Campbell Forgoes Second Bid for First Selectman, Clearing Way for Stevenson

First Selectman Dave Campbell will not seek a second term in the town's top elected office, he announced this week, instead stepping aside for selectman and fellow Republican Jayme Stevenson to run for the post.

Campbell , saying that he might hold off on another bid to focus on his responsibilities as president and CEO of .

Campbell still intends to run for a spot on the board alongside Stevenson and selectman Jerry Nielsen, however. The three will seek the nomination this summer from the  and — provided they are selected — another term on the board in the fall.

The trio that they would run for another term on the board but did not specify who would seek which position at the time.

Stevenson, Campbell, and Nielsen were by comfortable margins. Campbell defeated Democratic candidate and selectman Callie Sullivan with 69 percent of the vote. Stevenson earned slightly more support than Campbell in her own bid for selectman — 4,058 votes to his 3,820.

In an interview, Stevenson that the slate had not reached a final decision about who would seek the top job until last week.

"It was really a collective conversation with Dave and Jerry," she said. "When we announced back in December that our team intended to seek the nomination again, discussion began amongst us about Dave's need to potentially spend more time with his family business."

"We have, in our opinion, done some very good things in our town in the past year and a half since we were elected," Stevenson added. "We would love the opportunity to have another couple of years to see a few things through to fruition."

Stevenson said she has spent "a great deal of time" working alongside Campbell as a selectman and that she feels "fairly well prepared to move in that direction."

If elected, Stevenson said her priorities would be much the same as they have been for the three Republicans in the current term, such as pursuing changes to Connecticut General Statute 8-30g in Hartford and seeing through the planned Darien Senior Center/Board of Education shuffle.

One area she would seek to improve on, Stevenson said, is "communication with all Board of Selectmen members."

The Republican majority and Democratic selectmen David Bayne and Callie Sullivan have clashed on several occasions during the current term, particularly over transparency issues and the facilities shuffle.

At a meeting in October, Campbell for increased cooperation, ending in a heated exchange with Bayne.

"I often reflect on how much more we could've gotten done if we'd all perhaps gotten along a bit better," Stevenson said. "I will try and make a strong effort to be very communicative where appropriate and seek advice."

Stevenson said she would make no "early predictions" on whether she, too, would seek just one term as first selectman if elected in November.

"I am staunchly committed to the notion that I am not a career politician," she said, adding that, "It's really not up to me."