By Jarret Liotta

WESTPORT — Former Democratic Board of Education member Neil Phillips has offered to re-enlist following the resignation of Democrat Youn Su Chao last week.

On Thursday night the Democratic Town Committee unanimously endorsed Phillips, who was recommended by the DTC’s Nominating Committee in favor of two other undisclosed candidates.

“We thought it was really important for purposes of continuity to have someone fill Youn Su’s spot who’s had some prior Board of Ed experience,” said Andrew Nevas, committee chair.

The current make-up of the seven-member BOE includes four new members who were elected in November.

Phillips, who served on the Representative Town Meeting for five years and was its Education Committee chair, was first appointed to the BOE to fill a vacancy left by then-Chair Michael Gordon in August, 2018. He chose not to run for reelection in November, 2019.

“I’m really very grateful that someone with Neil’s gravitas and experience and work ethic … was willing to do this,” said Elaine Whitney, former BOE chair and longtime member, who stepped down this season.

“I just think he’s a superb choice and I’m very appreciative of his willingness to support the board at this time,” she said.

Phillips did not make any comments at the DTC meeting and did not immediately respond to a request for comments.

“The Board of Education has the final say,” Nevas explained, noting that it would likely vote on Phillips’s recommendation next Monday, Nov. 20, at its meeting.

The Democrat-led board will likely approve the DTC’s recommendation.

While he did not name the other two candidates, Nevas said the committee was “very impressed by the quality of the people that interviewed with us.”

At the request of the BOE, the DTC moved quickly to recommend a candidate following Chao’s resignation, notifying all the Democrats on its mailing list — approximately 3,500 people — on Dec. 8 of the opening, and giving a Dec. 13 deadline for notice of interest.

“We conducted interviews on the 14th and 15th,” Nevas said.

DTC Chair Ellen Lautenberg spoke favorably of the other two applicants.

“We met some great candidates who obviously could be considered in the future,” she said.

A native of New York City, Phillips, who practices law with the firm Lennon Murphy & Phillips, LLC, has lived in town 25 years. He and his wife Kim are the parents of two high school-aged boys.