Five democratic common council members have submitted a resolution appointing Bishop W. Vance Cotten Sr., the pastor at Shiloh Baptist Church, to fill the vacancy left by Thomas Serra’s death on the Middletown Common Council.
The resolution to appoint Cotten, a Democrat, will be considered at the council’s Monday meeting and will require a majority vote to pass.
“Several of us wanted to recommend Bishop Cotten,” councilman Gerald Daley said. “He’s been active in the community in many ways, and I’ve known him for over 25 years and know how deeply he’s involved in the community and beyond.”
Daley, as well as Democratic councilmen Carl R. Chism, Grady L. Faulkner, Eugene Nocera and Robert P. Santangelo, submitted the appointment to the city last week. If voted in at the next council meeting, Cotten would serve in the position until Nov. 12.
“If he wants to run for another term, he’d have to go through the normal process,” Daley said “Our authority is to appoint someone to fill the current term, and that’s what we’re hoping to do.”
Serra, 72, died on Feb. 9 after more than three decades of public service. Serra, a longtime educator at Vinal Technical High School, was first elected to the common council in 1979 and served as mayor from 1993 to 1995. He served as majority leader until his death.
“It’s a very difficult and emotional for all of us to be in the position of having to consider appointing someone to succeed Councilman Serra,” Daley said. “It’s a difficult thing, but something we have to deal with.”
Cotten said if he’s voted in he would aspire to continue Serra’s legacy of public service.
“If I am voted in on April 1 at the common council meeting, I would do my best to uphold the character and the wisdom of our former councilman Tom Serra,” Cotten said. “I try to do what’s needed as a bishop. We serve in many capacities, and one of them is sometimes you need to look at politics. … We need to do what we feel is best, not just for our members, but for our community. I just want to help.”
Cotten said he has worked for decades within the city of Middletown. He said he is active with the Middlesex County Substance Abuse Action Council, the Community Renewal team, the Middlesex County United Way and Hartford Behavioral Health.
“There’s a lot I’ve been working with,” Cotten Said. “I am not a novice in our city.”
Editor’s Note: Five Middletown democratic common council members have submitted a resolution appointing Bishop W. Vance Cotten Sr., the pastor at Shiloh Baptist Church, to fill the vacancy left by Thomas Serra’s death on the Middletown Common Council. Serra served as majority leader on the council until his death in February. An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the number of councilmen backing the measure, as well as Serra’s former title on the council.
Kathleen McWilliams can be reached at kmcwilliams@courant.com.
