Melissa and Chuck Pilchard –

Newtown’s Popular Political ‘Odd Couple’ Will Be Moving On

By Steve Bigham

The 45-year marriage of Chuck and Melissa Pilchard is proof that opposites do attract.

Chuck, an early bird, loves music, likes tennis, and is generally regarded as a calm, even-tempered sort; always one to avoid confrontation. Then there’s Melissa…

She’s a night owl, is not crazy about music, was never much of a tennis player, and is about as calm as a hurricane. She has described herself as both “volatile” and “incendiary,” and after 30 years in Newtown, she and her husband are moving next month, headed to West Virginia for the time being to help out his aging parents.

Since the Pilchards arrived in Newtown back in 1972, they have been quick to lend a hand or a voice to any cause in which they believed. And after speaking out in support of the town budget less than a week after moving in, Mrs Pilchard made it clear she would be a force to be reckoned with (even at a time when women were expected to do more cooking and less legislating). And she backed it up with 22 years of tireless service as a member of the Legislative Council. The Democrat leaves as the longest-serving council member in town history, almost twice as many years as Bill Honan, the next longest to serve.

Mrs Pilchard was elected to the town’s first-ever Legislative Council back in 1975 and, except for a pair of two-year terms when she opted not to run, has been serving ever since.

“I never had another objective. I only wanted to do what I thought was right for Newtown, even if it wasn’t always the most popular,” she said this week. “I was always told that you’ve got to climb out there to the end of the branch because that’s where the fruit is. Sometimes the branch can break, but that’s the chance you’ve got to take.”

And while Mr Pilchard’s tenure on local boards and commissions was conservative and measured, Mrs Pilchard’s was at times controversial. She says she was the one who always stepped up to the plate to say what needed to be said, even if no one else was willing to say it.

“Nobody wanted to hear the ramifications of spending all that money and they resented it when I said it,” she said, “but I wouldn’t change a thing.”

And standing behind her all the way – through thick and thin – was Mr Pilchard, who often wrote letters to the editor in support of his wife at election time.

“He’s my rock,” Mrs Pilchard said. “He’s very supportive in every way. Not everyone would have been OK with having their wife traipsing around at meetings until one o’clock in the morning, but Chuck never complained. It was never, ‘Where’s my dinner?’”

Mr Pilchard, a behind-the-scenes guy on the Democratic Town Committee for many years, joined the Police Commission two years ago. He arrived in the middle of the ongoing battle between the commission and embattled former police chief James Lysaght. And while some commission members appeared determined to oust the chief, Mr Pilchard brought an open mind and a willingness to listen to the issue. In the end, however, even he could not save Mr Lysaght.

  “It was a little too late to save him if one had wanted to save him. He just did several things that were not of executive quality,” Mr Pilchard said.

College Sweethearts

Chuck and Melissa met while in college at West Virginia University. According to Melissa, the young college boy never had a chance from the moment she set eyes on him. Melissa spotted Chuck from across the room at a weekend sorority party and the rest is history. For Melissa, a high school cheerleader, it was love at first sight. It took a little longer for Chuck.

“I thought she was beautiful, but I was not enamored. I was by Thursday, though,” recalled Chuck, who grew up in West Virginia. Melissa calls him her “little Mountaineer.”

The two eventually graduated from the University of Maryland with Melissa receiving magna cum laude honors. She had majored in biochemistry and pre-law, while Chuck was a marketing major. He went on to work in the marketing field, while Melissa’s plan changed, especially after bringing up sons Ted and Ben. Today, she is a successful real estate agent with William Pitt Real Estate and hopes to continue in that field in the years to come.

Her Hometown

Having moved from place to place as a child, Mrs Pilchard never had what she considered to be a “hometown”…until, of course, she moved to Newtown. The Pilchards discovered this quaint little town 30 years ago during a weekend trip from their home in New Jersey. They noticed parked cars that were unlocked with the windows down. How impressive, they thought.

“We decided we wanted to come here where people have trust in one another,” they said.

And the Pilchards grew to love what was once a sleepy little town and they met lots of friends. They recalled the town meetings where farmers would get up to speak in their overalls and boots, only to be followed by an elegantly dressed woman who looked like she just arrived from a shopping trip on Fifth Avenue.

“We just cared about everything in this town. I had never had a hometown before. This is my hometown,” Mrs Pilchard said. “We used to think that only the nicest people moved to Newtown or that the town had a way of turning them into the nicest people.”

In recent years, however, the Pilchards, especially Melissa, have taken a different view of things. Now they see a population made up of self-interested or self-motivated people who suffer from a case of what she calls the “not in my backyard” or the “me, me, me, me” syndrome.

And the last two years on the council may have been the straw that broke the camel’s back for Mrs Pilchard, who had to endure attacks from the public and from fellow members. The problems reached their peak with the Charter Revision Commission’s proposed changes to town government, which Mrs Pilchard strongly opposed. The controversy eventually led to the resignation of council chairman Pierre Rochman, leaving Mrs Pilchard, the vice chair, in charge.

“These last two years have been tough to say the least,” she said shaking her head.

Republican Town Committee Chairperson Marie Sturdevant, a close friend, said the town would sorely miss the Pilchard duo. She called Mrs Pilchard a loyal person, who provided a great deal of knowledge and historical perspective to the council.

“I have a great deal of admiration for Melissa. Not only did she fight for the town, but she was also always the first person to lend a helping hand for someone in need. There aren’t a lot of Melissa Pilchards in the world. She’s a very special lady.”

Mrs Sturdevant said it has been hurtful for her to have to watch “the way she’s been treated lately, with such disrespect. It was terrible.”

Her critics suggest Mrs Pilchard brought much of it on herself. Her willingness to speak out has always made her a lightning rod for criticism. Her harsh statements against the Charter Revision Commission and its chairman, Bill Sheluck, were no exception. Two weeks ago, she threatened to call the police on Mr Sheluck after he spoke up at a council meeting.

Through it all, however, Mrs Pilchard remained popular with the general electorate and never lost an election. She was a perfect 11-for-11 probably because people saw how much she cared for their town and entrusted her to help lead it.