Let Election Season Begin! The GMW Interview: RTC Chair Al Alper

Next November 3 is Election Day, and while summer days are ours right now, campaign time will be here before you know it.

This year’s municipal election promises to be much more competitive, for many reasons. Chief among them is first selectman Bill Brennan has announced he will not be seeking re-election. With Democrat Deborah McFadden announcing that she was throwing her hat into the arena to seek the seat, it just about guaranteed that both the Democrats and Republicans will offer up candidates for the seat for the first time in 10 years.

Not only that, but the possibility exists that more than two candidates will try for the seat, as several residents active in Wilton’s government are rumored to have expressed an interest in running. What’s more, there are several other seats opening up on all the boards that fill spots by vote. And that’s not even considering whether any unaffiliated candidates–or even someone put forward by Sensible Wilton–would add to the mix. [SW president Alex Ruskewich told GMW that the group isn’t planning on running a candidate at this point, but that personally he will, “…encourage others to support a candidate who will be fiscally responsible and will have a position of full transparency in government.”]

So GOOD Morning Wilton reached out to the chairmen of both the Wilton Democratic Town Committee (DTC) and Wilton Republican Town Committee (RTC), to talk to them about the coming election season and what they see as the important issues facing the town.

First up, our GMW Interview with RTC chair Al Alper. [Tomorrow we’ll run our interview with outgoing DTC chair Tom Dec.]

GOOD Morning Wilton:  When do nominations and endorsements happen for the RTC?

Al Alper: Soon. Officially the endorsement has to happen between the 21st [of July] and the 28th. That’s state law, so we have little control over that. And no, seven people in a closed room don’t pick. In spite of the rhetoric, it would behoove a candidate for first selectman to have a full understanding of the process before making such a gross misrepresentation.

[Alper was referring to comments made by Deborah McFadden in a June 30 interview with GMW.com, in which she said,

“Historically, the last couple of elections what’s happened is the Republican nominating committee has selected their candidate, that then goes to the Republican Town Committee. That’s the process, so you have a group of seven people in a closed room picking who has ended up as our first selectman. I’m excited to be part of the process where the citizens are actually going to get a choice. So I can’t wait to see who I’m going to wind up running against.”

Alper later contacted GMW to further underscore his thoughts:]

I think her comments regarding the process by which the RTC picks candidates is grossly misinformed. Our process is as open a process as it could be, excepting for a general primary process. We’re a party, and our party–writ large–has the opportunity to weigh in on any candidates that we’re going to endorse. In order to do that they need to show up at meetings. Any candidate has the right to be heard by the entire RTC and make their case as to why they should be endorsed.

Ultimately, the RTC is the only body that makes the decision–40 people, not the few people she pointed to in a closed room behind smoke and mirrors. It is an open process held at an open meeting of the RTC, to which anybody in the public could attend. And the 40 members who are the elected Republican representatives of the town of Wilton are the ultimate arbiters of who should be the endorsed candidate. Not some subset of that group; not a few people there; but those 40 people who have been elected as Republican representatives to the RTC.

The Wilton RTC meeting to endorse candidates for the November elections is on Wednesday, July 22 at 7:30 p.m. at Trackside Teen Center. Anybody can speak at that meeting. The only people that can move candidates, second candidates and vote on candidates are the RTC members. We frequently have members of the public there–Republicans, Independents, and from time to time, Democrats come to our meetings. We’re a wide open meeting. The come, they speak on whatever issues. We have an agenda, but part of that agenda is public participation, where anybody can ask any question.

GMW:  Any comments about the one declared candidate and the field?

AA:   We welcome a healthy competition. It’s been a while since we’ve had the opportunity to go to the public with more than just one voice. We welcome the challenge.

GMW:  I’ve heard rumors of a couple different Republicans who are weighing running for first selectman. Is it possible we might see more than one Republican name out there? Might the RTC have to primary?

AA:  There’s no way of knowing that. Realistically, the candidates choose; we don’t make that choice. The RTC endorses a candidate; that becomes the Republican candidate for first selectman–unless there’s a challenge. Then it goes to a primary, and only the candidates can decide if they want that.

We’ve got a few people who are being interviewed and who are being considered.

GMW:  Are these all names that Wilton will find familiar?

AA:  Very. All of them are outstanding candidates. As a voter and citizen, I’ve had the pleasure of knowing and working with all of them, and they are all just outstanding candidates, with a wealth of experience for the job.

