New Canaan, Darien Deadlock on Probate Nominee

In a first-of-its-kind convention marked by animated procedural disputes, Republicans from Darien and New Canaan failed to endorse a candidate for the newly-created combined probate judgeship Thursday night, sending the decision to voters for the August primary.

Two slates of delegates—10 selected by each town committee—gathered at New Canaan's town hall for the three-and-a-half hour marathon, the bulk of which was devoted to hammering out rules for the unprecedented meeting. 

The final outcome was largely as expected: three inconclusive ballots, each split 10-10 between New Canaan lawyer Bill Osterndorf and attorney and former state representative John J. Ryan from Darien.

The New Canaan town committee had previously elected a slate of delegates submitted by Osterndorf, while Darien's delegates, selected individually by the town committee, were officially uncommitted but firmly supportive of Ryan.

If anything, the predictable split appeared to increase the complexity of the evening's proceedings, with each slate of delegates jockeying to ensure its candidate would make it out of the convention and onto the ballot.

Disagreements surfaced almost immediately after the convention was called to order, sparked by Darien GOP chairman and temporary convention chair Harry Artinian's four proposed convention committees. New Canaan delegates objected that the Artinian's suggested breakdown of each committee—two delegates from one town, one from the other—was unbalanced, even if the overall membership across committees was even.

"I think as a very basic item that each committee should be equally represented by each delegation," Matthew Palladino, a New Canaan delegate, said. Palladino and other New Canaanites also quarreled with the proposed formation of a resolutions committee, which they said was neither required nor allowed by convention rules. 

Several times, Artinian rebuffed calls for a convention-wide vote to settle the issues, arguing that the power to form committees fell to the chair. New Canaan delegates, in reply, voiced confusion over which rules and agenda Artinian was operating off of, saying that he appeared to be referring to provisions not included in the guidelines issued by the state committee.

The dispute initially appeared resolved after delegates took a 21-minute recess but quickly flared up again when Artinian rejected a request from New Canaan to name its own committee members.

"I think you went one bridge too far," Artinian said, prompting a chorus of muffled gasps from the audience.

New Canaan delegates then questioned why Artinian had been chosen by the state Republican committee without their town's committee being notified. 

"How they choose to communicate … is entirely up to them," Artinian said. "The temporary chair has to come from either New Canaan or Darien. The state committee chose Darien. That's just the way it is."

After over an hour of wrangling, the two delegations reached an agreement to form a rules committee and a credentials committee consisting of four members apiece, two chosen by each town. 

This set into motion a second hour of discussion, now concentrated in the rules committee, on what procedures to adopt. Delegates and audience members not on the rules committee milled around the meeting room, as periodic comments about the length of the proceedings could be heard.

When the convention reconvened, the rules recommended by the committee were unanimously adopted, including a key provision: if the convention failed to elect a permanent chair after two votes, the temporary chair would retain his position but not enjoy the right to cast a tiebreaking vote.

Not surprisingly, the votes for this position fell along town lines as well, pitting temporary chair Harry Artinian against New Canaan GOP chairman James O'Hora. After two tie votes, Artinian was allowed to carry on in the temporary role.

Finally, the committee accepted nominations. Along with Osterndorf and Ryan, Darien's Mike Murray was submitted for consideration, but his failure to garner a nomination by a delegate left him disqualified.

After brief nominating speeches on behalf of each candidate, the committee proceeded through three ballots, each resulting in 10 votes from the New Canaan delegation for Osterndorf and 10 from Darien for Ryan. 

Operating off of the approved rules, the convention finally adjourned without endorsement after appointing a vacancy committee in the event that both candidates withdraw.

The choice between Ryan and Osterndorf now goes to Republican voters in Darien and New Canaan, who will decide on the nomination at the August 10 primary.