King of All Media Howard Stern sits court side at...

King of All Media Howard Stern sits court side at the basketball game between the Miami Heat and the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan. (Jan. 27, 2011) Credit: Getty Images

Howard Stern ridiculed members of a Connecticut representative town meeting Wednesday morning on his satellite radio show, portraying them as self-righteous and stuck-up prudes who don’t even know the definition of a shock jock.

“If you don’t know what a shock jock is, forget about me, but the vernacular is pretty well known here in America,” Stern said on Sirius Satellite Radio.

Stern’s rant came the morning after his longtime executive producer and sidekick, Gary Dell’Abate, was raked over the coals about the racy content of the show during an interview for a seat on the Board of Parks and Recreation.

Dell’Abate earned the endorsement of the RTM Appointments Committee by a vote of 8 to 1 with two abstentions, but not before enduring a fusillade of tough and, at times, cringe-inducing questions.

“Yeah, I’ve got a question, Is it true Howard really has a tiny penis,’ ” Stern said sarcastically. “Gary caught a [expletive] storm.”

Dell’Abate’s chief inquisitor on the Appointments Committee Tuesday night was Coline Jenkins, the great-great-granddaughter of suffragette Elizabeth Cady Stanton.

“I went online and heard that Howard Stern is a shock jock and tried to figure out what it means,” Jenkins said. “I wasn’t so happy. It said on his show he was throwing bologna slices at a naked woman. Did that really happen? Is that a form of recreation?”

Stern parodied Jenkins on his program Wednesday in a snobbish, feminine voice.

“Like she’s been living in the basement so long she doesn’t have any [expletive] clue,” Stern said. “I guarantee if we put you under a microscope, we’ll find some weird [expletive] about you.”

Jenkins saw no problem with her line of questioning, however.

“I certainly know what a shock jock is and I’ve watched his program,” Jenkins said Wednesday in an interview. “I think he’s gone on attack. I think he’s missing the point how he treats women.”

Dell’Abate, 49, a resident of Old Greenwich for the past 16 years who is married with two sons, was unanimously nominated for last month by the selectmen for the parks board.

“I’m willing to work in a voluntary position for free to help the community,” Dell’Abate said on air. “If you don’t want me, you should bring in the parade of people behind me who want to work for free.” “You said this was going to be a nightmare and you were going to be grilled by these people,” Robin Quivers, the show’s co-host, told Dell’Abate.

Playing an advisory role in town government, the nine-member board has been a springboard for everything from beach-access policies and playground projects to park fees and a master inventory of available playing fields. Terms run for three years.

Christopher von Keyserling, who is supporting Dell’Abate’s candidacy for the board and is chairman of the Appointments Committee, took no offense over Stern’s commentary.

“They’ll pick on anybody for laughs,” von Keyserling said. “It’s not personal. It’s what they do.” Von Keyserling said Dell’Abate should be judged on his qualifications, not what he does for a living.

“As I said from the beginning, I was not going to entertain any National Enquirer questions,” von Keyserling said.

Dell’Abate is part of the coaching staff of the North Mianus Bulldogs, of the Greenwich Youth Football League, a position he has held for the past nine years.

He has also coached baseball for the Old Greenwich-Riverside Community Center, as well as Cal Ripken and Junior Babe Ruth leagues in town. The elder of Dell’Abate’s two sons, who are 16 and 13, plays football at Greenwich High School.

Dell’Abate’s appointment to the volunteer board is subject to confirmation by the full 230-member RTM, which is notorious for grilling nominees the way Stern and his disciples pry into the lives of guests on the show.

“If the RTM is prudish, then the town is prudish, and it’s doing its job,” von Keyserling said.

Dell’Abate contends that the personality people hear on the radio is different from the family man and youth football coach.

Stern wasn’t exactly buying it, however.

“No it isn’t,” Stern said. “Gary is the same here as he is off the air.” Neither was Jenkins.

“What I’m upset about is entertainment where women are not treated with respect,” Jenkins said Tuesday. “I admire you for being able to bifurcate your life. I’m not even sure I admire it.” Jenkins’ use of the word “bifurcate,” which is similar to compartmentalizing, goaded Stern.

“Gary should have said, ’I’m not bifurcate. I’m not even gay,’ ” Stern said mockingly.

“If it were me, I would hate those people passing judgment on me.” Jenkins reiterated her point, but in simpler terms.

“You cannot divorce your public persona from your private persona,” Jenkins said Wednesday. “He has his work and he has his family, and now he’s entering into a community public official capacity. I just hope that he doesn’t denigrate women.”

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