OLD SAYBROOK— A month ago, nine challengers not reelected to the Republican Town Committee (RTC) were ready to go to primary when a slate championed by State Representative Marilyn Giuliano was instead elected. Things looked better a few days before the election, however, when the challenger group reached an accord with Giuliano’s camp that included canceling the primary. Under the agreement, the nine challengers would be seated on the committee into openings made when nine party-endorsed candidates submitted letters of resignation. Now the RTC election challengers, led by First Selectman Michael Pace, RTC Chairman Cal Caldarella, and Brad Thorpe, feel they were duped.

When the primary challenge loomed, Town Clerk Sarah Becker was asked to get a ruling from the secretary of the state’s Elections Division to guide the town’s registrars in the conduct of the election: she was told to rely on Section 429 of the state primary statutes.

Both sides decided that a mutually beneficial agreement would be better for party unity than a party committee primary. So a meeting was scheduled to try to bridge the differences between the Giuliano camp and the challengers. Both sides agreed nine party-endorsed candidates would resign, allowing the challengers, under the Section 429 statute, to be deemed elected. The party committee primary was canceled.

But then, last Friday afternoon—one month after an accord was reached—a call from State Party Central Committee member Margaret Jane DeRisio of Old Lyme to attorney Michael Cronin challenged the settlement

DeRisio said that Section 426 of the party primary statutes applied to the RTC primary election, not the Section 429 claimed by the secretary of the state. That’s because she said that the resignation of one challenger, making the group nine members instead of the original 10, meant their number no longer was 25 percent of the 39 openings being contested. According to DeRisio, this deemed the primary challenge failed.

Becker then asked Cronin, in his capacity as town attorney, for a legal opinion on the party committee membership, based on a review of the statutes. On March 23, Cronin’s written legal opinion confirmed the applicability of Section 426. Therefore, the challengers’ bid automatically failed when they became nine. As a result, the RTC is now the 33 party-endorsed candidates that remained after the six resigned in February.

When contacted, DeRisio would not comment on the election controversy.

Did DeRisio get involved because of complaints filed with the State Party Central Committee? Not according to the committee Chief of Staff Liz Kurantowicz, who said, “No official complaint was filed with the state central committee disputing the results of the town committee election. Under the Connecticut Republicans’ by-laws, there is a process for disputing town committee issues. That avenue was not pursued with the state central committee in this case.”

So who raised the issue with DeRisio after the Giuliano team and the town committee challengers had already reached an accord to re-seat nine of the challengers on the town committee? Giuliano says she did not raise the issue with DeRisio.

“I have not veered from the agreement made in February with the RTC challengers to fill the seats of the Republican Town Committee and to work in good faith on behalf of the Republican Party,” said Giuliano. “I always keep my word.”

But someone who remains unnamed suggested the RTC election be disputed and as a result has poured salt in a party wound that had begun to heal.

“This doesn’t affect me—I serve ex officio on the RTC. But I was taking Marilyn Giuliano at her word. We had a voluntary agreement,” said Pace of the February accord. “We went through this charade, pulling back on the primary, trying to heal the party, and do what’s in the best interest of the town, but she had her own agenda.”

The now 33-member Old Saybrook RTC this week will choose committee officers and delegates to party conventions, including the conventions to pick the state representative candidates.