Robert Yuchniuk was born and raised in Montville. He moved back to town 10 years ago with his wife and 2 children. The youngest is still in the Montville School System, while the eldest has since relocated to Waterford. Robert and his wife are expecting their first grandchild in November.
Robert has spent his entire life in public service. He retired after 28 years as a Police Officer in our neighboring Town of Waterford, and is currently continuing his service to community as the Animal Control Officer for Waterford and East Lyme.
Robert has served on the Zoning Board of Appeals as well as the Public Safety Commission, where he served as Chairman prior to being elected to the Town Council in 2021. Since on the Town Council, Robert has served as the liaison to the Public Safety Committee, the Youth Service Advisory Board, the Economic Development Committee, and is currently the chairman of the TARP committee. He recently held the position as the chairman of the Montville Police Independent Transition Committee, which was instrumental in moving forward with the inception of the Independent Police Department. In addition he led the planning of the police transition ceremony held in July commemorating this historic event.
Alongside his fellow Republican Town Council Members, Robert has worked very hard to make some pretty amazing changes in our town with minimal impact to the taxpayers. Robert would be honored to be re-elected to a second term on the Town Council so that he may continue to serve our growing community.
Board of Education
Donna Funk
Donna Funk has been a resident of Montville for 65 years. She has been married for 44 years, has 3 children, and 5 grandchildren. She has an Associate’s Degree in elementary education from Green Mountain College, a Bachelor’s degree in Child Development from Connecticut College, and a Master’s degree in Special Education from Southern Connecticut State University, and a 6th year degree in leadership and supervision from Sacred Heart University.
Donna has been a public educator for 25 year. She taught at the middle school level for 11 years and supported students as a building principal for 16 years in the Norwich Public Schools. During her most recent tenure at Thomas Mahan School, her leadership resulted in Blue Ribbon status for closing the gap in student learning. Donna retired in 2021 from education and began a second career as a real estate agent for Signature Properties.
As a member of the Republican Town Committee, Donna believes her background in education will be a positive resource for the Board of Education and the community at large. Donna welcomes the opportunity to serve the students and families of Montville.
Lisa Maffeo
Board of Zoning Appeals
Lisa Maffeo has been a resident of Montville for 17 years; she is married with 2 children enrolled in Montville Public Schools. Prior to becoming a Real Estate Agent, Lisa worked as a legal assistant for 5 years and before that was a property accountant. For the last year Lisa has been a member of the SECT Women’s Network, serving as their Treasurer, a member of the Lawrence and Memorial Auxiliary, as well as a member of the ECAR Finance Committee.
Lisa is running for Zoning Board of Appeals because she believes in doing the right thing and that everyone deserves to be heard.
Michael Butterworth has been a resident of Montville for 42 years. He is a retired from the Department of Corrections and is a Veteran. While living in Montville Michael has found meaningful ways to serve his community. He could often be found on the softball fields volunteering his time, while his children were young. He serviced on the Montville Marine Patrol on Gardner Lake for 8 years. Mike also has held a seat on the Montville Public Safety Committee for the last 10 years. He currently volunteers his time at Oakdale Volunteer Fire Department where he is proud to say he is a life member. With 42 years of service to the department he has hold many positions and titles, he currently serves as their Deputy Chief.
Michael is running for Montville Zoning Board of Appeals because he knows his dedication and knowledge of our town will be an asset to our residents.
Tom McNally
Mayoral Candidate
Thomas McNally was born and raised in Montville, Connecticut. Tom is a 1994 graduate of Montville High School, along with two years at Grasso Technical High School majoring in Auto Mechanics. His educational endeavors include CEU’s from Sacramento University in California. Thomas also has coursework in water and wastewater management, EMT, Firefighter 1&2, Fire Officer, and Incident Safety Officer. Thomas currently is a small business owner of T&S Lawn Care and Property Management, LLC. He is a current volunteer firefighter/EMT with 18 years’ experience, currently serving as a Captain.
Thomas’ community involvement includes; Rotarian in the Montville Rotary where he was the recipient of the prestigious Paul Harris Award in 2021, he is a member of CERT (Community Emergency Response Team), MRC- Medical Reserve Corp, NRA member, Captain with the Oakdale Fire Department, and former member of CABE & CAPPS Educational Committees. Additional Community Involvement includes the 2010 H1N1 Regional 4 Medical Reserve corps Volunteer, 2012 Hurricane Sandy Volunteer from the Medical Reserve Corps, and the National School Board Association recognition as a member of National Affiliate Program. Throughout the years Thomas has
been recognized as the 2004 Recipient of the Secretary of State Public Service Award, 2002 awarded a certificate of appreciation for heroic action by the Town of Montville office of the Mayor, certificate of appreciation from AFSCME Local 1303-1341 for summer student internship mentoring program, 2016 certificate of appreciation from Grass Roots East, and the aforementioned honor the Paul Harris Fellow Award.
