BETHANY, Conn. — Nine people in the Bethany Republican Town Committee, or BRTC, have submitted resignation letters this week, totaling about a quarter of the group’s membership.
The resignations are amid tensions in the group and a recent decision to table a vote of no-confidence for the town’s first selectwoman.
“The divide is in every meeting. Every meeting has been very contentious,” Alyssia Walowski, former chairman of the BRTC, said. “It’s a lot of bickering, a lot of just trying to, you know, figure out what makes the most sense for us. Like how do we move forward as a team, right? Show support for the town while sticking to our principles and morals. And we just, we couldn’t do it.”
After serving on the committee for about four years, and becoming the chair in July, Walowski submitted her resignation this week, among eight others.
“After having conversations with other members and more resignations coming in, I just, it just didn’t make sense for me to continue on because I’m just not the person that was going to be able to bring this group together,” Walowski said.
In her resignation letter, Walowski wrote: “The core values and mission statement of our committee are of utmost importance, not only to me but to the community we serve. It is evident that the current state of our committee is not reflective of those values, nor does it align with the expectations of our town's citizens. As such, I cannot in good faith continue to lead a committee that, in my view, has deviated from its intended path and closed its eyes to the pressing issues at hand. Our mission includes a commitment to political leadership, yet we have not demonstrated this to the Bethany community, nor have we addressed the significant events of the past six months. It is our responsibility to provide guidance and take a stand on critical issues and show that we are dedicated to rectifying it moving forward.”
This all followed the committee’s decision to table a vote of no confidence for First Selectwoman Paula Cofrancesco at a meeting last week.
Several members of the committee and the public have called for Cofrancesco to step down after the town’s handling of sexual assault allegations against a former employee.
The allegations against 25-year-old Anthony Mastrangelo came out in December of 2022, when he was accused of sexually assaulting several young girls during his time as a counselor and substitute teacher for the town.
However, parents and other town leaders said the administration didn’t inform anyone about the investigation until this past summer, when Mastrangelo was officially arrested.
When the news first broke, Cofrancesco said she didn’t know the details of the investigation and was told by Connecticut State Police not to say anything.
“Mine is personal. I’m not going to be in an organization that supports her because I still feel strong that she knew something, she did nothing, and she failed our town. And I will say that until she’s out of office,” Amy Lestinsky, a former member of BRTC who resigned this week after serving four years on the committee, said.
Lestinsky said her child is among one of Mastrangelo’s victims.
“I want this out in the open. I want people to know. It was someone I thought was a friend. It hurts. My child and I are in therapy. It’s unnecessary. If only our leader actually led this town and did what was right, we would not be in this predicament,” Lestinsky said.
While nine members have decided to walk away, about 30 remain.
“What they’re saying is, they want to wait for the investigation, they want to see if Paula did anything wrong. And again it’s not about whether Paula did anything wrong or not. I don’t think the investigation is going to tell us that. It’s what does she stand for and is that what we voted her in for,” Walowski said.
Walowski said many of the members do not want to go against Cofrancesco.
“My thinking is, it’s for some, very political. They want to keep an R [Republican] in the seat, and it’s more important for them to have an R in the seat than it is to do the right thing for the town,” Walowski said.
Cofrancesco provided a statement saying, “The RTC has nothing to do with the business of the Town of Bethany. As first selectwoman it would be inappropriate for me to comment on the business of a political organization.”
The highest-ranking member of BRTC, the treasurer, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In the meantime, the Bethany Board of Selectmen is looking at six proposals from law firms as they work to hire one of them to conduct an independent investigation into the town’s handling of the allegations. The board is expected to make a decision on who to hire at a meeting next week. It’s a decision the first selectwoman has recused herself from.
Julia LeBlanc is a reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at jleblanc@fox61.com Follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.
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