OLD SAYBROOK

Board of Finance

Five candidates are competing for three, full-term openings on the town's Board of Finance. The two Republicans are Thomas Stevenson and Derrik Kennedy; the three Democrats are Henry Conti, John Duhig, and John O'Brien.

Duhig served as president of Fortune Plastics for 20 years and for 22 years has been a director of the Valley-Shore YMCA.

Kennedy holds a master's degree in public administration, worked for five years as consultant with the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM), and currently is assistant to the first selectman of Colchester and a member of the boards of the Old Saybrook Education Foundation and Chamber of Commerce.

Stevenson is a former Connecticut tax agent and holder of an associates degree in business with experience as a police officer, in the Navy reserve, and as a land surveyor.

No biographical information was available for Conti and O'Brien.

In the contest to fill the two-year vacancy due to George Whelen's September 2011 resignation, Republican Brad Thorpe, a mortgage account officer and assistant vice president with People's United Bank who currently serves as a member of the Board of Education and chair of its fiscal committee, is vying with Democrat Craig Cooke, a retired middle school mathematics teacher who worked for 34 years in the Old Saybrook schools.

Board of Education

Six candidates are competing for four, full-term openings on the Board of Education. Running for the Democrats are incumbent George Chang and newcomers Kimberly Lacey and Salvatrice Keating. The Republicans are fielding incumbent Chairman Mario Gaboury and newcomers Kelley Kennedy and Vito Savino.

Chang is a Ph.D. chemist with Pfizer who is currently finishing his first term on the Board of Education.

Gaboury is completing his 12th year on the Board of Education. A professor of criminal justice, he is acting dean at the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences at the University of New Haven.

Keating, a professor of mathematics at Eastern Connecticut State University, participated in last year's school district strategic planning process.

Lacey is the current president of the Goodwin Elementary School PTA and a full-time professor at Southern Connecticut State University.

Kennedy is a clinical project manager for Covidien, overseeing operational and financial aspects of clinical trials, and is a volunteer teen ministry advisor at First Church.

Savino is a retired state police sergeant, a member of the volunteer fire department, and past member of the town's Park & Recreation Commission and coach of youth baseball, basketball, soccer, and softball.

Police Commission

For this Commission, the oversight body for the town's police department, six candidates are running for three openings. The Republican slate includes David Dunlap, J. Robert Finch, and incumbent Ernest Sparaco. The Democratic slate lists Emilio Scamparino, John DeCristoforo, and Adam Stuart.

DeCristoforo is a retired human resources professional, a member of the town's Economic Development Commission, and a former member of the Board of Finance.

Dunlap currently works as director of Global Aviation Sales from a home office and the Old Lyme headquarters of Sennheiser Electronic Corporation. His four children went through the Old Saybrook schools.

Scamparino is a semi-retired business owner with a son-in-law in law enforcement.

Stuart recently retired from the town Police Department as lieutenant after 25 years of service.

No biographical information was available for Finch or Sparaco.

Board of Assessment Appeals

The Board of Assessment Appeals is the town board whose members hear and rule on property owners' challenges to their property valuations. With only two openings for this board, four candidates are running: Democrat incumbent Cornelius McCrudden along with Julien Brookson and Republican incumbent Ruth FitzGerald along with Sharon Tiezzi.

Planning Commission

Four candidates are competing for three slots open on the Planning Commission: newcomer Democrat Cathryn Flanagan and three Republicans: incumbent and Chairman Robert McIntyre, incumbent Robert Missel, and newcomer David Shearer.

Zoning Commission

Four candidates are also competing for three slots open on the Zoning Commission: Republican incumbents Charles Sohl and Madeline Fish are vying with Democratic newcomers John Talbott and Elizabeth Steffen for seats on this commission.