by Jarret Liotta

WESTPORT — With little fanfare — excepting what the public may have missed behind closed doors — the two new Republican first and second selectwomen appointed Candice Savin to what will now be known as the Board of Selectwomen Tuesday afternoon.

Leading her first public meeting since being inaugurated last week, First Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker introduced the only agenda item and quickly excused them into a 45-minute executive session, where Savin, the only candidate in attendance, was interviewed.

“By charter, it is the appointment of a vacancy on the board,” Tooker said, and noted it was always traditional for them to interview potential appointments privately.

Questions of Libertarian candidate T.J. Elgin’s push to get the seat that was refused by Democratic candidate State Rep. Jonathan Steinberg (D-136) were put to rest yesterday when his attorney, Andrew Knott, withdrew a complaint filed last week in Bridgeport Superior Court aimed at stopping Savin from being sworn in.

Elgin had claimed that since Steinberg did not want the seat, owing to his interest in maintaining his tenure at the state capitol, as the next first selectman candidate he was entitled to it.

When the board came out of executive session, Town Clerk Jeff Dunkerton appeared to swear in Savin, who was joined by her husband, Daniel Gross.

Savin, who had to endure a lengthy and volatile Democratic Town Committee meeting last week before receiving the party’s near-unanimous endorsement for this role, had no comment on the interview or executive session, but appeared jubilant and in sync with her new board members.

Asked if they didn’t already have enough background information about the Democrat candidate, Moore said of the closed-door interview, “I think it’s the appropriate thing to do.”