Smith Uncontested in Deep River as Three Compete for Board of Selectman

By Charles Stannard

DEEP RIVER— Democratic First Selectman Richard Smith is cruising uncontested to a record 11th term as three candidates, a Democrat, a Republican, and an unaffiliated incumbent, compete for seats on the board of selectmen.

Smith, 58, said he believes a “20-year track record of accomplishment,” along with the fact that many of the issues from 2007 are now resolved, has enabled him to run unopposed this year. Two years ago, debate over downtown redevelopment and town hall and firehouse expansion projects fueled the formation of the Deep River Independent Party. Smith defeated John Kennedy, a Democrat who ran as the independent party candidate for first selectman, by a wide margin.

Smith, who also serves as a part-time police officer, was first elected in 1989. He was uncontested by town Republicans in 1995 and 1999, while defeating a series of Republican challengers during other town election years over the past two decades.

Smith said most residents are satisfied with the Main Street commercial projects, a Walgreen’s pharmacy and a new and larger Cumberland Farms store, that were controversial in 2007. Smith said there are no plans to revive a town hall expansion project that was rejected in a 2007 bonding referendum, though a scaled-back firehouse expansion project could be presented in the next two years. Voters rejected a more costly firehouse expansion project in November 2007, only weeks after Smith was re-elected for a tenth term.

Smith has a new running-mate for board of selectmen this year, with Democratic Selectman Richard Daniels stepping aside after 18 years as Smith’s partner on the board. Arthur Thompson, a retired educator who has served as tax collector since 1993, is the Democratic nominee for board of selectmen.

Thompson, 75, said 48 years as a Deep River resident has given him “a good feel for what’s bothering people and what people are looking for in town.” A married father of three grown daughters, Thompson served during the 1980s as a member and chairman of the board of finance and the inland-wetlands commission. He is also the current chairman of the Deep River Democratic Town Committee.

Selectman Russell Marth, Kennedy’s running-mate on the Deep River Independent Party line, was elected in 2007, a year when town Republicans did not nominate candidates for first selectman or board of selectmen. Marsh, 52, is a Chester native who has lived in Deep River since 1990. Marth, who is married without children, works as a publishing consultant for Circulation Specialists of Norwalk.

Marth said he was able to put aside some of the rancor of the 2007 campaign to work effectively with Smith and members of both political parties over the past two years. Marth, who acknowledges the now completed Walgreen’s and larger Cumberland Farms that were issues two years ago “look fine,” said he has focused some of his efforts as a selectman on helping a volunteer committee working on improvements to Veterans Memorial Park.

David Oliveria is the Republican candidate for board of selectmen. Oliveria, 52, is a 14-year town resident who works in business development for Kamen Precision Products of Middletown. The married father of a college-age son and daughter, Oliveria is an alternate on the planning and zoning commission and ran unsuccessfully for board of finance in 2007. He also helps videotape board of selectmen and board of finance meetings for showing on the Comcast public access channel.

Oliveria, who is friendly with Marth, said he would bring “more checks and balances,” to the board of selectmen. He acknowledges Smith “has done some good things for the town,” while adding that in supporting him and Marth, voters have a “unique opportunity” to elect a board of selectmen comprised of a Democrat, a Republican, and an unaffiliated independent.

But Smith is urging voters to return Marth to the third seat on the board because “Russ has worked very well with us.” Smith said it’s too soon to say whether the 11th term would be his last. “I still love the job and I’m still willing to listen to the residents,” he said.

All four candidates for board of selectmen agree on one issue, expressing general support for a plan to pursue a full regionalization of Region 4 schools in 2010. Smith, who was opposed to a full regionalization of the schools in the 1990s, said he has changed his view and now believes the schools system would save taxpayer dollars operating under a single elected board of education for the Chester,-Deep River-Essex district.

Along with the contest for board of selectmen, the offices of town clerk, tax collector, and town treasurer are also contested this year.

Democrat Nancy Talbot, who won her party’s nomination in a September 15 primary, is competing with Republican Amy Winchell for the town clerk position. Democratic Town Clerk Jeanne Nickse is retiring after holding the office since 1993.

Thompson’s move from the tax collector position has set up a contest between Democrat Lisia Bibbiani, who has been a clerk in the tax office since April 2008, and Republican John Townsend. Longtime Republican Town Treasurer Thomas Lindner is facing a challenge from Democrat John Dickson.