By Natasha Lee
Staff Writer
May 7, 2007
STAMFORD - After 20 years on the Fire Commission, E. Gaynor Brennan Jr. has resigned.
Brennan, 76, who officially stepped down in February, was unspecific about his reason.
"There's a time to come and a time to leave," he said.
Leandro Rizzuto Jr., senior vice president of Conair Corp. of Stamford, is slated to take Brennan's place. The Appointment Committee voted 6-0 last month to approve Rizzuto, with city Rep. Bryan Munger, R-18, abstaining.
The Board of Representatives is expected to vote on the appointment today.
Mayor Dannel Malloy, who nominated Rizzuto, said he is a savvy businessman with a strong interest in public service.
"He's an outstanding businessman and he had expressed years ago a desire to serve, and when a position came up, I thought of him," Malloy said.
If approved, Rizzuto, a Republican, would serve the remainder of Brennan's term, which ends in November. A phone call to Rizzuto's office was not returned.
The Fire Commission is a voluntary governing group that oversees Stamford Fire & Rescue and its 236 firefighters. The commission approves the department budget, hires and promotes firefighters, and approves policy.
The members of the five-member commission - three Democrats and two Republicans - are appointed to three-year terms.
Chairman Richard Lyons, who served with Brennan since 1995, said Brennan's knowledge of Stamford Fire & Rescue and years of service on the commission were invaluable.
"He's probably had a hand in appointing every officer and firefighter in the department," Lyons said. "It was nothing but a pleasure to work with him."
Brennan, a lawyer, was appointed to the city's first Fire Commission in 1969, when he served a four-year term under then-Mayor Julius Wilensky.
During his first term, the commission worked to purchase new equipment, and build fire headquarters on Main Street, a training center and the Woodside fire station, Brennan said.
"We did all that in the four-year period when the commission first started," he said.
Brennan has served on a long list of panels including the Charter Revision Commission, director of the Stamford Hospital Foundation, and co-founder of the Stamford Firefighters Burn Foundation. Brennan, a Republican, in 1990 ran unsuccessfully for state attorney general.
After an 18-year break, Brennan was appointed to the Fire Commission for a second term in 1991 under then-Mayor Stanley Esposito and remained since then.
In 2005, the Fire Commission was scrutinized for controversial hiring practices. The Advocate revealed that friends and relatives of commissioners and firefighters were next in line for job openings over other candidates who scored higher on the firefighters' exam. Brennan's son, Mayor Dannel Malloy's nephew and fire Chief Robert McGrath's son were among the candidates in line for jobs.
The Fire Commission later adopted new hiring policies but was chastised again under the Freedom of Information Act for violating open-records laws after The Advocate filed a complaint. The two parties later reached a settlement.
Brennan said his decision to leave was not affected by the recent scrutiny.
"I think it was unfair," Brennan said. "The fire department choices that have been made have been excellent. It's a good fire department."
Brennan's departure came as a surprise to commissioner Marilyn Black Dussault, who said she didn't know he had left.
"He was a major asset to the Fire Commission. He was just very competent, knowledgeable and added greatly to the commission," she said.
Brennan said he plans to stay tuned to the fire department.
"I think they're in good shape," he said. "They have terrific equipment now, a good training center and, if they keep going in the direction they're going, they'll be in good shape."
Copyright © 2007, Southern Connecticut Newspapers, Inc.