BRANFORD – Cosgrove Won’t Seek Re-Election; To Endorse Board of Finance member Jeff Vailette

First selectman Jamie Cosgrove, first elected in 2013 and has since served 6 consecutive terms, notified town hall staff today he will not seek re-election this election cycle.

Cosgrove is expected to endorse Jeff Vailette, the longtime Board of Finance member, as the next first selectman in the November election. Vailette, a longtime Democrat, is expected to run on the
Republican ticket.

Cosgrove, a former Democrat from a longtime Democratic family, ran and won as a Republican. His terms have been defined by strong non-partisanship, working with a appointed Democratic chair of the Board of Finance, Joe Mooney, and Finance Director Jim Finch to create one of the most fiscally sound towns in the state.

Cosgrove inherited a strong town that had been mired in some long standing lawsuits and infrastructure snafus. The decision to take the Tabor property by eminent domain under the previous administration was a costly legal mistake that lingers for almost 2 decades in court; multiple attempts to build a senior center failed, and public uproar over use of the Tabor property dominated town meetings.

Cosgroves first public act as first selectman was a press release stating that he supported Mooney as Board of Finance chair, and that he would remain in place. BOF members are appointed by the Board of Selectman, and it served as a clear statement to the town and his party that his administration would not be led by politics. He also announced that those wishing to serve on town boards and commissions did not need to go through their local political party to be considered for an appointment.

He then ended the Tabor legal battles, made clear Tabor would not see development, and moved forward with a new Community House/Senior Center in the first of many infrastructure projects. A new Cosgrove Animal Shelter (named after his grandfather), an addition to the Blackstone Library, and a major undertaking: building a new Walsh Intermediate School.

There were also major changes to public safety and quality of life in town. A large growth in the number of firefighters to decrease response times and fix understaffing, the addition of far more events on the green, including more live music, arts and theater.

The administration also took the lead in preparing Branford for sea level rise. Branford was the first in the state to create a “Coastal Resiliency Fund,” something that took legislative approval to do, allowing the town to save and see investment returns on monies set aside for the impacts of sea level rise. Cosgrove has also been active in many environmental groups locally, something that has helped him garner strong bi-partisan support.

We will update this story as needed.