City Clerk Resigns: No Hard Feelings—Says She Just Didn't Like the Job

On Monday, City Clerk Ellen Wink, hired by Mayor Richard A. Moccia in 2009, suddenly resigned from her job with the city, leaving a brief letter of resignation in her wake.

But neither Moccia nor Wink say there were any hard feelings involved. She left on good terms and not because of any fight, they both say. The unusual speed of Wink's leaving the job was due to the fact that she didn't think she needed to stay any longer in the position because there is nothing very important that she's needed for in the upcoming two weeks.

"Two weeks would've been dragging it out,"she said in an interview Wednesday afternoon.

Wink said she prefers a more challenging job where she gets to be out of the office more.

"We didn't have a fight," Moccia said in a separate interview. "She's not mad. In fact, she's contributing to my re-election committee. She made a decision. She wants more time with her family."

Wink helped Moccia with preparations for Common Council meetings, helped represent the city at various meetings and events and publicized employee-related events in City Hall, such as a recent "Heart Walk" around the track behind the building.

"She was very aggressive in getting information out and trying to get everybody involved," Moccia said.

Assistant City Clerk Karin A. Beggan, who is appointed by the Common Council, will handle Wink's job until Moccia finds a replacement.

"I've got some people already inquiring aboutthe job," Moccia said. "I'm meeting with certain individuals, and hopefully I'll have someone in place by mid-May, I would think."

Wink said she can't believe the coverage her resignation has already received and doesn't believe her resignation is all that important. A woman was staring at her in Stew Leonard's store today, and Wink told her that, yes, Wink was the person whose picture appears in The Hour today. The woman responded that, yes, that was where she'd seen Wink before.

Wink also resigned from her position as secretary for the Norwalk Republican Town Committee, although she's retaining her seat as one of the representatives of District A on that panel. Wink said she was not interested in holding the post any more.

Wink owned a nursing home, the 29-bed Lea Manor, before she took the clerk post. She had been the Republican candidate in the 2008 race for the 137th state House of Representatives district ultimately won by Democrat Chris Perone. In 2009, she replaced Mary Roman as city clerk when Roman retired.