[Updated] South Windsor Gears Up For Raucous Caucus Season

[Update] The South Windsor Republican Town Committee's caucus is scheduled for July 23 at the Town Hall Council Chambers.

[Original Story] With November elections just around the proverbial corner, the town’s Republican and Democratic committees will soon hold their respective caucuses to determine their candidate slates.

The Democratic caucus for the municipal election will be Thursday, July 18, in the Town Council chambers starting at 7 p.m., according to Tony Duarte, the chairman of the Democratic Town Committee. All registered Democrats in South Windsor are encouraged to attend, Duarte said in a telephone interview July 11.

When the Republican caucus is being held is a bit more of a mystery, however, as no date has been announced.

Mayor Tom Delnicki, a Republican, said in a telephone interview on Friday that he has asked several party officials, but has not been told of when the caucus is scheduled.

By law, parties must give notice in the paper of record five days prior to their caucuses. Typically, however, because venues must be reserved in advance, committees know the time and place of their caucuses in advance of that.

“I’m a little bit surprised because I’ve got quite a few supporters,” said Delnicki, who would like to seek reelection in the fall. “I’ve been calling around to find out when and where it is, but with no luck. Needless to say, this is not the right way to do things. I would think you would want to have as many people there as possible. …

“I don’t know what the big secret is.”

When asked if he believed that there was an effort by the Republicans to keep Delnicki from having supporters turn up at the caucus to support his candidacy for the Town Council, Delnicki replied, “I certainly hope not.”

It’s a surprising turn of events for the mayor, who has been the Republicans’ top vote-getter on the Town Council in the last two municipal elections (2009 and 2011).

But during his two-year term as mayor, Delnicki has taken several positions that appeared to be at odds with fellow Republicans on the council.

He was a vocal opponent of the proposed $10.5 million hockey rink/recreation complex that was first presented to the council in October 2012.

Several Republican councilors appeared to be more receptive to the project, though without fully backing it publicly. Delnicki, however, was vehemently opposed to it from the outset. Republican Cary Prague said at a meeting Wednesday that he, too, opposed the rink/recreation project.

During this year’s budget deliberations, Delnicki was also reluctant to back a Republican initiative to add $800,000 of expenditures to the 2013-14 budget for, among other things, the construction and renovation of athletic fields; adding to the pension fund; and reducing the amount used in the fund balance by $400,000. Several of those measures passed anyway.

The fissures between Delnicki and the local Republican party came to a head in May when Delnicki resigned from the Republican Town Committee.

At the time, RTC Chairwoman Kathy Daugherty said that Delnicki was not willing to make the investments in the town that were necessary to keep it in competition with the likes of Farmington and Glastonbury.

Efforts to reach Daugherty for comment were unsuccessful. When reached by telephone last Thursday, Daugherty said she was tending to a personal matter and told Patch that she would call back. Several messages were subsequently left for her, but were not returned.

Delnicki, for his part, said that he’s certain that the RTC knows where the caucus is being held.