A Plymouth resident for 36 years, Vincent Festa, Jr. was first elected mayor in November 2007. His prior service to the town includes serving as chairman of the Board of Education and Water Pollution Control Authority and as an administrative assistant to a former Plymouth mayor. He also is a former chairman of the Connecticut Human Rights and Opportunities Commission. The holder of a B.A., M.S. and sixth year administration degree, Festa spent more than 30 years in the Waterbury school system, both as a teacher and administrator. When he retired in 1996, he was principal of Bucks Hill Elementary School. Festa and his wife, Sandra, have three sons, Jeffrey, Brett and Aaron, and two grandchildren, Zachary and Maisie.