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Mr. Tinsley has been seeking the position since at least last November and formed a campaign committee.
Mr. Murphy had seemed more tentative about formally entering the race until earlier this month when he was interviewed by the Vacancy Committee.
He has been praised for his work to address infrastructure improvements, recognize municipal volunteers and promote civility among town officials during his four years as first selectman.
However, Mr. Murphy has said he was complacent and ran a "horrible" campaign two years ago when he lost to Robert Silvaggi by 10 votes. Critics have said that he allowed opponents to portray him negatively.
"I think that was on people's minds," Mr. Flynn said when someone said that it is difficult in politics to get back to a job that you once had.
"Bob Belden said that Jerry was the right guy at the right time" in 2003," Mr. Flynn said of a comment that finance board Vice Chairman Robert Belden reportedly said during an executive session that lasted more than an hour before the RTC agreed on its slate.
"Bob said that this is Bill Tinsley's time," Mr. Flynn added.
Mr. Flynn said he believed that some of the RTC members were impressed that Mr. Tinsley had jumped into the race early "with both feet."
Mr. Belden is a member of Mr. Tinsley's campaign steering committee.
Mr. Murphy could challenge the RTC's endorsement at the party caucus, which will be held on or about July 21, and, if he loses at that juncture, in a primary in early September.
He said in a phone interview Wednesday, the day after the RTC meeting, that he is undecided about whether he would seek the nomination at the caucus or in a primary.
Vacancy Committee Chairman Larry Miller said that the five members on his panel thought that both candidates for first selectmen have excellent qualifications.
He said that Mr. Murphy had assured the panel that he would run a more aggressive campaign this fall if he secured the GOP nomination.
Mr. Flynn said that, as had been the case with the Vacancy Committee, some of the RTC members appeared to sway back and forth in considering the two candidates.
Mr. Miller said that, although Mr. Murphy's lack of campaigning two years ago is a concern, he believes the former first selectman is a much better candidate than he was six years ago when he first sought the position, as a result of his experience as first selectman and his service since December 2007 as one of the two lower selectmen.
Mr. Tinsley, who has a master's degree from Columbia University in New York City, said he is prepared for a challenge at the caucus and in a primary.
He said that he and Mr. Murphy offer contrasting leadership styles.
"Jerry came from the military, and I come from the private sector," Mr. Tinsley said.
Mr. Murphy served for 31 years in the U.S. Navy before becoming a real estate associate.
Mr. Tinsley has been a corporate executive and currently is the owner of Play It Again Sports in Brookfield.
"In the military, the style is that the superiors give orders and the subordinates follow them," Mr. Tinsley said. "That's not the way it will work in Brookfield now. You need a person who is a good manager by the method of influence."
Steve O'Reilly, who is in his eighth year on the Board of Finance, was nominated by the RTC for one of the two lower seats on the three-member Board of Selectmen.
He said that his priorities for the next two years would include expanding the town's commercial tax base and improving morale among municipal employees.
Mr. Tinsley has been noted for his call for increased productivity in municipal and school operations since being elected to the finance board in 2003.
Mr. O'Reilly, who formerly served as the vice chairman of the finance board, is considered a fiscal conservative.
The Vacancy Committee had nominated former Board of Education Chairman Jerry Friedrich for the lower selectmen's seat.
However, the RTC moved him to one of the four slots for the finance board, pushing Ernie Henninger out of one of the positions from the nominees approved by the Vacancy Committee for that panel.
"Jerry is a flexible guy who wants to help the town in any way he can," Mr. Flynn said of Mr. Friedrich's willingness to accept another slot on the ticket.
The slate that will go to next month's party caucus also includes Irv Agard, Greg Dembowski and Mike Moen for the finance board.
Jane Miller had been nominated for a four-year term on the school board and incumbent Rob Gianazza has been backed for a two-year term.
The RTC also nominated Angela Finelli for the Board of Assessment Appeals and Pat Conlan, Ronnie Baiad and former Selectman Art Kerley for the Planning Commission.
Ryan Blessey, an alternate on the Zoning Commission, was nominated for a regular seat on that panel, as were Chris Lynch and Bill Mercer.
George Meyerte and incumbents Curt Timmerman and Pat Donohue received the GOP nod for the Zoning Board of Appeals.
Mr. Miller said the Vacancy Committee had distributed news releases about its candidate interviews in early April and held several sessions through May and early June.
Mr. Flynn said that he was impressed that the panel nominated a number of newcomers.
"A lot of people were dissatisfied with how things were going in town, and they responded to our public service announcements" seeking candidates, he said.
Some observers have said there have been strained relations between Mr. Silvaggi, a Republican who was elected as a petitioning candidate two years ago, and Mr. Murphy and Democratic Selectman Joni Park.
For example, they have clashed over recent months regarding the status of recently departed town Controller Michael Belden, who resigned in April, was reinstated two days later and then resigned again earlier this month.
Mr. Silvaggi and the lower selectmen also have disagreed over budget preparation and the hiring of the town counsels at the beginning of his term.
However, they have been in agreement regarding how to proceed on several infrastructure project s.
Mr. Tinsley has said that one of his priorities, if elected, would be to increase the commercial tax base, which currently accounts for about 16 percent of Brookfield's tax revenues, about the same percentage as when Mr. Murphy took office in 2003.
"We have a lot of unhappy groups," he said when asked about the municipal budget for the fiscal year that starts next month. That package includes less money for both town government services and for education than is in the current budget.
"We're going to have to watch where we spend our money in the future, because the fund balance is going to go down a little bit more," he said regarding the surplus account, which has declined recently from the goal of 7 percent that was established more than a decade ago.
Mrs. Park, who is the chairman of the Democratic Town Committee, has said that her party will announce its municipal slate next month.
Lake Lillinonah Authority Chairman William Davidson recently changed his affiliation from Republican to unaffiliated and is seeking the Democratic nomination for first selectman.
He was instrumental six years ago in establishing Republicans United For Brookfield, the organization that helped elect Mr. Murphy.
Mr. Silvaggi has said that he won't seek the Republican nomination and will announce by July 1 whether he will seek a second term as a petitioning or third-party candidate.
