Editor’s note: certain points have been updated to clarify information about nominations, party affiliation and minority representation rules. Locations for edits have been marked and explanations have been notated at the end of the article.
The Democratic Town Committee met on Wednesday evening, July 16, to nominate and endorse its 2025 candidates for municipal office.
Among the candidates is Rich McCarty, an unaffiliated resident endorsed by the DTC for Board of Selectmen, who is also being considered to fill the currently open BOS seat vacated by former selectman Bas Nabulsi. Nabulsi’s vacated term ends in 2025, so McCarty would have to run this fall to keep the seat, if the BOS appoints him now.(1)
The other nominees include a mix of incumbents and familiar faces, combined with newcomers to Wilton politics and government.
The 2025 municipal elections take place on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
Wilton DTC Chair Tom Dubin said his party was “energized” by the many Wiltonians who wanted to run on the Democratic slate, with varying backgrounds and experience.
“The 18 endorsed candidates include unaffiliated voters along with longtime Democrats. They each bring important expertise and a collaborative spirit to the positions they seek,” Dubin said. “We look forward to introducing all of them to Wilton in the coming months.”
He said they were motivated to run by two things: “… a concern with what we see happening in Washington, and a belief that town government is not providing the leadership and vision that Wilton deserves.”
The Wilton Republican Town Committee nominated its candidates last week as well.
Below are the DTC-endorsed candidates, along with some information about the races. (All terms are four years unless indicated otherwise. Voters can vote for the number of seats that are open in all races except for Constable, which has five open seats, but voters can vote for up to three.)
Board of Selectmen
Candidate — Richard McCarty (Unaffiliated, Democrat endorsed): McCarty, a retired lawyer who has lived in Wilton since 1995, has previously served on the Wilton Fire Commission, including as chairman, as well as a limited-time appointed alternate to the Board of Assessment Appeals following the 2023 property revaluation. McCarty is scheduled to be interviewed by the BOS on Tuesday, July 22, to potentially fill the seat vacated when former selectman Nabulsi resigned before moving out of Wilton.
The DTC provided a comment from McCarty: “I want to thank the Democratic party for affording an [unaffiliated] the opportunity to serve the Wilton community. My experience in private and public service has taught me that the most lasting solutions arise from collaboration. I aim to foster bipartisan unity to find solutions to the challenges facing our community. My approach will focus on finding common ground and the timely delivery of results. I will seek out best practices and innovative strategies to move us forward.”
Candidate — David Tatkow (D): The DTC endorsed Tatkow for an unsuccessful bid for the Board of Finance in 2023. He has lived with his family in Wilton for 11 years, is on the Wilton Library Board of Trustees and is involved with Wilton Soccer. “In the role of Selectman, I hope to provide both level-headed and visionary leadership to protect our values from the current national administration, and to further develop the strengths that Wilton already has to offer,” Tatkow said in a DTC-provided quote.
The race — Two (2) open seats: With two Republicans on the BOS, including First Selectman Toni Boucher, only one additional registered Republican could be seated,(2) due to minority representation rules. If both DTC candidates win, McCarty would be considered a Democrat for minority representation purposes. In that case, the Democrats would have a BOS majority for the first time ever in Wilton.
Board of Finance
Candidate — Eric Fanwick (D): Fanwick, a 22-year resident of Wilton, has served on the Planning and Zoning Commission since 2017, following five years on the Zoning Board of Appeals and seven years on the Water Pollution Authority.
Candidate — Kari Roberts (D): Roberts has lived in Wilton for over 20 years. According to her LinkedIn profile, Roberts worked on Wall Street for 21 years, the last 11 at Credit Suisse; since 2008, she has “spent the past 16 years deeply involved in my Connecticut community. I have assumed many leadership roles in local community groups and projects.” This is her first run for elected municipal office.
The race — Three (3) open seats: The Republicans are running the BOF’s current chair Matt Raimondi for a second term, and current BOS member Kim Healy, who is giving up her seat there to try for BOF. With three other members who aren’t up for reelection — two Republicans and one Democrat — anyone of any party is eligible to be seated if elected.
Board of Education
Candidate — Nicola Davies (D): A first-term incumbent, Davies is the current BOE vice chair. She moved to Wilton in 2005 and was active for several years on the PTA before running for BOE. Davies has been involved with Minks to Sinks, A Better Chance of Wilton, Wilton Youth Council and Wilton Go Green. She was a substitute teacher at Middlebrook as well, and her children are graduates of the district.
Candidate — Pam Ely (D): A first-term incumbent, Ely has lived in Wilton since 1983 and spent her entire career in education and child advocacy. She was the director of the Children’s Day School in Wilton (CDSW) for 20 years and, before that the founder/co-director of a preschool that served as a state model of mainstreaming special needs children. She also worked in special education at Miller-Driscoll School for 10 years.
The race — Three (3) open seats: With the Democrats nominating two current BOE members for second terms, and the Republicans endorsing only one candidate, this race is currently uncontested, with three candidates running for three open seats. Unless a petition candidate emerges, all three will be elected.
