Milford City Clerk Karen Fortunati Will Soon Resign Her Position

MILFORD, CT — Milford City Clerk Karen Fortunati announced on Wednesday that she will soon be resigning from office. Her last day will be May 24.

"I have very mixed emotions about leaving. It's been the greatest honor to have served this city for almost seven years, first as an Alder and now as City Clerk," Fortunati said. "I love working alongside Mayor Giannattasio, Chief of Staff Justin Rosen, my amazing City Clerk colleagues and the many city departments to provide superior service to residents. Even though my position is elected, I take enormous pride in serving my community in a completely apolitical, non-partisan manner. But the illness and death of my husband last year has made being with my children an even greater priority, so I am relocating to Pennsylvania to be closer to them. I will truly miss this special city and my friends and colleagues here."

Fortunati, a Georgetown Law graduate, non-profit public programs manager, and author, was elected to the Milford Board of Aldermen in 2017. She won the City Clerk position in 2019 and has held the office since.

"During her tenure as City Clerk, she has overhauled service delivery by creating a wide range of online services, implementing a property fraud alert registry, administering the absentee ballot process, and supervising the onboarding of a new comprehensive records management software," according to a news release from Fortunati.

Mayor Tony Giannattasio said in a statement, "This is definitely a loss for Milford, but I completely understand Karen’s desire to be closer to family. Karen and I have spoken about the best way to ensure continuity of services in the City Clerk’s Office, and I have decided to appoint Rose Elliott as the Acting City Clerk. Elliott is a 26-year city employee with over 12 years’ experience as Assistant City Clerk. She is an exceptional public servant with a vast institutional knowledge of the City Clerk’s Office, the city’s finance system and department operations; she is also certified by the Connecticut Town Clerk Association and is the best qualified to lead the office. The City of Milford has a long history of City Clerks who have served in an apolitical manner and always put the residents first; I look forward to continuing that tradition."

The City Charter requires that the Board of Aldermen fill the upcoming vacancy with a member of Fortunati's political party which is Democrat.

Democratic Town Chair Katherine O. Lutz told Patch that former Democratic Mayoral candidate Kerri Rowland has interest in the city clerk position. She said the Democratic Town Committee plans to make a recommendation soon on Fortunati's replacement.

Lutz also said the charter states that once Fortunati resigns that the assistant city clerk, Elliot, would be elevated to acting city clerk until a permanent replacement is approved by the Board of Aldermen.

The Mayor's Office said in a statement that registered Democrats can submit their resumes to the Mayor's Office at mayor@milfordct.gov or by calling 203-783-3201. The Mayor's Office said in a statement that it will provide these resumes to the Board of Aldermen in advance of the meeting called to fill the City Clerk vacancy.

The person appointed by the Board of Aldermen will serve in that position until the next municipal election in November 2025. The City Clerk is a city employee with a salary of approximately $93,000 with full benefits and a team of five employees.

The position has varied responsibilities that require strict adherence to statutory guidelines. For more job information, please go to the Milford City Clerk's webpage at www.ci.milford.ct.us/city-clerk

Editor's Note: Patch erroneously stated that Kerri Rowland was a former Democratic mayor. Rowland was a former Democratic mayoral candidate. This story has since been updated. We regret the error.