GOP Chairman Resigns;

Vice Chair Steps Up

By John Voket

To say Charles “Chuck” Stofko rose through the ranks of Newtown’s Republican party rapidly may be an understatement. Just a few weeks after formally affiliating himself with the GOP, Mr Stofko found himself in an interesting and some say, unenviable position — considering an offer to take the reigns as Republican Town Committee chairman.

But this week, slightly less than a year after accepting the party leadership position, Mr Stofko resigned, leaving party vice chairman Joseph DiCandido temporarily in charge. According to a press release issued by the Newtown RTC, “Chairman Stofko submitted his resignation, effective immediately[March 14], to the committee.”

The release states, “[I]n his resignation, Chuck stated that unforeseen demands in his career and the career of his wife have made it impossible for him to commit the time necessary to carry out the duties of chairman.”

His wife, Carolyn Signorelli, serves in a recently created position as Connecticut’s Chief Child Protection Attorney, as well as locally as a Charter Revision Commissioner. Besides his volunteer work with the party, Mr Stofko also has been attempting to organize a local committee to help underwrite the costs local residents incur hosting thousands of families who flock to Newtown annually for Halloween activities on Main Street.

The resignation announcement came two days after what sources characterized as a stormy RTC meeting March 12, during which a vote of no confidence in Mr Stofko’s leadership was tendered. That proposal was diffused, however, when town committee leaders called for an executive session, excluding the public from discussions on the party and, presumably, Mr Stofko’s tenure.

While no one would directly relate the resignation to other recent developments among longtime party personnel, numerous Republican insiders expressed discontent over Mr Stofko’s reported dismissal of the RTC’s candidates subcommittee via an email dispatch. Newtown Legislative Council Chairman Will Rodgers, the local ranking GOP elected leader, confirmed that following the executive session, Mr Stofko moved to reinstate that subcommittee, which includes Selectman William Brimmer, Jr, school board member Paul Mangiafico, and longtime party supporter Barbara O’Connor.

Ms O’Connor, who previously served as the candidates subcommittee chair, said Wednesday that since the committee was officially dismissed, she is presuming the reinstatement will require the panel to effectively “start from scratch,” electing a new chair at its next meeting, which has yet to be scheduled.

Ms O’Connor said once the candidates subcommittee re-forms itself, its members will have their work cut out for them. She said to date, the GOP has yet to qualify a single eligible candidate to run for elected office this November, although local Republican Matt DeAngelis and Mr Mangiafico have both suggested they are considering running for the first selectmen’s seat.

“No [potential candidates have] talked to anybody on the candidates committee yet,” Ms O’Connor said. “It’s kind of early but the consensus is we should start looking.”

She said there is no specific plan to first identify a top-of-ticket volunteer before qualifying other underticket contenders.

 “We’ll look at any qualified member of the party,” she said, adding, “The door is open and the time is now to step up.”

Mr DiCandido would not speculate on reasons for Mr Stofko’s departure except to say it takes a period of time in any organization to establish an appropriate “management style.”

“It’s hard to tell where the motion for the no confidence vote came from, but suffice to say it never got to a vote. Now it’s a moot point,” Mr DiCandido said. “The bottom line is, when we were looking for a new chairman, nobody else volunteered. So despite some who may have questioned Chuck’s management style, he stepped up. He was a go-getter.”

Mr DiCandido said while it was within the scope of his responsibilities to take over the RTC leadership following Mr Stofko’s resignation, he neither sees himself in that position permanently, nor is he looking to advance his elected status beyond his seat on the council and his chairing the council’s finance subcommittee.

“The word ‘temporary’ is the operative term,” Mr DiCandido said Thursday morning. “I’m still working full-time, and there’s a lot on my plate right now. I am looking forward to someone taking over the leadership role as soon as possible.”

That role, at least through the next election cycle, may be filled by RTC treasurer Amy Mangold. Ms Mangold said upon Mr Stofko’s departure, she offered to assist the party in any way possible, including considering filling the chair position.

“I made the offer to participate until the election cycle,” she told The Bee Wednesday. “I assume the next step will be an official vote at the next RTC meeting. The by-laws, based on what I heard, apparently requires Joe [DiCandido to lead the RTC] until a new chair is voted upon.”