Some Fairfield residents may have viewed the November 3 municipal election as inconsequential since the first selectman and Board of Selectmen were not up for re-election. But the election was notable in at least one respect—it was the 50th anniversary of John J. Sullivan’s first-term win. Sullivan would later become the longest-serving and, many believe, most influential first selectman. Sullivan would win another 11 elections, serving 24 years before he retired.

“His legacy is just enormous,” said town fiscal officer Paul Hiller, a Republican who served four years on the Representative Town Meeting and four years on the Board of Finance during Sullivan’s tenure. “We were from different parties, but he was just a remarkable man.”

During Sullivan’s 24 years as first selectman, the town acquired 1,000 acres of open space, mostly financed by state and federal grants; achieved its first AAA credit rating; built four elementary schools; convinced GE to open its headquarters on Easton Turnpike; and expanded the town’s infrastructure, most significantly in the installation of sewer systems.

 Some of the larger open spaces acquired during Sullivan’s tenure include 300 acres that became the H. Smith Richardson Golf Course, the 87.4-acre Grace Richardson Conservation Area, and 58-acre Hoyden’s Hill Open Space Area; the 170-acre Lake Mohegan Open Space Area; the 185-acre Brett Woods; and the 81.4-acre Perry’s Mill Ponds. Sullivan also acquired Penfield Beach and coastal land the town used to restore marshes, said conservation director Thomas Steinke.

John Leahy, who was the town’s fiscal officer for 21 years under Sullivan, recalled how strongly Sullivan wanted the town to have a AAA credit rating in the early 1970s.

Sullivan, a fiscal conservative who didn’t believe in debt, had Boman write five-year capital plans for town budgets and tax rates so rating agencies could see the town was planning ahead. Leahy said Sullivan’s administration even made brochures about town finances for Moody’s and Standard & Poor. At the time, the town had a AA+ rating. “They wouldn’t move us to triple-A. John was hot as hell about it. We decided to appeal it,” Leahy recalled. In 1973, Moody’s gave the town a AAA credit rating, which enables Fairfield to borrow money at lower interest rates.

Sullivan served as first selectman while the school-age population was growing and Jennings, North Stratfield, Sherman, and Dwight elementary schools were built during his tenure. The town paid cash to build Dwight School, Hiller said.

“He respected people, and I think that’s why people liked him,” said Carl Dickman, a former Republican state rep who served as a selectman with Sullivan.

Sullivan, who owned a flower shop before running for first selectman, died in 1997 at the age of 91. Says First Selectman Ken Flatto: “Sullivan was a true community leader who was greatly admired for his positive legacy to the town.” —Andrew Brophy