New Haven Independent

Frank Carrano, the chair of the Democratic Party, told the Eagle today that Panaroni acknowledged last week that he may run for the town’s top administrative job. He has also taken the first steps to set up a campaign to enable him to raise political funds. His treasurer, it appears, is Ed Zack, the former treasurer for First Selectwoman Cheryl Morris’s 2005 campaign.

Morris has told the Democratic Town Committee (DTC)she intends to seek the Democratic nomination at the party’s Branford convention on July 19. But so far she has not publicly announced her plans. Carrano said that she and Anthony “Unk “DaRos, the former popular First Selectman, will be interviewed by the party’s nominating committee next week. Panaroni, however, could be nominated from the convention floor.

DaRos, currently the front-runner for the nomination, responded to the Panaroni candidacy with outrage and disbelief.

” I can’t believe that a man beholden to Ed Marcus and associated with scandal would dare put himself out there to the voters again,” DaRos said, referring to the Morris-Marcus decision to lift a cease and correct order on property Panaroni owns in town in order to allow him to refinance it.

Panaroni had owned $50,000 in property taxes on his business property at 44 Tabor Drive. The Inland Wetlands Commission had attached a cease and correct order, making a mortgage refinance impossible. In addition, the Commission had leveled stiff fines because Panaroni had failed to correct IWC violations.He has since done so.

After the order was lifted, Panaroni got his mortgage. The order went back on the property at a later date. Town Attorney #2 Shelley Marcus justified the action, one she said she would do for any resident, because the town received $50,000 in back property taxes, which Panaroni had failed to pay, even though he was serving as a State Representative. Had the town foreclosed it would have received the property taxes, plus the fines.

DaRos disclosed that while serving as First Selectman (1997-2003) Panaroni approached him, asking for the same special treatment.

“Panaroni came to me twice, asking me to lift the cease and correct order on his property so that he could get a mortgage. Twice, I told him, ‘No. You need to do what every other citizen has to do—fix the problem.”

“Panaroni waited until Cheryl Morris was in Town Hall and Ed Marcus was Town Attorney. Then he asked again for the favor. They granted it and now he is beholden to Marcus. Peter Panaroni didn’t think he should have to fix his property like every other resident in that situation. He thought he should be able to take advantage of his political connections to get a favor. He just needed an administration in office that grants jobs and favors to their cronies,” Unk said.

The Eagle left a message with Panaroni for comment. The legislative session, where Panaroni has served for five terms, is over.

Just why he would run for First Selectman at this point in his career is not clear, especially since his term as a State Representative is not over. To put two Democrats, Panaroni and Morris, along with DaRos in a horse-race for the nomination, raises questions about the relationship between Panaroni and Morris and Marcus as well.

They have all been friends, not adversaries. “It now looks like we have two Marcus candidates in the race. And what does that tell you? It tells you that they don’t think either candidate can win, but they want to make sure that NO Democrat wins. They are out to destroy the party,” Unk said.

DaRos and running mate Fran Walsh say they expect to get the Democratic nod when the DTC votes on July 19. They will run as Democrats, even if it means a primary.

Carrano said Panaroni told him he, too, would run only as a Democrat. Carrano said he will urge Morris not to seek petitions in order to run as an Independent candidate.

“Any candidate who is not nominated by the Democratic Town Committee has the option to run a primary,” Carrano said in an interview.

“That is the process I believe that Democrats should follow. I don’t believe that a person who is not nominated by the town committee should jump into an independent candidacy. That’s repudiation not only of the party that has supported that person but also of the process. It denies the Democrats of Branford—and we have a substantial number of Democrats, between 8, 000 and 9,000 —-it denies them their right to participate in that process. It essentially repudiates your constituency.”

DaRos said he was not out to destroy the Democratic Party, where he now serves as vice-chair. “I am out to restore the party and its good reputation for clean, open and competent government….”

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