and get where we need to be."