The Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM) says it has re-elected longtime Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary as its president for 2019.
O’Leary served the post this year and was CCM’s first vice president in 2017.
Advocating for state and local partnerships and promoting economic development in Waterbury are among O’Leary’s top achievements in the city, said CCM, billed as Connecticut’s largest nonpartisan organization of municipal leaders, representing nearly all towns and cities in the state.
O’Leary, a Democrat and former chief of police, was elected mayor of Waterbury in Nov. 2011.
At the state level, he has helped CCM force legislative action on “local revenue diversification, cost containment efforts through mandates relief, and greater regional service sharing among towns,” the organization said.
Next year will be a major “crossroads” for partnerships between local officials and state leaders as Gov.-elect Ned Lamont replaces outgoing Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Jan. 9, said CCM Executive Director Joe DeLong.
“He is well-respected on both sides of the political aisle at both the state and local levels and will play a key role in forging consensus on important state-local issues during the 2019 General Assembly session,” DeLong said.
Other CCM officers include Michael J. Freda, first selectman of North Haven, as first vice president and Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin as second vice president.
Avon Town Manager Brandon Robertson is the only new member elected to CCM’s board of directors for 2019. Twenty other city and town officials will again serve the board.
