Date: Fri 28-Nov-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

former-first-selectment

Full Text:

Cascella To Join A Short List Of Living Former First Selectmen

(with cuts)

B Y S TEVE B IGHAM

Now that Bob Cascella is leaving office, he will achieve a special status

reserved for a very few: former first selectmen of Newtown.

He joins Zita McMahon, Rod MacKenzie, Jack Rosenthal and Frank DeLucia as the

only living former chief executives of the town. There is no club for them,

there are no membership cards, and the group never holds meetings. They are

linked together only in their leadership of the town over the past 25 years.

This week, The Bee contacted the four former first selectmen to see what they

are doing now.

Zita McMahon (1989-93)

Zita McMahon still lives in Newtown, but has chosen to stay out of the

limelight since leaving office nearly four years ago. These days she devotes

her time to her grandchildren.

"I'm taking a more quiet route. I think it was a wise decision on my part,"

she said earlier this week. "My involvement was most positive for the party

when I was in office."

Mrs McMahon, a Democrat, now serves as the personnel director at Cooperative

Educational Services in Trumbull. She was first elected to office in 1989,

defeating Republican Joe Borst in the municipal election. Four years later,

she was defeated by Mr Cascella.

Before her four-year term as first selectman, Mrs McMahon spent 12 years as a

grants administrator for then-first selectman Jack Rosenthal.

Rod MacKenzie (1987-89)

Rod MacKenzie was living temporarily in Fairfield when The Bee reached him

earlier this week. He is working part-time at the American Lung Association in

Norwalk. However, he expects to return to his home in Chicago to complete his

master's degree in counseling and psychology at Benedictine College.

Mr MacKenzie, an attorney, left office in Newtown after a tumultuous two-year

stint as first selectman. Since then, he has been convicted of bank fraud, a

felony crime he insists he never committed. Because he was suffering from

cancer at the time, he was not given any prison time. He has since recovered

from his illness, but has been disbarred.

After his stint as first selectman in Newtown, Mr MacKenzie was hired by the

town of Salisbury, Mass., as town manager. He later moved to Chicago.

The former first selectman said he still takes an interest in Newtown news and

keeps abreast by reading The Bee over the Internet.

He often returns to Newtown to visit his sister, Isabelle Murray.

Like Mr Cascella, Mr MacKenzie left office never having lost an election.

Jack Rosenthal (1976-87)

Jack Rosenthal still lives in Newtown and recently completed a stint on the

Legislative Council. No doubt his interest in local politics will continue as

his son, Herb, takes over the first selectman's office this Sunday.

Mr Rosenthal also works part-time as the administrative assistant for the

Newtown Chamber of Commerce.

As for running the town, Mr Rosenthal said the issues change, but the

challenges of the job appear to remain constant.

"The problems seem to be the same, only the budgets are larger, there are more

roads, more people, but you're still dealing with humans, and I always found

that it was a job where you had many contacts with the people of the town," Mr

Rosenthal said. "I found the public turned to the first selectman just as it

would a doctor or local attorney."

Frank DeLucia (1972-75)

Frank DeLucia has been the executive director at Nunnawauk Meadows since 1984.

He is also a deputy sheriff for Fairfield County.

"I still follow local politics. I'm not active on the town committee anymore,

but I still stay in touch," he said.

Mr DeLucia was in office when the town switched its form of government from a

finance board to a legislative council. He was there when the town first hired

a social worker and zoning enforcement officer.

"I saw changes as the town was just starting to grow that are now being taken

to the next level in terms of growth," he said.

Mr DeLucia said he recommended that the town hire a town planner 20 years ago.

"If we had done it then, I don't think it would have been an issue," he said.

"The planner's job would be to constantly update the plan of development.

We're sort of reacting now," he said.

Mr DeLucia believes the town should consider purchasing the Fairfield Hills

property from the state.

"It would be a high cost, but think of the advantages," he said. "There's so

much potential there. I don't think that question has ever been asked of the

state."

Back in 1972, Mr DeLucia took over in mid-term for Tim Treadwell, who was

killed in a fire. He served for three years before being defeated by Mr

Rosenthal. He served on the Board of Selectmen for the next two years.