Newtown May Lose Its Health Director On Election Day

By Jan Howard

Newtown may need to be on the lookout for a new director of health, depending on the results of the upcoming November 6 election in Southbury.

Director of Health Mark Cooper, a resident of Southbury, is running for first selectman in that town against Democrat Carol Hubert.

Mr Cooper has been employed in the health field in Newtown for about 16 years, first as senior sanitarian. About ten years ago he became the Newtown Health District’s first full time director of health.

Mr Cooper said First Selectman Herbert Rosenthal is aware of his candidacy, and the board of directors of the Health District has a contingency plan in place should he win the first selectman post in Southbury. The board would be responsible for advertising and hiring a new director of health, he noted.

Between the election in November and the swearing-in of new town officials in December, Mr Cooper said there would be roughly a month “to square things up,” noting the Health District office would be well prepared by November 6 should he win the election.

 Dr Thomas Draper, who serves as health advisor to the district, is also associate director of health, Mr Cooper said, noting that Dr Draper is currently familiarizing himself with what is currently going on in the department.

“He is well qualified to run the public health office’s day-to-day activities,” Mr Cooper said, “as he has in the past.” He added that Dr Draper could take over in the event he wins the election and if there would be a break in coverage between when he would leave and when a new director would be named.