Bethel First Selectman Race Down to Three Candidates

The Independent Party of Connecticut’s candidates for First Selectman and Selectman, Jack Dietter and Margarita Dietter (respectively), have dropped out of the race, prompting the state party to cross-endorse the Republican candidates William Duff and Paul Szatkowski at the top of the ticket.

The vacancy committee unanimously voted to endorse Duff and Szatkowski after the Dietters resigned from the race, citing health issues, according to Independent Party Acting Secretary and Deputy Treasurer Roger Palanzo.

(Jack and Margarita Dietter were not immediately available for comment.)

“We ended up researching who else could fill these positions and unanimously decided on” Duff and Szatkowski, Palanzo said.

With Duff now cross-endorsed by the Independent Party, the race for First Selectman has narrowed from five contenders to three, including incumbent Democrat Matthew Knickerbocker and Green Party candidate Al Vargas.

CT Tea Party First Selectman candidate Robert Burke was removed from the ballot, along with the entire party line, due to a technicality associated with new third party election laws.