Waterbury Mayor Elected Pres. of CT Conference of Municipalities

From CCM: Neil O’Leary, long-time mayor of Waterbury, has been elected President of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM) for 2018.

Mayor O’Leary served in 2017 as CCM’s 1st Vice President. Advancing the state-local partnership, community building, economic development, and improving the overall quality of life in his city have been key to O’Leary’s success in Waterbury. He also has been a leading player for CCM members in helping to push state legislative action on local revenue diversification, cost containment efforts through mandates relief, and greater regional service sharing among towns.

“2018 will represent another crucial crossroads in the relationship between Connecticut local governments and its state leaders,” said Joe DeLong, CCM Executive Director. “CCM is very fortunate to have such an experienced mayor to lead our 166 member communities. He is well-respected on both sides of the political aisle at both the state and local levels and will play a key role in forging consensus on important state-local issues during the 2018 General Assembly session.”

Here are CCM’s other officers for 2018:

· 1st Vice President, John A. Elsesser, Town Manager of Coventry

· 2nd Vice President, Michael J. Freda, First Selectman of North Haven

Newly elected to the Board of Directors for 2018 are:

· Tom Banisch, First Selectman of Madison

· Matthew S. Knickerbocker, First Selectman of Bethel

· Michael C. Tetreau, First Selectman of Fairfield

· John Salomone, City Manager of Norwich

Also serving again on the Board of Directors in 2018 are:

· Luke A. Bronin, Mayor of Hartford

· Robert M. Congdon, First Selectman of Preston

· Joseph P. Ganim, Mayor of Bridgeport

· Toni N. Harp, Mayor of New Haven

· Barbara M. Henry, First Selectman of Roxbury

· Catherine Iino, First Selectwoman of Killingworth

· Marcia A. Leclerc, Mayor of East Hartford

· Curt B. Leng, Mayor of Hamden

· W. Kurt Miller, First Selectman of Seymour

· Rudolph P. Marconi, First Selectman of Ridgefield

· Leo Paul, First Selectman of Litchfield

· Scott Shanley, General Manager of Manchester

· Jayme J. Stevenson, First Selectman of Darien

· Erin Stewart, Mayor of New Britain

· Daniel D. Syme, First Selectman of Scotland

· Mark B. Walter, Town Administrator of Columbia

· Steven R. Werbner, Town Manager of Tolland

Past presidents continue to serve on the CCM Board. They are:

· Susan S. Bransfield, First Selectwoman of Portland

· Mark D. Boughton, Mayor of Danbury

· Matthew B. Galligan, Town Manager of South Windsor

· Herbert C. Rosenthal, Former First Selectman of Newtown

CCM is the state’s largest, nonpartisan organization of municipal leaders, representing towns and cities of all sizes from all corners of the state, with 166 member municipalities.

We come together for one common mission, to improve everyday life for every resident of Connecticut. We share best practices and objective research to help our local leaders govern wisely. We advocate at the state level for issues affecting local taxpayers. And we pool our buying power to negotiate more cost-effective services for our communities.

CCM is governed by a board of directors that is elected by the member municipalities. Our board represents municipalities of all sizes, leaders of different political parties, and towns/cities across the state. Our board members also serve on a variety of committees that participate in the development of CCM policy and programs.

Federal representation is provided by CCM in conjunction with the National League of Cities. CCM was founded in 1966 and is marking its 52nd year of service to Connecticut towns and cities in 2018.