Thomas’ civic duty includes: Three terms on the Montville Town Council, serving two terms as Chairman, Finance Committee, including a position as chairman, Farmers Market Committee, Chairman of the Public Works/solid waste Committee, Covid committee member, as well as Liaison to the conservation commission. Thomas held or currently holds membership and/or office positions in the following: twenty-two years as a member of the Montville Republican Town Committee, serving as the chairman for the past twelve years, eight years on the Montville Board of Education, including a position as Secretary, twelve years the Montville Public Safety Commission, servicing as Vice Chairman, Zoning Board of Appeals, Planning and Zoning Commission, Montville Economic Development Commission, Justice of the Peace for fifteen years, Past Chairman of the Metrocast Advisory Council, Stone Container Community Action Council, and Montville Historical Commission.
Thomas is running for Mayor for the Town of Montville, because as a lifelong resident of this amazing town, he wants the opportunity to continue to focus on the best interests of the taxpayers, our workforce, and the children who live here. He will strive to represent the employees of this town in a fair and ethical manner. He will explore opportunities for Montville to grow its tax base. He will guide our educational path to benefit our children, and he will look into initiatives to assist our senior population. Thomas is running for Mayor to move our town forward with a focus on benefiting the residents of Montville.
Town Council
Alfred Mandler
Alfred Mandler is married to his wife of 43 years, Kerry. Together they have 33 year old identical twin boys Joseph and Matthew, whom have made the decision to continue to reside in Montville.
Alfred has owned and operated businesses throughout Southeastern Connecticut since 1978. In addition he has been an active member for over 30 years in both fire and ambulance services.
With an extensive knowledge of municipal budgetary processes and operations, Alfred has been an active participate on the Town Council since being elected 2 years ago. He has attended every subcommittee meeting he was appointed to. He has served in some capacity on the Covid 19 ad hoc committee, the Water Pollution Control Authority, Town Administration Rules and Procedures, and the Public Works Solid Waste Standing Committee. In addition Alfred has, on his own time, attended numerous other subcommittee meetings to familiarize himself with their operations since being elected.
As an elected official, Alfred has and will continue to advocate for the senior citizens, youth services, and the safety of our school children in our community.
Town Council
Frank Miceli
Frank Miceli has been a resident in the Town of Montville for the past 21 years. He has worked in Marketing and Advertising as a Senior Multimedia Designer for the last 18 years.
As a two year member of the Montville Republic Town Committee, Frank quickly stepped up to take over both the website design and social media accounts. He has instituted a plan to both promote and celebrate businesses, groups, and community activities within our town. He has worked diligently to keep the public informed about town news, all while maintaining a professional appearance and cohesive theme.
Frank is a member of the Montville Water & Sewer Commission as well as the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Frank is running for Town Council to promote bringing new business to town and to assist in holding the town to a fiscal responsibility ensuring lower taxes. He is in support of the building of the new animal shelter. He is confident in maintaining an open dialogue with the now independent police department to keep Montville Safe.
2023 Montville Republican Candidates
Town Council
Kevin Lathrop
Kevin has been a Montville Resident for the last three years; he has an 18 year old daughter and a 6 year old son. For the last 2 years Kevin has worked at East Construction LLC as a lead Carpenter.
A newcomer to the political arena he is not new to serving his community. He is the Director for Sails Up 4 Cancer, “a nonprofit organization dedicated to funding education, prevention, care, and a cure for all types of cancer through the art and enjoyment of sailing.”
As a member of the Montville Republican Town Committee, Kevin has been appointed as a Commissioner to the Water Pollution Control Authority, a position he has held for close to a year.
Kevin believes that his 30 years of construction knowledge will be beneficial within our planning and zoning department. In addition, Kevin is running for Town Council in an effort to bring Montville into the future, while preserving its small town feel.
Robert Yuchniuk
Town Council
Town Council
Sheelagh Lapinski
Sheelagh Lapinksi has been a resident of Montville since 1996. She is married and has two adult children and five grandchildren. Sheelagh has a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology from Long Island University with a Master’s Degree in Education from Sacred Heart University. Sheelagh first began serving the community as a school teacher. For the past 20 years she has been a Program Director and Educator for Individuals with Acquired Brain Injuries.
Sheelagh has been an active member of the Republican Town Committee. She has held an elected seat on the Board of Education for the last 4 years, where she is currently serving as the liaison for the Youth Advisory Board, she has served as a Commissioner on the Economic Development Commission, and as the Deputy Registrar of Voters for the last 2 years.
