Cosgrove Takes Republican Endorsement For 1st Selectman

Jamie Cosgrove won the Republican endorsement for first selectman over Board of Finance member Kurt Schwanfelder last night. A packed house cast a virtually equal voice vote for each candidate, necessitating a hand vote that went Cosgrove’s way.

About 130 Republicans filled the community room at Branford fire headquarters for a caucus that took an hour to conduct. Any registered Republican was able to vote. Many in the room said the crowd was one of the largest they had seen in many years. The Democratic Town Committee (DTC) meets tonight at 8.p.m. at Canoe Brook Senior Center, where Second Selectman Andy Campbell is expected to be formally nominated by First Selectman Unk DaRos for the town’s top post. 

Schwanfelder said afterward that he thought the outcome would have been different had paper ballots been used. After he lost, Schwanfelder said he would not run in a primary, saying it was too divisive and expensive.

Before the vote was taken, one female voter made a motion from the floor that was seconded seeking to vote via paper ballot. Ray Ingraham (pictured), the chair of the Republican Town Committee, said the rules committee had previously spoken on the issue. Kyle Nelson, the rules committee chair, announced at the outset that the rules committee had adopted a voting plan: there would be a voice vote and if necessary a hand vote. There was no mention of paper ballots.

Joe Cogguillo, who returned to the fold last night to act as temporary chair of the caucus, immediately asked Attorney Peter Berdon, the appointed parliamentarian, for his view. Berdon repeated the voice vote, hand vote plan that the committee had adopted. His view was there would be no change despite the request from the floor. He declined to be interviewed afterwards. 

When it came time for the hand vote, a number of would-be voters just sat on their hands, so to speak. They did not vote.

Afterwards, Schwanfelder said he believed that many in the room wanted to vote via paper ballot. They were unwilling to vote publicly. He estimated that about 60 people went for Cosgrove and 30 for him. Another 30 to 40 people did not vote at all.

Schwanfelder later told the Eagle that he had been told the vote would be by paper ballot and he conveyed that information to many of his supporters.

“The people were shut out,” he said in a subsequent telephone interview. ​“From where I was standing, when they learned they could not vote by paper ballot, their jaws were on the floor. They came to vote. They should have the freedom to have a paper ballot. We were told it would be a paper ballot,” Schwanfelder (pictured) said.

Many in the room were old guard Democrats who have become Republicans, folks who worked with Jamie Cosgrove’s grandfather, Dan Cosgrove, a Democratic powerhouse in Branford and in the state decades ago. There were others in the room affiliated with Cosgrove’s Taxpayer Party.

Candidates Do Not Address Caucus

The caucus was unusual in another way. The candidates themselves were not permitted to speak to the caucus audience before the vote. The only ones permitted to speak on their behalf were the persons who agreed to nominate them.

Jamie Cosgrove selected Bill Aniskovich (pictured), a former Republican state senator from this district, to nominate him. Aniskovich agreed because, he said, he believes in Cosgrove. He described the candidate as ​“fair and honest. And Jamie loves Branford. And we could do a lot worse than a first selectman who is fair and honest and loves Branford.”

Aniskovich’s public appearance marked the first time in two years that he has made an official public appearance on behalf of a candidate. He has kept a low political profile but it appears he is back on the political scene.
 
As his wife Jennifer looked on he told the group that Jamie’s run for first selectman ​“brought me back to this process, brought me here tonight.” He said Cosgrove sat ​“in my living room and he told Jen and me, you know what Bill, I am running but I am not running against another person, I am not running against a party, I am not running against an issue; I am running for this town. … I want to see it stay the town we grew up in, the town we love, and a town that can get better. I believe in honesty, in transparency, in unity.”

Aniskovich also addressed the reality that the Cosgrove name comes with many definitions along with a long history in town that may not sit well with many who remember the Cosgrove Democratic political machine. 

He acknowledged that ​“people will have their opinions of the Cosgrove family. He said his opinions came from his grandparents, who came here from Italy and Poland.

They were not Irish, he said, ​“but they were welcomed warmly by a community that included Dan Cosgrove and the other founders of this town who through their commitment to public service built the community that we love and that we call home, and they handed on that commitment to public service to their children and their grandchildren and we are blessed to have one of those people as our nominee tonight.” 

Jennifer Aniskovich, who served on the Board of Finance until her term was up (she was replaced by Schwanfelder), did not address the crowd.

The Cosgrove family, including Jamie’s family and his aunt. Susan Cosgrove Barnes, were on hand. Dan Cosgrove, who is 95, did not attend. Mark Cosgrove, one of Dan Cosgrove’s sons and Jamie’s uncle, is also seeking a seat this year on the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) from District 2 in the Stony Creek area. 

Frank Twohill, (pictured) the Republican minority leader of the RTM, nominated Schwanfelder. He told the audience that Schwanfelder, who is a forceful speaker, addressed the nominating meeting in June.

“Kurt Schwanfelder has served this town for decades, on the RTM, on the police commission . … He is the better candidate because two weeks after election he can hit the ground running. Kurt knows the departments, the department heads, the personnel [at Town Hall]. He can do it all from day one. He has a great track record. He was the majority and minority RTM leader. I served with him for many years. If he believed something he said it. Kurt encouraged us to vote with our hearts. He is a unique individual and he will lead this town very well. He has years of experience; Kurt is the better choice.”

Twohill also attacked the Democrats, not the approach Cosgrove is taking, saying it has been ​“bungle after bungle, ever since John Opie left the office of first selectman. First it was Cheryl Morris and then the return of Mr. DaRos; it was one bungle after the next.” He decried high legal fees and ​“the public works debacle and the horrible swap involving the senior center.”
 
He said the campaign will cost $100,000. Regardless of who won the night’s vote, he said at the outset, the party had to unite immediately. He concluded with a passionate push for Schwanfelder: ​“We have to elect someone who knows Branford and who loves Branford …. All the Dems respected Kurt. When Kurt spoke, people listened. Now he is asking for your vote.”

Other Candidates

In other actions at the caucus, the Republicans cross-endorsed the current tax collector Joanne Cleary, who is running on the Democratic ticket.
Cosgrove said in an interview afterwards that ​“this should not be a political position.” Cleary, he said, ​“does an excellent job. I believe if somebody is doing a great job and she is doing a great job, let’s endorse her.”

Cosgrove also selected Joe Higgins, a retired New York City fire official who headed the dispatch unit during 9 – 11, to serve as his second selectman.

“I wanted somebody who was a quality candidate. I would be hard pressed to find anybody better than Joe. He has extensive background in public safety and after what we have been through in the last two years,” he said, referring to the public works building issue. ​“He can provide a lot of guidance.”

Lisa Arpin, the parish administrator at St. Mary’s Church was nominated for the town clerk position. She is an unaffiliated voter, she told the Eagle. ​“I hope to go from church lady to town lady, ​“she said. ​“I am honored by this nomination. And I look forward to serving the town on a non-partisan level. I bring a lot of energy and administrative experience with me for this job.”

The chairs of the Republican districts, seven in all, announced a total of 20 candidates to run for RTM slots. All but one current incumbent is seeking re-election.There are currently 11 Republicans on the 30-member RTM. Beth Bryan Almeida, of the 5th District, is getting married and moving to Meriden, she told the RTM at its last meeting.

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