Kupchick 'Overwhelmed' By Fairfield First Selectman Win

FAIRFIELD, CT — Fairfield has a new leader after challenger Brenda Kupchick handily defeated incumbent First Selectman Mike Tetreau in Tuesday's local election.

The win comes after months of fierce campaigning, much of which took place in the wake of a contamination crisis that rocked the town in August.

"I'm overwhelmed," Kupchick said Tuesday night. "... It reaffirms that the hard work that I've put in ... actually meant something."

As of about 1 a.m. Wednesday, with roughly 90 percent of votes reported on the Registrars of Voters webpage, Kupchick had 10,152 votes to Tetreau's 7,400. Kupchick, a Republican, is a state representative for District 132. Tetreau, a Democrat, has been Fairfield's first selectman since 2011.

The arrest of two town employees and a former Fairfield contractor in connection with illegal dumping at the town fill pile and the related discovery of contaminants at public sites across Fairfield put the Tetreau administration under scrutiny in the months leading up to the election. The fill pile controversy was a central topic at two candidate forums, with Kupchick accusing Tetreau of violating the Town Charter and implying he lacked leadership and oversight.

Other topics the candidates addressed at forums included development issues such as whether a plan for a residential health facility is appropriate for the neighborhood where it is proposed and how best to incorporate affordable housing in town.

Kupchick, who will be the second woman to hold the job of Fairfield first selectman, said she hopes her win will inspire young girls.

Tetreau said Tuesday that he congratulates Kupchick and that it is important for the town to come together.

"Obviously the voters have spoken," he said.

Whichever first selectman candidate to receives fewer votes is then considered a candidate for selectman, but because Tetreau got less votes than selectman candidates Tom Flynn and Nancy Lefkowitz, he will not serve in that capacity either.

Flynn, a Republican, received 8,919 votes with 90 percent of votes reported, while Lefkowitz, a Democrat, got 8,495 votes, according to the Registrars of Voters webpage. Current selectmen Ed Bateson and Chris Tymniak, both Republicans, did not seek reelection.

"There's a lot to do," said Flynn, who is the chair of the Board of Finance.

Lefkowitz, a Representative Town Meeting member for District 1, said the town needs to address the issues caused by the fill pile crisis, as well as existing political division in Fairfield, which was amplified by the controversy.

"What I see now is an opportunity, not an obstacle," she said.

Kupchick, Flynn and Lefkowitz will take office Nov. 25.