The slate of candidates for the 2021 municipal elections is set for the Tuesday, Nov. 2 election. In North Haven, registered voters will cast ballots for first selectman and boards of Selectmen, Education, and Finance, as well as town clerk/tax collector and several other offices. Michael Freda (R) is seeking his sixth term as first selectman and being challenged by Carl Kordek (D).

Sally Buemi (D) and William Pieper (R) are looking to return to the Board of Selectmen and Kathy Grant (D) is running against incumbent J. Stacey Yarbrough (R) for the town clerk/tax collector position.

Votes will also be cast for seats on the Board of Assessment Appeals, Fire Commission, Planning & Zoning, Police Commission, and Zoning Board of Appeals. See the sidebar for the full list of candidates.

Constables were also nominated to a two-year term, though they will not appear on the municipal ballot in November. Those nominated include Joseph Cappucci (D), Joseph D’Errico (R), Kathleen Fox (D), Scott Leamon (D), Mildred Stankiewicz (R), and Karl Veith (R).

Michael Freda (R)

Republican Michael Freda is seeking his sixth term as North Haven’s first selectman, planning to continue to build on the efforts he has made over the past 10 years. His goals, which are “a continuation of what I always focus on” include “not raising taxes; supporting and enhancing outstanding services to our residents, including the services that we provide through public works; supporting education and our students; supporting public safety regarding police and fire; ensuring that our citizens enjoy a fine quality of life living here in North Haven by enhancing our library and park and recreation; improving and enhancing our parks and sports fields; enhancing our technological capability; and growing our economy and our Grand List by continuing to bring in new businesses.”

Freda points to past successes such as improving storm notifications for residents, reducing the mill rate in each of the past two years, and handling various crisis such as COVID, tornadoes, and other storms. While Freda has had success in bringing new businesses to town, he will continue to focus on economic development.

“I greatly enjoy both the operational and strategic aspect of leading our government,” said Freda. “The strategic side involves me being directly involved with bringing new businesses into town, meeting with and speaking to key executives of the businesses community, and developing a vision for improving the town for the future in all areas. The operational side involves responding to people, overseeing the financial operations of the government, being involved with all of the different department heads, being involved with our school system, and being very hands on to ensure a high level of overall services to our residents.”

As first selectman, Freda sees himself as the town’s CEO, a position he had many years of experience in during his corporate career. His background as a baseball player—Freda was inducted into three different baseball halls of fame—also has taught him to enjoy competition.

“The word ‘complacency’ is not in my vocabulary,” said Freda. “Competition is something that I really enjoy. I have a great deal of physical and mental energy that is fueled in large part by my high level of motivation and my grueling daily workouts. I never give up and have a relentless focus to get things done and create positive outcomes.”

During his time as North Haven’s first selectman, Freda has been a seven-year member of the Connecticut Police Officer Training Council, president of the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, two-time chairman of the South Central Regional Council of Governments, chairman of both the regional C-Med and Med Com board members regarding 911 dispatch in the greater New Haven area, co-chairman of the Connecticut Rail Advisory Committee, and an executive board member of the Council of Small towns.

Being involved with these various committees and organizations has given Freda “experience, knowledge, and an encyclopedic level of detail regarding every single subject in our town and being very hands on,” as well as relationships with local leaders throughout the state and within state agencies, as well as with the pubic utility companies that assist during winter storms, tornadoes, and hurricanes, he said.

He has also been a featured speaker at Quinnipiac University, the University of New Haven, Gateway College, and Southern Connecticut University and been awarded Legislative Leader of the Year award from the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce, two-time award-winner as the top Chief Elected Official regarding economic development, Boys and Girls Club Gold Ring Award, and Paul Harris Rotary Award.

Looking toward the future, Freda sees several pressing issues. There have been flooding issues across the town and Freda has been working to help residents whose homes have been damaged. Freda also plans to focus on public safety, recreation, social services, and economic development.

“[My goals include] fortifying our public safety departments to ensure that they have the resources to protect our citizens, improving some of our parks and ball fields to ensure that our residents can be proud of our recreational facilities, helping those in need of social services that are designed to help people with problems that they are facing in their own families, and staying on top on every economic development project that I am involved with to continue to bring new businesses to town,” said Freda.

Freda enjoys interacting with residents and businesses and answering their questions and solving problems. He assures residents that he is prepared to address any challenge or situation that presents itself.

“I love our residents and I love helping them with my staff in every way that we can,” said Freda. “I am committed to the people in our town and will never let them down for as they want me to continue to be in office.

Carl Kordek (D)

From an early age, Carl Kordek has called North Haven home and “love[s] every minute of it.” Now he is looking to draw on his youth as he seeks election for first selectman. Kordek, a Democrat, plans to draw on his academic and real-world experience over the past 15 years as North Haven heads into the next decade.

“This decade will be one of the most transformative as we have seen already and my skill in developing modern solutions is one tool which will help navigate the town through rough roads along the way,” said Kordek. “The future is a vast unknown and being ahead of that in a proactive way is necessary instead of a reactive method that only limits our resources and time. Our community deserves to have a plan, not just for today, but tomorrow and the days ahead.”

