Stamford Board of Representatives

Board Trivia

• John J. Boccuzzi served for a total of forty-four years; he has served the most number of years of any representative since consolidation.  Mr. Boccuzzi was sworn in on December 1, 1965 and served through November 30, 1975; he again served from December 1, 1977 through his death on April 10. 2011 for a total of 44 years of service. 
• The longest consecutive service belongs to Gerald Rybnick, who served for a total of 39 years on 18 consecutive boards from April 2, 1956 to November 30, 1995.
• There were seven Republicans and twenty-two Democratic presidential terms of the twenty-nine Boards of Representatives
• The first 15 presidents were men.
• The first female president was Sandra Goldstein, who served the longest as president - a total of five terms (ten years).
• George Connors led the Board as president for three terms (3rd, 4th and 12th Boards).
• Since 1979 (the 16th Board), four women - Sandy Goldstein, Jeanne-Lois Santy, Mary Lou Rinaldi and Carmen Domonkos, have served as board president covering twenty of the twenty-two years between 1979 and 2001.
• Six women served on the first Board - Babette Ransohoff, Louise Seeley, Catherine Cleary, Helen Peatt, Jeanette Bell and Helen Bromley.  There are currently 16 women serving on the Board.
• The only woman majority leader and minority leader was Helen Bromley, who served as the Majority Leader of the 2nd Board and Minority Leader of the 3rd Board.
• The majority leader to serve the longest is John Boccuzzi, who has served eleven terms as majority leader and one as Democratic Leader (during the 17th Board - when there was a 20-20 split).  Mr. Boccuzzi served as Majority Leader on the 13th Board, and from the 16th Board through the 28th Board for a total of 38 years.
• The current Republican serving the longest is Robert "Gabe" DeLuca, who has served on 12 boards from the 15th through the 18th and the 20th through the 29th Boards, for a total of 30 years.
• The longest serving woman Republican was Audrey Maihock, who served on nine consecutive boards - the 15th through the 23rd Boards, representing the 19th District.  She also served as Assistant Minority Leader for three terms (20th, 21st and 23rd Boards).
• The longest consecutively serving member from the first Board was Stephen E. Kelly, who served on eleven boards until his death in August of 1973, for a total of twenty-two years.
• In 2009, Gloria DePina replaced Jeremiah Livingston as the longest serving representative in the 5th District; she began her serve in 1989.  Mr. Livingston served for nine consecutive terms, or eighteen years.
• The first husband and wife team to represent their district (9th) was Mildred and Alfred Perillo, who served jointly on five Boards (ten years).  Together they served a total of thirty-six years.
• There were five clerks who were men and eleven who were women.
• Annie M. Summerville became Clerk on December 3, 1979, and has served consecutively in that capacity since then, (for a total of 30 years).
• Marilyn Laitman was the first Democrat to represent the 20th district on the Board.  She served as Clerk for the 12th and 13th Boards and had a perfect attendance record at Board meetings.
• The 17th Board had twenty Democrats and twenty Republicans.
• The 25th Board had 8 Republicans and 32 Democrats.
• James Rubino served for three terms as minority leader and as such was the longest person to serve in that capacity.
• Five representatives went on to become Stamford Mayors:  Stanley J. Esposito, Webster C. Givens, Frederick P. Lenz, Jr., Thom Serrani and Julius M. Wilensky.