BREAKING NEWS, July 8, 2015—At their meeting last night, the Wilton Democratic Town Committee officially endorsed Deborah McFadden to be their candidate in the upcoming race for Wilton’s first selectman. They also elected Maryli Secrest to lead the DTC, replacing outgoing chairman Tom Dec, who is headed to UC Berkeley School of Law in the fall.

“The DTC overwhelmingly endorsed Deborah McFadden for first selectman tonight. She will bring a fresh perspective to Town Hall and do an outstanding job. We’re looking to a vigorous campaign in the months ahead.” Dec said.

He confirmed that no other candidates were considered or voted on. “A motion was made at the meeting to endorse McFadden and that motion carried,” Dec wrote in an email to GMW.com.

The first selectman position, which carries a 4-year term, will be filled by voters at the next municipal election on Nov. 3.

McFadden emailed a statement to GMW.com shortly after the endorsement.

“I am delighted to receive the endorsement of the Wilton Democratic Town Committee and appreciate their confidence in my candidacy. I am looking forward to the July 22 Caucus to seek the party nomination. In the meantime, I continue to welcome the thoughts of the people of Wilton regarding issues important to them,” she wrote.

McFadden is currently vice-chair of the DTC. She also serves as a member of the Board of Selectmen, a position she has held since January when she was appointed to replace Ted Hoffstatter following his resignation from the BoS. McFadden’s term is up this November.

The DTC will hold a caucus on July 22 at which all registered Democrats in Wilton are eligible to participate. McFadden will officially become the nominee if she is chosen by a majority of those who cast votes at the caucus.

During the meeting, the DTC did not endorse candidates for any of the other available elected positions on other Wilton boards–selectmen, finance, education, planning and zoning, and the zoning board of appeals.  “Other slate positions will be considered at caucus; we only voted to endorse for first selectman tonight,” Dec confirmed.

Maryli Secrest is New DTC Chair

The DTC also voted to elect Maryli Secrest their new chair. Secrest is campaign manager for Bill Finch, the incumbent mayor of Bridgeport, and has previously worked for Congressman Jim Himes as a campaign manager and political director.

McFadden had high praise for Secrest. “She will be awesome. She brings experience, passion and a high skill set, and I am excited to be working with her,” she said, adding that Secrest is the fifth DTC chair she’ll have served with as vice chair.

Secrest succeeds Dec, who is departing to attend law school.

Click here to read our exclusive interview with outgoing DTC chair Tom Dec on the upcoming race, his look back at his time with the DTC, and what he thinks are the most pressing issues facing Wilton.  

Dec was DTC chair for two years, and was the youngest person to ever hold the position. For the last year he’s been working as a special assistant to the mayor of Stamford, focused mainly on communications and press relations. He set other benchmarks, being the second-youngest person (and youngest man) at age 20 to ever be a delegate to a national political convention from CT when he went to the Democratic Convention in 2012. Now 23-years-old, he’s headed to law school at UC Berkeley this fall.

McFadden read a resolution from the DTC praising Dec, and said she was grateful for the experience of working with him.

“Even though we are of different generations we have worked well as a team. He has maturity beyond his years and Wilton has been fortunate to have been the beneficiary of his service and commitment. I wish him the best as he heads to California for law school but hope he returns to Connecticut for his career,” she said.