Candidates Emerge in Guilford First Selectman Race

By Jack Kramer, Correspondent

GUILFORD, CT – Town elections may still be nine months but now that current First Selectman Joe Mazza has announced he will not be seeking a third term possible replacements names are starting to surface.

At the most recent Board of Finance meeting, a discussion about future pay for the first selectman and selectman positions had two members of the finance board publically stating, on the record, that because they may be running for the town’s top spot that they should probably recuse themselves from the discussion.

The two were Democrat Board of Finance Chairman Matt Hoey, who according to the minutes of the meeting, will definitely be running for first selectman. And, Republican finance board Kenneth MacKenzie, who said he was thinking about running for first selectman.

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Mazza is a Republican.

Mazza will be completing his second, four-year term as mayor. He was first elected in 2009. Guilford, unlike a lot of area towns, has its top executive serve for four years terms, not two.

In 2013, the Democrats ran Veronica Wallace, who is now chairman of the Democratic Party in town, against Mazza.