Fred DeCaro To Run For Greenwich Town Clerk

GREENWICH, CT — Fred DeCaro, the longtime Republican Registrar of Voters for the Town of Greenwich, announced on Tuesday that he intends to run for Town Clerk. The position will be open for the first time in 30 years, following the retirement of Carmella Budkins.

"This is a position that doesn't open up very often. It's something I've looked at for quite a while, and been preparing for. I believe I'm the right person at this time," DeCaro told Patch on Tuesday.

DeCaro is a former member of the Representative Town Meeting and chair of the Budget Overview Committee. He was elected as Greenwich's Republican Registrar of Voters in fall of 2008, where he has served since.

"I've transformed the Registrar of Voters Office over the last 12 years into a technologically advanced, customer service oriented department, which has won Team Of The Year in Greenwich government. I'd like to bring those same skills into the town clerk's office. Even a great office can be made greater," DeCaro said.

DeCaro has already taken four of the five classes needed to become a certified municipal town clerk in Connecticut. The fifth class is being offered in December, so if DeCaro is elected, he said he'd enter the office ready to go.

Along with DeCaro's announcement was an endorsement from Thomas Byrne, the RTM moderator. Byrne became moderator in 1996, the same year DeCaro joined the town body. The town clerk serves as secretary of the RTM, which is one of the largest users of Town Clerk Services.

"Due to Fred's efforts, the RTM became the first Town body to have a presence online. Fred produced the template used to submit Call items to the Clerk's Office and trained the staff in that office to prepare the Call in electronic form for placement online. The first RTM website was hosted on Fred's personal server, even before the State of Connecticut provided towns a place to host their sites," Byrne said in a statement. "The RTM's efforts to go online became the model for all other Town departments. Fred proved right from the beginning of his involvement in Town government that he had the vision to make government operations transparent to all and the skills necessary to implement that vision."

Byrne said he was saddened to see DeCaro leave the RTM for the Registrar of Voters position 12 years ago, but he credited DeCaro for making sure that Greenwich's elections are fair and safe.

"In the face of the many claimed irregularities in the voting process around the state and the nation in recent years, we in Greenwich have been blessed to be free of any such claims. I credit Fred for that record of accurate and scandal free elections since he became Registrar," Byrne added. "[Fred] has the intelligence and proven record to ensure that the Town Clerk's Office will be a leader in innovation in providing services to our residents. His dedication and technological skills will ensure that the operation of the Town Clerk's Office will be transparent and responsive to all."

Before DeCaro announced to the Republican Town Committee last week that he was running, he praised Budkins' 30 years of service to the town.

"Before I sent out anything about myself, I sent out a congratulations about Carmella to the entire RTC. Working with her has been a pleasure over the last 12 years. We share certain responsibilities in the election process, and she and her staff have always been great to work with," DeCaro said.

For more on DeCaro, click here.