New London - The Democratic Town Committee fell in line with the views of its chosen mayoral candidate Tuesday night and agreed the city should not sell a portion of Riverside Park to the Coast Guard Academy.

During its monthly meeting at the Senior Center, the committee backed Daryl Justin Finizio's stance against selling about half of the 18-acre park on the Thames River for $2.9 million.

"The more people took a look at it, the more we decided it is not a great deal for the city,'' Chairman William Satti said Wednesday. "I think this plan is terrible."

City Councilor Wade Hyslop made the motion to oppose the sale, and Councilor Michael Passero seconded it. Both are running for re-election.

Finizio, who defeated Councilor Michael Buscetto in the September primary, has been an ardent supporter of keeping the park. Buscetto was one of four councilors who voted to sell.

"Our party and our ticket are united in opposition to the sale,'' Finizio said Wednesday.

Satti also accused City Councilor Rob Pero, the Republican candidate for mayor, of "single-handedly" brokering the sale while he was mayor.

Pero responded that the Coast Guard has been interested in Riverside Park for more than 10 years and when he became mayor in 2010, the head of the academy contacted him about working out an agreement.

"There has been an interest now, but no one ever showed any interest in the park, including Billy Satti, before we took a leadership role and addressed the issue,'' Pero said Wednesday.

The Coast Guard originally wanted to purchase the entire park and later wanted 13 acres. It was only when the Coast Guard offered $2.9 million for 9 acres that Pero agreed.

An expanded academy campus would be good for business in the area, he said, and students at nearby Winthrop School would be able to use the campus.

"I also agreed it should go before the voters, and I helped get signatures on the petitions,'' he said.

He said he would put together a committee to look at how the remaining nine acres of the park should be used and suggested a portion of the purchase price be re-invested in the park and the surrounding neighborhood.

Because of the recent interest in the park, which had been neglected by the city for years, about $10,000 has been spent fixing it up, including purchasing grills and picnic tables.

Last year the City Council voted 4-3 to sell the land and to hold a referendum on Election Day to let residents make the final decision. Hylsop, Passero and Mayor Martin Olsen, a Republican who is running for mayor as a petitioning candidate, voted against the sale.

Pero and Councilor Adam Sprecace, along with Buscetto and Green Party member Deputy Mayor John Russell voted in favor of the sale, although the Green Party has been opposed to the sale since it was first proposed in 2010. Sprecace and Russell are running for re-election.

The two other petitioning candidates for mayor, Lori Hopkins-Cavanaugh and Andrew Lockwood, are against the sale.

The Republican Town Committee has not taken a stand on the issue.

Bill Vogel, GOP chairman, said Wednesday the town committee will not vote on the sale.

"It's up to the people now,'' Vogel said. "It's already a referendum issue up for a vote so the people will have to decide if they want to do it.''

k.edgecomb@theday.com