Campbell Says Sorry

It was "a bad choice," said First Selectman Dave Campbell of his decision to hop a jet to Utah in the wake of an unprecedented storm.

"I want to apologize for the bad choice to leave on Sunday for vacation with my wife," said Campbell.

Nearly 4,000 Darien residents were without power—some, trapped in their homes—when Campbell handed over the reins to Selectman David Bayne and left town for Utah. Plans to celebrate his wife's birthday had been made months in advance, he said. And where he'd experienced the wrath of storm through the Saturday overnight, Campbell said he wasn't aware of "just how bad" the devastation really was.

"I didn't think the problem was out of control. When I got out here to Utah and realized it was dicey with CL&P, all the flights had been canceled," said Campbell on Tuesday.

Together with Selectman Jayme Stevenson, Bayne—a full-time attorney—led the town out of Sunday's devastation and towards recovery. Campbell stayed in close contact with Stevenson, but he said email correspondence with the Acting First Selectman went unanswered; Bayne did not have power.

At Campbell's return Thursday evening, the Board of Selectmen held a special meeting, for the purpose of informing and updating the public.

In his opening remarks, an apologetic Campbell recognized CL&P's recently dedicated efforts and thanked Bayne for serving as Acting First Selectman—mastering a juggling act.

"I put [David] in a difficult position, balancing his full-time job in New York, and having to deal with the full-time job of helping the town during the disaster," said Campbell. "He did a great job communicating with everyone in a very trying circumstance."

Stevenson also received Campbell's thanks and praise for keeping the public informed.

At Bayne's suggestion, the Board of Selectmen looks to review the town's emergency management approach, with all involved parties.

"I think it would be very helpful if we got everybody in the room together and review what happened," said Bayne "If we made mistakes, let's learn from them and correct them; and let's see what we did right, and make sure we do that again."

The Board of Selectmen will meet next Monday, March 22 at 7:45 p.m.