If elected, Kordek aims to diversify the local economy with new technology-driven businesses and modernize our infrastructure options, such as railroad station access, public transportation accessibility, and a safe bicycle-friendly path network.

“Our town needs a new way of thinking that brings a stronger active community and sharpens its focus on the future,” said Kordek. “We have the ability of being a prominent cultural and technological hub in New Haven County. With the right leadership, we can achieve that and more. The simple step of building a town for tomorrow and not just a town for today is something we can achieve.”

When thinking of the town’s most pressing issues, Kordek noted that “everything needs our attention,” including sidewalk quality in neighborhoods, drainage problems in low-lying areas, budgetary processes in Town Hall, lack of diversity and inclusion in town, public safety, and resources for seniors.

“Problems are constantly appearing and growing, that is the nature of any town, but to have it be mitigated at times doesn’t solve the problems,” said Kordek. “Every individual in our town needs access to local government, someone who can hear them out every day and prepare the right steps in fixing the issues presented. Simply put, clear communication and transparency are the necessary tools to bring the needs of citizens to the forefront of conversations.”

In order to achieve this, Kordek plans to implement what he’s called the Idea Initiative, a series of planned meetings and open-door sessions with the people of North Haven to better get their voices out there and heard by the leaders in town government. Kordek said his first order of business “on day one” would be to create a weekly public forum.

“It will be my hope that, if elected, an open discussion can be built where everyone has their voices heard, respected, and valued,” said Kordek. “The first selectman role in town leadership should always be to listen and never dismiss someone. When that happens, it creates a blight on what our town should always be and stand for, no matter the subject being discussed. From this first step of opening the doors to dialogue and creating more accessibility to speak with elected officials, North Haven can truly start tackling the concerns of the residents here in our great community.”

When looking at what helped shape his perceptions of the world, Kordek credits his time in North Have Public Schools, particularly North Haven High School. He remembers being in college and knowing he would return to his hometown to build his future.

“North Haven High School challenged me to think about more than what was in a book, helped shape my perceptions of the world, and discover there is nothing wrong with being pragmatic in life,” said Kordek. “There are many memorable places in this great town of ours, but the high school will always have a strong position I in my heart because it developed who you see before you today: a passionate person who is focused on helping others to succeed and grow so that we all can keep moving forward together, united in this North Haven community.

“Every step along my way, in the past has molded me into the person destined to lead our great community of North Haven,” added Kordek. “North Haven is home, growing up in town I was shown every day why this was a great place to live. This will be a job not taken lightly and as...first selectman I will be accessible to all our residents for building a better tomorrow, today.”

2021 Candidates

* denotes incumbent

Board of Assessment Appeals

(four-year term)

Nupur Garg (D, partial term)*

Norman Juniewic Sr. (D)*

Ralph Ricciardelli (R)*

Board of Education (six-year term)

Ronald Bathrick (R)

Marie Devlin (D)

Randi Petersen (R)*

Frederick Rodriguez (D)

Board of Finance (four-year term)

David Cohen (D)

Michael Hallahan (D)*

James Lianos (R)*

Dyann Vissicchio (R)*

Board of Selectmen (two-year term)

Sally Buemi (D)*

William Pieper (R)*

Constable (two-year term)

Joseph Cappucci (D)

Joseph D’Errico (R)*

Kathleen Fox (D)

Scott Leamon (D)

Mildred Stankiewicz (R)*

Karl Veith (R)*

First Selectman (two-year term)

Michael Freda (R)*

Carl Kordek (D)

Fire Commission (four-year term)

Joseph Cappucci (D)*

Vincenzo Gallo (R)

Lori Mansur (D)

Pasquale Nuzzolillo (R)*

Planning & Zoning (four-year term)

Vern Carlson (R)*

Mark Parisi (R, alternate)

Theresa Ranciato Viele (D)*

Paul Weymann (R, alternate)

Roderick Williams (D, alternate)*

Police Commission (four-year term)

Robert Hannon (R)*

Lawrence Lazaroff (R)*

Jonathan Lewin (D)

Alden Mead (D)*

Town Treasurer

Donald Clark (R)

Town Clerk/ Tax Collector

(two-year term)

Kathy Grant (D)

J. Stacey Yarbrough (R)*

Zoning Board of Appeals

(four-year term)

Luigi Coppola (R, alternate)

Stephen Gifford (D, alternate)

Andrew Gorry (R)

Robert Nielsen (R, alternate)

Kenneth Quick (D)

Joseph Villano (D)*

Carolyn Yaccarino (R)

For information on the North Haven DTC and Democratic candidates, visit www.northhavendemocrats.org, like NorthHavenDemocrats on Facebook, or follow @NorthHavenDTC on Instagram and Twitter.

For information on the RTC and Republican candidates, like NorthHavenRTC on Facebook, follow NorthHavenRTC on Twitter, email northavenrtc@att.net, or call 203-239-2084