GMW:  Let’s talk about the other seats that are up during this election. 

AA:  On the Board of Finance, I believe that there are two–I’ve termed out so I can’t run again. I believe Lynn Vanderslice is up as well. She’s got to run for re-election.

GMW:  Let’s say, hypothetically, she runs for first selectman.

AA:  Then, like McFadden, she can’t run for re-election. If she is selected [as an RTC Bd. of Finance candidate], then she can’t run for the selectman seat. That was the last charter change–by making it a stand alone election, state statute precludes you from running for two seats.

There are three seats up on the Bd. of Finance–two are Republican, one is a Democrat. I don’t know what they’re doing on that side of the aisle.

GMW:  Interestingly, this may be a field of many women running for first selectman.

AA:  Possibly. If that matters, I guess. We want the most qualified candidate. If they happen to be women, awesome. If they don’t, people should not vote by sex alone. It would be, in my opinion, degrading to the sex if they did.

GMW:  Anything else you’d like to ad about the coming season?

AA:  We’re all looking forward to a healthy, competitive race, that should provide for some very good debate. I think it’s important that whichever first selectman candidates are going against each other, there should be–given the current financial state of the state, and the federal government, and the last vote at the Town Meeting–a healthy respect for finance, and I mean a skill set, to navigate these waters is an absolute must in any candidate.

I suspect that whoever we choose will be speaking to that at length and regularly.

GMW:  How much do you think that Sensible Wilton will impact this year’s municipal election?

AA:  It depends on the candidates. If they are encouraged by the candidate they see, they will have a stronger turnout.

They are a hyper-minority, in spite of their rhetoric. As a result of that, if they could turn out a few hundred, I’d be surprised. It’s not to say that there aren’t people who are sympathetic to their cause, because I do think the [town budget] vote demonstrated a sympathy. Not for them as a body, but for the cause. Particularly if you look at the vote for the bonding issues, which passed by overwhelming majority, and the vote against the budget, which failed by a majority.

Which is also one of the reasons I was dismayed at Deborah’s announcement. I thought that she would have spoken more to the vote and the financial aspects of it. Which is why someone with the financial acumen to navigate these waters is paramount. A healthy and full understanding of what goes into the budget, and what the line items mean–not just in terms of dollars and cents but in what they mean in terms of the services delivered and the quality of life–and responding to the last town vote is paramount.

I think any of our candidates will do that, and that’s part and parcel of the vetting process. The right candidate speaking to the issues in an articulate way, with a full understanding of those issues, and knowing how to carve a path toward getting there, is going to win the day with significant margins. I don’t think that Sensible Wilton as a body has much impact, but the issues which define them defined the last vote–and that is what will have the impact.

Every one of the individuals we have spoken to have a command of the facts, have a command of the line items, have a command of the issues.

I don’t even think it’s fair to give them the creditability of saying that they’ll have an impact, because it implies that they’re credible to begin with. They have people who sort of come out in their name, but nobody whose name is listed as the person responsible.

GMW:  But Alex Ruskewich is the president…

AA:  But if you look at his lawsuit, he’s not the one named, is he. Because if he was named, then he’d the one we could go after if he fails and the town has to bear a cost. All of their e-mails that go out under a veil of anonymity, and they respond under that same anonymous veil, which is why I won’t even speak to them. I’m not speaking to the wind.

If they want to be considered a serious organization, there should be somebody that’s speaking for them and not some quote-unquote president. Put your name on it. You truly believe in it? Put your name on the lawsuit. If you’re so certain of yourself, put your name there. If you’re not willing to do that, you can’t even make a credible argument to yourself. Everybody wants to throw stones.

Get involved. Standing on the sidelines throwing bombs, casting aspersions on volunteers who give up their family and professional lives to help family and neighbors is disgusting. Put your name on the suit so that if you lose, we have somebody to go after to pay the taxpayer back for your arbitrary and capricious litigation.

They’re not of a significant number as to sway a vote. But the sentiment that they represent is, That’s very important. The sentiment is absolutely what we’re seeing here.

I voted against the Bd. of Finance budget the last three budgets, because I have felt this sentiment for a couple of years. I think that’s manifested itself into this Sensible Wilton. It’s what they’re representing, not them as a body, because I don’t believe they’re a credible body.