David was appointed to fill a vacancy in RTM District 3 in the spring of 2003. Four years later, after demonstrating his leadership on key issues affecting the town, David was elected to the Board of Selectmen, joining his running mates, First Selectman Evonne Klein and Selectman Callie Sullivan, in a history-making campaign. This outstanding trio set a precedent when they became the first Democrats to win a majority on the Board of Selectmen in 187 years.
Darien residents supported David after seeing him show tremendous initiative in his District and on town committees. Within a year and half of joining the RTM, David was elected by District 3 as its Chairman. In that capacity, David sought to raise the level of participation in town government among his fellow RTM District members by seeking out and distributing information relevant to town issues but not included in the packet of materials sent to all members.
This meant obtaining copies of primary documents, such as the Darien teachers' contract and leases for town land, and making them available to all District members. It included fielding questions about issues and seeking out the answers from responsible town leaders. Most importantly, David organized District caucuses to bring District members together with Town officials and members of the public to discuss such issues as the formation of the Health District with New Canaan and the purchase of the Darien Library. David is firmly committed to the philosophy that an educated RTM is a critical component to the proper working of Darien's town government.
A year after becoming Chairman of District 3, David was elected to position of Chairman of the RTM Public Works Committee in November 2005. In that capacity, David worked with Director of Public Works Robert Steeger and Assistant Director Darren Oustafine on a number of issues including the repair of Holly Pond Dam, the leasing of a small parcel of land at the dump to the BMW dealership, the annual town budgets, and a review of town’s spring cleanup. For example, David and his committee asked for and received substantial modifications to the proposed lease of a third of an acre of land at the Town dump to the owners of BMW of Darien. The Public Works Committee under David’s leadership also took on the Board of Selectmen when it proposed charging higher annual fees for residents to enter the town dump if they arrived in a pickup truck or had their own trailer. David and his committee successfully argued that it was unfair to single out users simply because of the type of vehicle they owned or used without regard to what they are actually transporting to the dump.
More recently, David and the Public Works Committee strongly supported the arrangement between the Town and CL&P to have CL&P remove dredged sediment from the Town Hall pond in exchange for leasing a small portion of the Town Hall parking lot to CL&P, which provided the Town with a net savings of at least $100,000 for this important drainage project. The Public Works Committee under David’s leadership also supported the Town’s expedited repair of the breach at Holly Pond Dam, and the Town’s donation of a surplus fire truck to a rural Maine town which lacked any fire trucks of the same caliber.
Finally, David also took a prominent role in working with the RTM TGS&A Committee in drafting the Town Ordinance regulating newspaper racks in Darien. David also was in the forefront of the debate at the RTM and before the Board of Finance on the issue of the Town funding several part-time positions for which funding had been cut in the 2007-08 budget, urging that the positions be funded and the jobs saved.
David lives in Darien with his wife Carolyn, who also serves on the RTM, and their two children.

Paid for by the Darien Democratic Town Committee, Marilu Cleary, Treasurer. Copyright 2007