By Peter Baird, Secretary, Haddam Democratic Town Committee and Haddam Selectman
(July 22, 2025) — Haddam Democrats caucused on July 17, 2025, at the Higganum Firehouse Community Room to choose a slate of candidates for town offices for the upcoming November municipal election. The attendees nominated Hamish MacPhail as the Caucus Chair, and Peter Baird as the Caucus Secretary.
The Haddam Democrats unanimously voted to support a bipartisan slate of candidates with strong experience in town governance, finance, law, education and development. Local elections matter! How well we develop, preserve and advance our town and community, how strong our schools are, what our tax rate is, and how good our roads and bridges are, should matter to ALL of us, and critically so. Having a town government that works with us and for us, and which we actively take part in, impacts our lives in vital ways.
The Haddam Democrats endorsed two candidates for office who are also endorsed by the town Republicans: Sean Donlan for First Selectman and Sarah Pytlik for Town Clerk. Sean is a local attorney and has dozens of years of leadership in Haddam town government, including four terms as a Selectman, service as chair of the Haddam Democrats and experience on other town boards. Sarah is a Haddam-Killingworth High School graduate and local businessowner with years of business experience and deep ties to our community. Both will serve and advance our community well, and we are proud to endorse them together with Haddam Republicans.
For the two open Board of Selectmen seats, the Caucus endorsed incumbent Peter Baird, the current Selectman and an economist at a social policy research firm, and Gina Block, a local designer who is serving as aide to Senator Norm Needleman. Between them, Peter and Gina have dozens of years of experience serving on many town boards and groups, including Planning and Zoning and Board of Finance, and were active in preserving Higganum Cove and in Save HES.
For Board of Finance (BOF), the Caucus endorsed Ryan Thompson, a lifelong Higganum resident and college senior majoring in political science, who currently serves as an alternative on BOF, and Collin Raymond, who is a Professor of Economics at Cornell Business School. For BOF Alternate, the caucus nominated William Thompson, who is a retired Chief Financial Officer and VP for United Way.
The Caucus was proud to nominate for Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Mike Farina, incumbent, a retired ABC/Disney Executive with many years of experience on P&Z, and Lynne Cooper, a long time Haddam resident and retired insurance executive specializing in strategic planning. For two open P&Z Alternate seats, the Caucus endorsed Joseph Dalton, a Marketing and Sales Executive for ESPN, and Dorothy Gillespie, incumbent, a retired teacher who serves on P&Z as well as the Higganum Cove Commission.
For the Regional School District 17 Board of Education, which is a particularly important Board as we decide our school buildings’ futures, the Caucus nominated a slate with deep educational and business experience. Sonja Charpentier, incumbent, a math and science teacher, Kelly Haeckel, a lifelong Haddam resident and the Chief Nursing Officer/VP at Middlesex Health, and Matthew Riggs, a chief science officer for a biomedical research company.
Bill Gresham, a retired attorney for Travelers Insurance, was nominated to serve on the Haddam Board of Assessment Appeals. Rob Harlow, a local marketing executive, and Elizabeth Devlin, a retired RSD 17 middle school teacher, were nominated for Zoning Board of Appeals seats, with Deb Rutter, incumbent, a longtime Haddam resident and library director, nominated for the ZBA Alternate seat.
The Haddam Democrats want to thank everyone for helping create and support this fantastic slate of candidates. It’s time for Haddam to have a truly well-run, responsive, forward-thinking town government. For any information, contact us at haddamdemocrats@gmail.com or on Facebook. We look forward to earning your trust and your vote in November, for a better future!