Sheelagh is running for Town Council because she is confident that she can utilize her knowledge from working with the Economic Development Commission to bring more businesses to Montville. She is dedicated to moving Montville forward.
Gil Maffeo
Board of Education
Gil Maffeo has been a resident of Montville for 17 years. He currently resides with his wife and two children, who are currently enrolled in the Montville Public School System, with one being enrolled in the special education department. Gil has served as a Police Officer for the past 23 years. He has served as an instructor at the police academy, as a Field Training Officer and as one of the first Drug Recognition Instructors in the State of Connecticut. Gil has a Bachelor’s degree in Human Behavioral Communication and a Master’s Degree in Public Administration. In addition to his duties as a Police Officer he is an Adjunct Professor at Goodwin University.
Gil has been named the Waterford Police Department Officer of the Year in 2016, MADD Top Cop 2017, and is an 11 time recipient of the MADD Award. He has been a member of the Knights of Columbus for the last 11 years. Previously Gil has served on the Parks and Rec Commission.
As a new member to the Montville Republican Town Committee, Gil is running for Board of Education because he would like to bridge the gap between parents and administrators and move Montville Schools in a direction which we are proud.
Lisa Terry
Board of Education
Lisa Terry has been a resident of Montville over the past twenty years. She has been married to her husband Deane of 22 years; she has one son, a graduate of Montville High School, and two wonderful step children, who graduated from St Bernard’s. She also has a miniature schnauzer named Maddy Shoes. Lisa and Deane spent the last five years traveling the country in their Motorcoach. She loves to cook, she’s a boater, and serves as a caregiver for mother.
Lisa retired from the Town of Montville after serving 19 years as Town Clerk, Vital Records Administrator and 9 years in the Finance Department, where she served as Town Treasurer. As Town Clerk, Lisa served as Chair of the New London County Town Clerks Association as well as the Vice Chair of the Connecticut Town Clerks Association. Lisa served as the towns Veterans Liaison. She was instrumental in building a lower vault in town hall where she served as records administrator for all departments. She was always forward thinking and brought the latest and greatest technology to the Town Clerks office.
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Lisa currently serves on the Board of Education after filling a vacancy. Lisa believes in creating stronger relationships between the school board and the community. Lisa strongly believes parents should have a say in their children’s education. Her goal is to equip young people with the necessary skills and mindset to thrive in this ever changing world. She will work hard to keep taxes down while working on making Montville schools #1. Lisa is running for Board of Ed because she believes in putting parents and students first.
Board of Education
Robert Mitchell
Robert Mitchell is a retired Navy Senior Chief, after 22 years of service. He has been a resident of Montville since 1987.
Robert has held positions as the Past Chairman and is now currently the Board Secretary for the Board of Education. As the new Chair of LEARN, our Regional Education Group, he has regional and statewide perspective on the education of our children. He was the past President of CABE, the statewide school board association.
With 17 years of experience as an elected official to the Board of Education, Robert is running for reelection so that he may continue his work with our great school district here in Montville.
Board of Zoning Appeals
Meracus Hernandez
A graduate of Three Rivers University, Meracus Hernandez has demonstrated exemplary civic engagement within the Town of Montville. He volunteers his time to attend Town Council and Board of Education meetings to familiarize himself with the boards and their process within our town. He currently serves on the Economic Development Committee. He has worked to empower votes by ensuring a fair and secure process as an Assistant Moderator in the prior election cycles and aided successful political campaigns throughout the state. During the 2022 Midterm Election, he serves the Republican Party as the Field Director of the Victory Center in Norwich, working and communicating closely with candidates on the ticket.
Meracus is running for Zoning Board of Appeals so that he may continue to serve his community in a meaningful capacity.
Michael Butterworth
Board of Zoning Appeals
Board of Assessment Appeals
Florence Turner
Florence Turner has made Montville her home for almost 40 years. She has been employed by the town for 21 years at the Montville Transfer Station. Flo is currently a member of the Montville Farmers Market Committee and has been involved with many town organizations over the years.
Flo is seeking her third term on the Board of Assessment Appeals because she enjoys giving back to the community she loves.
Board of Zoning Appeals
John Plikus
John Plikus is a 27 year resident of our great town, he is married and has raised 4 children. He has a Bachelor’s in Engineering from WPI and is currently an Engineer for Frontier Communications. For the last 28 years he has worked in Highway Road Construction and Utilities Relocation. John is a proud US Marines Veteran. He has provided support to our community as a Boy Scout Leader for 8 years and in coaching for our Little League and Babe Ruth Teams for 10 years. As a member of the Republican Town Committee, John was appointed to the Zoning Board of Appeals in 2023, when he stepped up to fill a vacancy. In addition, he is a Certified Voting Moderator.
John is running for Montville Zoning Board of Appeals to continue serving the citizens of Montville.