The Windsor Town Council is now looking to the future after a marathon meeting in which residents and the council members themselves demanded that their embattled mayor resign.
Mayor Dominic Foppoli has been accused of sexual assault by six women, including a member of the council. One of the women has also accused Foppoli of rape.
An emergency meeting Wednesday to demand Foppoli's resignation went on for five and a half hours, with residents pleading for Foppoli to step down.
Foppoli presided over the meeting and defiantly refused. He says he is innocent and believes that an investigation by the state Attorney General's office will exonerate him.
Many of the residents spoke of their own past sexual assaults
"The testimony of so many victims was overcoming. I'm trying to process that," said Vice Mayor Sam Salmon. "This is not about me, it's about the victims and how we can take every action that we can to rid ourselves of predators that create these kinds of situations."
The council is now considering wants to strip the mayor of his power and authority, but he can only be removed from office through a recall or if he is convicted of a felony.
"Dominic can have no role in governance of the town. He can't have any affiliation with the town and in terms of Windsor, Mayor Foppoli doesn't exist," said Salmon.
Salmon says the council is also figuring out how to continue its work in the wake of the scandal and without the Mayor. There are five town council seats but one is occupied by Foppoli and another is currently empty.
"We need five members of the council and right now there's only three. And it's going to be difficult to work with that."
He says he hopes the council and the town can soon begin the healing process.
