Garrity is Democratic candidate for selectman

KENT — Karren Garrity, chairman of the Board of Education, won her challenge against John Worthington at the Democratic caucus on July 27.

She will now be the party’s candidate for the Board of Selectmen. Bruce Adams remains the party’s candidate for first selectman.

The Republicans, at their caucus July 23, confirmed their choice of Karen Casey for selectman and George Jacobsen for first selectman.

The vote at the Democratic caucus was very close, with 31 residents voting for Garrity to be the party’s candidate and 29 voting for Worthington.

Worthington was the original choice of the Democratic Town Committee. At the beginning of a meeting of the committee, which was held right before the caucus, committee member Bill Bachrach explained that the nominating committee interviewed both Garrity and Selectman Bruce Adams to be the candidate for first selectman.

“Both Bruce Adams and Karren Garrity took to the public their candidacy for first selectman weeks before the committee addressed the needs of the 2009 municipal election,� Bachrach said.

He added that the nominating committee asked both candidates if they would run for selectman if they were not chosen as the candidate for first selectman.

“Both of them said no,� Bachrach said. “We voted on June 23 for Bruce Adams to be the party’s candidate for first selectman.�

Committee member Leslie Levy nominated Garrity to replace Worthington. Then both potential candidates gave speeches to the committee on why they wanted to be the party’s candidate, with Worthington letting Garrity go first.

“While [Adams] was chosen instead of me for first selectman, I still feel I have a lot to offer Kent,� Garrity said. “I believe that Bruce and I would be a great team. There are exciting opportunities here in Kent. I have the experience and follow through to move the issues forward.�

She cited her experience on the Board of Education, where she has served for 12 years and has been the chairman for eight of those years.

“If elected I pledge to set a tone of collaboration and communication,� Garrity said. “I’ll work with all town leaders and staff to solve issues.�

Worthington said his service on many town committees throughout the years qualifies him to be the party’s  candidate.

“I have proven that I can work hard and get the task done,� Worthington said. “I have been a municipal official for over 20 years and I know what’s involved in how towns operate. Yes, Litchfield is a lot bigger than Kent, but that town has departments just like Kent.�

Worthington is the building inspector for Litchfield.

The committee then voted against Levy’s proposal, 7-6. However, despite the committee’s decision to keep Worthington on the ticket, the decision was ultimately in the hands of the caucus, which met immediately after the committee meeting ended.

Both candidates repeated the same speeches they had made earlier in the night, this time to the 60 Kent Democrats who attended. After the speeches, a question-and-answer session followed, with a majority of questions directed at Garrity.

The one question that was posed at both the committee meeting and the caucus was how the candidates would deal with issues surrounding the Schaghticoke Indian Tribe and Tribal Nation.

“From what I know at this point I don’t think it has the criteria to be an independent nation,â€� Garrity said, adding,  “Some people would say that I should not speak about it publicly.â€�

Worthington was then asked the same question.

“Personally, I think they are our neighbors and they deserve some respect,� Worthington said. “Legally, I’m not at liberty to tell you how I feel about it. You get into trouble when you start answering those types of questions.�

After the vote, which Garrity won, an audience member nominated Worthington for a candidacy on the Sewer Commission. He declined without stating a reason.

Garrity said that if she is elected as a selectman, she would step down from the Board of Education.