Kupchick Resigns From State Rep Seat, Parties Plan For Election

FAIRFIELD, CT — Fairfield's two major political parties are preparing for the upcoming special election after First Selectwoman-elect Brenda Kupchick resigned Friday from her Connecticut General Assembly seat in anticipation of Monday's inauguration.

Also Friday, Representative Town Meeting member Brian Farnen, R-District 9, officially announced he is running for the state representative position in House of Representatives District 132 that Kupchick has held since 2011. Kupchick, who unseated incumbent Democrat First Selectman Mike Tetreau in the Nov. 5 municipal election, has said she supports Farnen's candidacy.

“My combined experiences on the Representative Town Meeting and building consensus among a diverse group of members, as an advocate for education, green energy, public safety and my love for Fairfield, have taught me that we must work beyond the things that may divide us and find common ground,” Farnen said in a news release.

In addition to being a four-term member of the town meeting, Farnen is the general counsel and chief legal officer of the Connecticut Green Bank and a parent of two. Although Farnen is seeking the assembly seat, Republican Town Committee Chairman Jamie Millington said in a news release that any Republican living in the district is eligible to be nominated for candidacy at the committee caucus next month.

On the Democrat side, activist Caitlin Clarkson Pereira and Board of Education member Jennifer Leeper have both said they hope to gain the party's endorsement. Pereira, who ran against Kupchick in 2018, has said she wants to prioritize gun violence prevention, equal access to education and women's rights. Leeper plans to focus on transportation, education and making Connecticut a more business-friendly state.

Now that Kupchick has formally resigned, both town party committees have scheduled meetings to endorse a candidate for the January special election.

The Democratic Town Committee will meet 7 p.m. Tuesday at the party office, 1 Sasco Hill Road, where all committee members will be eligible to vote in the candidate endorsement process, according to Chairman Steve Sheinberg. The Republican committee will hold its caucus 7:30 p.m. Dec. 2 at the Fairfield Board of Education building second floor conference room, 501 Kings Highway East, Millington said in the news release. For the Republican committee, only members who live in District 132 are able to vote.

The district includes Southport, downtown Fairfield and much of Fairfield's coastal area, as well as a northeastern section of town.