Election Day is months away, but that’s not stopping Fairfield voters from electing their first selectperson on Tuesday, Feb 3.
The special election comes after former Fairfield first selectman Bill Gerber, a Democrat, suddenly died in office last year.
Gerber’s running mate, Christine Vitale, succeeded him, citing the town charter’s succession policy in previous reporting from Connecticut Public.
Town Republicans argue the process lacked transparency. Republican State Sen. Tony Hwang is running against Vitale. Hwang was able to get enough signatures to call for a special election in 2025.
One of the election’s driving issues is the fear of overdevelopment, and both candidates say they’re committed to maintaining Fairfield’s small town character.
Vitale says she’s running to continue Gerber’s agenda, including opposing United Illuminating’s plan to replace existing electric transmission lines along the Metro North railroad line between Fairfield and Bridgeport and install several monopoles to modernize the power grid. Residents have objected to the plan due to aesthetic and environmental concerns. Vitale said she would also move forward with plans to upgrade the town’s infrastructure.
Hwang (Wong) says he will focus on town services and cut spending as well as independent fiscal audits.
But as Election Day nears, both campaigns ramped up their attacks on each other.
Town democrats and at least one Republican who served as the town attorney called into question Hwang’s personal motives and claimed his race is driven by self interest. Hwang said the town’s finances have been mismanaged, saying he would have independent fiscal audits.
Vitale and Hwang aren’t the only candidates. Matthew Hallock, who runs a hyper local news publication called The Voice, is running as a petitioning candidate.
