DTC ‘Appalled’ Over Background of Selectman Candidate

Editor’s Note: The following press release was sent by Drew Morten, Chairman of the Southbury Democratic Town Committee.

John Bucciarelli is running for a seat on the Southbury Board of Selectman.  The Southbury Republican Town Committee website lists his educational and military background and describes a book he has written on leadership. What is not shown on the web site are the many instances of Mr. Buccarelli’s contempt for the law and flagrant violation of ethics.

The Southbury Democratic Town Committee believes that this pattern of behavior is not what the Town of Southbury wants or needs in its leadership and we are appalled that the Republican Town Committee would offer someone with Mr. Bucciarelli’s background to hold a position of influence with the Town.

• Mr. Bucciarelli is a long time member of the Economic Development Commission but has only managed to attend two of the past twelve meetings and has not attended a meeting since May 2011. In fact, Mr. Bucciarelli has managed to attend only four meetings of the EDC since 2009.

• Section L2. Of the Southbury Code of Ethics states that “Except as otherwise provided in the Charter or by Ordinance, the First Selectman, the Selectmen, the Town Clerk, and members of the Board of Finance shall hold no other Town office, and the provisions of Section 9-210 of the General Statutes concerning incompatible Town offices shall apply to the officers described therein” . Mr.Bucciarelli currently serves on the Board of Education and has made no indication that he intends on resigning that position.  Although the Board of Education is a regional board and thus may not technically be seen as a Town position, Mr. Bucciarelli holding office on both the Board of Education and the Board of Selectmen clearly violates the spirit of the Code and is an obvious conflict.

• Between 2002 and 2005, Mr. Bucciarelli violated the Connecticut Uniform Securities Act by offering and selling unregistered common stock to investors. In 2006, a Consent Order was issued by the Banking Commissioner of the State of CT under which he was ordered to refrain for five years from selling securities, transacting business as a broker-dealer or investment adviser and receiving commissions or fees in connection with securities. 

• In 2009 Mr. Bucciarelli ran for a seat on the Board of Education.  It was only after the election that it was discovered that his wife was a Region 15 employee and that his election was in violation of a Region 15 policy stating that the district could not employ immediate family of board members. This information was not disclosed to voters and was dismissed as unimportant by the Republican Town Committee when it came to light.

• In July 2011, Mr. Bucciarelli was issued a warning for burning in an open barrel without a permit. Henry Stormer, Southbury Fire Marshall, noted that this was the second time that Mr. Bucciarelli had been issued such a warning. According to the Republican-American, “Bucciarelli said …he has had the barrel for 10 years, and that he was doing nothing illegal by having a fire in it. He said he doesn't remember the 2009 warning”.

• In July 2011 Mr. Bucciarelli was cited for being in violation of state building codes for initiating construction on his home without a permit. In addition, he had been cited nearly eight months earlier for enclosing a back porch and putting up a greenhouse without applying for a building permit.  Upon being contacted by the Republican-American he stated "I wouldn't write the story. We fixed it."

• The construction in question was on a building in a historic district and required a certificate of appropriateness. In a December 2010 letter to Bucciarelli, Ben Stiles, on behalf of the Historic District Commission, wrote that Bucciarelli's unwillingness to comply with the laws was "distressing" to the commission. "Given that you are also an elected representative of the town, your behavior appears to be reprehensible. Your failure to obtain a building permit is a crime ...."  Bucciarelli, he wrote, misrepresented several facts earlier in 2010 when he appeared before the commission as a contractor on behalf of a neighbor.  Stiles continued "The town can ill afford to have elected representatives act in defiance of town regulations with the sense that these regulations do not apply to them”.

“Our elected and appointed leaders should have a strong moral compass and Southbury voters have the right to know the character of those running for an important seat in Town” noted Drew Morten, Southbury Democratic Town Committee Chair.