Planning and Zoning Commission
Candidate — Trevor Huffard (D): According to his LinkedIn profile, Huffard is a structural insulated panel expert and design/build professional. This year, he was the nominations chair for the DTC, and this is his first run for elected office in Wilton since moving here in 2004.
Candidate — Ken Hoffman (D): Hoffman is a P&Z Commission incumbent who has lived in Wilton for over 25 years. Before moving to Wilton, he lived in Easton, where he served on the Board of Finance. Hoffman is the president and managing director of Optima Group, a consulting firm to the financial services industry. He has served on the Wilton Employees Retirement Plan Investment Committee since 2018
Candidate — Michelle Saglimbene (D): Saglimbene is a Doctor of Nursing Practice and clinical faculty member at Fairfield University who has lived in Wilton since 2019. This is her first time running for elected office in Wilton.
Candidate — Margit Ritz (D): Ritz is a television producer running for elected office for the first time in Wilton. She moved to Wilton in 2021.
Candidate — Jessica Rainey (D): Rainey is a senior legal assistant at Spring Nature Group. This is her first time running for elected office in Wilton. Rainey moved to Wilton in 2019.
The race — Five (5) open seats: Both parties have endorsed their maximum number of candidates who could be seated(3) — the Democrats have nominated five candidates and the Republicans have nominated three. In 2023 this race was uncontested, but with eight people running for five open seats, P&Z will be a competitive race for the 2025 municipal elections.
Zoning Board of Appeals
Candidate — Tony Iorfino (D): A Wilton resident since 2003, Iorfino is the current secretary of the Wilton DTC. This is his first run for office in Wilton.
Candidate — Liz Schiff (D): Schiff is a newcomer to Wilton, moving here in 2023. It’s her first foray into Wilton municipal politics. According to her LinkedIn profile, she is a teacher and tutor with 25 years of experience.
The race — Two (2) open seats: The Republicans have one endorsed candidate; with the two DTC nominees, this is a contested race.
Zoning Board of Appeals — two-year term
The DTC did not nominate a candidate in this race.
The race — Two (2) open seats: The RTC has one nominee, running unopposed.
Zoning Board of Appeals — Alternate
Candidate — Patti Frisch (D): Frisch has lived in Wilton since 1988. According to her LinkedIn profile, she is a real estate attorney with over 30 years of experience representing financial institutions and commercial and individual clients with commercial and residential real estate matters, including office leasing, property acquisition, sales, financing and land use. She has been involved in advocating for open space and historic preservation in Wilton. This is her first time as a candidate for public office.
The race — Two (2) open seats: The RTC nominated two candidates, so this is a contested race.
Zoning Board of Appeals — Alternate, two-year term
The DTC did not nominate a candidate in this race.
The race — One (1) open seat: Neither party nominated a candidate in this race, so the seat will go unfilled.
Board of Assessment Appeals
Candidate — Becca LaMantia (D): LaMantia is a former project manager and political organizer (and comedian) with experience in film, television and the nonprofit sector, according to her LinkedIn profile. This is her first time running for office in Wilton.
The race — One (1) open seat: The RTC has nominated one candidate.
Constable
Candidate — Bo Mitchell (D): Mitchell is a former Wilton police commissioner and constable, and helped create Wilton CERT (Community Emergency Response Team). He founded 911 Consulting, which creates emergency, disaster recovery, business continuity, crisis communications and pandemic plans, plus training and exercises for major corporations and universities. He has 22 certifications in homeland security, emergency management, disaster recovery, business continuity, safety and security.
Candidate — Ernie Ricco (D): A incumbent, Ricco is running for his fifth term as constable. Over the past 40 years, he has held various local, state and national elected and appointed government positions on commissions, boards and committees. His first elected seat was in 1985 at the age of 22 to the Stratford Town Council. He has lived in Wilton since 1994.
Candidate — Sara Sclafani (Unaffiliated, Democratic endorsed): A 12-year Wilton resident, Sclafani is a lawyer and human resources professional. She ran as an unaffiliated candidate for the Board of Education in 2023 but was unsuccessful. She has volunteered as co-president of the Miller-Driscoll PTA and co-leader of two local Girl Scout troops.
The race — Five (5) open seats, voters vote for three (3) candidates.
Some information was sourced from LinkedIn and Town of Wilton Land records.
Editor’s note: some clarifying information in this article was updated on Wednesday, July 23.
(1) We amended the statement that “…[Rich] McCarty would have to run this fall to keep the seat] with the conditional “if the BOS appoints him now” to clarify that his appointment is not a foregone conclusion.
(2) We clarified that minority representation rules limit how many registered party members can be seated on a board or commission, not how many candidates a party can nominate. In the case of the Board of Selectmen race, this means only one registered Republican can be seated. Each party may nominate up to the number of seats voters are allowed to vote for. In the case of the BOS race, that limit would be two candidates.
(3) For the Planning and Zoning Commission race, we clarified that the parties have nominated the maximum number of candidates that could be seated, not the maximum number of candidates that could be nominated. This too relates to minority representation rules, which only refer to the numbers each party can seat, not place on the ballot. Each party may nominate up to the number of seats voters are allowed to vote for. In the case of the P&Z race, that limit would be five candidates. This year, the RTC nominated three — two fewer than the limit.