In Fairfield Hills’ Wake, The Political Season Begins To Ripple

By Steve Bigham

For the most part, Owen Carney has been more seen than heard in the three months since announcing his intent to run for the first selectman’s seat.

Mr Carney said he planned to speak at last week’s town meeting, but was forced to remain silent in his seat after townspeople voted to move the question on both the purchase of Fairfield Hills and the 5/6 school, essentially curtailing any discussion.

It may have been just as well for Mr Carney, a Republican, who admits he is still waiting to find out who his opponent will be. That question should be answered in the coming weeks as First Selectman Herb Rosenthal, a Democrat, prepares to declare his intention to run for a third term. Mr Rosenthal has made no such announcement yet; however, most observers believe he will seek another two years, especially after last week’s vote, which many view as a major victory for the current administration.

“In the coming weeks I’ll have an announcement. As I’ve said all along, I was very focused on trying to get Fairfield Hills to the point where the public could vote on it,” he said this week. “That didn’t really allow me much time to reassess the last four years and come to a decision. I have come to a decision. I just want to make the announcement in the right way at the right time.”

In the meantime, Mr Carney is taking a watch and listen approach, attending almost all meetings of local boards and commissions on the docket, but maintaining near silence. Mr Carney did question Mr Rosenthal’s recent agreement with the state over Fairfield Hills, indicating his disappointment that the state was able to give Newtown the property “as is,” without any liability for its past deeds. Still, his comments on this and other issues have been few.

That all is about to change, however. According to Mr Carney, he plans to mount a door-to-door campaign in which he will bring his positions to the voters. A longtime member of the Newtown Police Department, Mr Carney has lived in Newtown since 1972. This is his first real run at politics, although he has been active in the Republican Party over the years.

His opponent, on the other hand, has four years as first selectman under his belt and more than 10 years as a member of the Board of Education. Local politics is a family affair for Herb Rosenthal. His father, Jack, was first selectman for 12 years, from 1975 to 1987, and his son, Dan, is a current member of the Legislative Council.

Both candidates are facing a challenge in the wake of last week’s approval to spend $21.7 million for the purchase of Fairfield Hills. Mr Carney and presumably Mr Rosenthal, should he decide to run, will need to articulate a vision for the next chapter in the Fairfield Hills saga. Relying on the incumbent and challenger mantras of “experience counts” or  “it’s time for a change” simply won’t do.

Mr Carney faces the challenge of  showing people that now that the private negotiating is over, Newtown needs a different kind of leadership for the next phase of Fairfield Hills evolution.

“Everybody wanted Fairfield Hills, but not everyone may have the same vision as Herb Rosenthal,” Mr Carney said. “The jury is still out. Still so much is unknown. There are still question marks.”

Mr Carney congratulated the first selectman on his victory at last week’s town meeting and took note of the celebration going on in the high school auditorium. However, he observed, weddings are always celebratory events, even in the marriages that end in divorce. To avoid future heartache, he said, the town needs to prepare itself now so as to avoid future pitfalls. He has proposed a seven-member board of managers, similar to the Town Hall Board of Managers, be created to decide as a team on a master plan for Fairfield Hills.

“The master plan must be created in a timely fashion, and must be carried through in order to ensure the greatest good for the citizens of Newtown,” he said in a letter to The Bee this week. “The State of Connecticut is currently handing the ball to the Town of Newtown. Let’s not fumble it.”

Mr Carney’s fundamental task as a candidate will be to provide a good reason why the town should switch leaders in midstream. Mr Rosenthal, on the other hand, will need to demonstrate why it is important that he remain in power.

To date, the first selectman has never had to defend his record as the town’s top administrator at election time, having run unopposed two years ago. Mr Rosenthal defeated Republican Russ Melita in 1997. He and Selectman Joe Bojnowski have held the majority seats on the Board of Selectmen ever since. Meanwhile, Republican selectman Bill Brimmer has ably represented his party in the minority seat, maintaining a cordial relationship with the Democrats from the start.

This week, Mr Brimmer announced that he will seek reelection to the Board of Selectmen and put his full support behind Mr Carney.

“The desire and ability that Owen has make his a very viable candidacy,” Mr Brimmer said. “Owen is a very open individual who likes to have consensus.”

As for his decision to seek reelection, Mr Brimmer said there is still a lot of work to do and believes he owes it to the town to help see it through.

The Republican Town Committee endorsed Mr Carney back in March. Since then, however, things have remained quiet on the political front as the town wrestled with the annual town budget, Fairfield Hills, and the 5/6 school, all three of which have, thus far, been considered non-political issues. With all three now approved, the door has been opened for politics. The party caucuses begin next month.

Asked how he thinks he would do if the election were tomorrow, Mr Carney said he thought he’d do well.

“Right now, I’m running unopposed,” he joked.

Election Day on November 6 is still nearly five months away.