NewCanaanite.com will publish endorsement letters for this local election through Oct. 27. Send letters to editor@newcanaanite.com.
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Having gotten to know Lina Lee since she and her husband have moved to New Canaan, we would like to enthusiastically recommend her for Town Council. Lina, an accomplished attorney, brings many strengths to the table as both an organizer and advocate, and in her work as Executive Director of the Connecticut Bar, we have seen firsthand her natural talent for bringing a wide variety of people and viewpoints together to work towards common goals. She has successfully led efforts to modernize the CT Bar, strengthen its governance, and bring innovation to its work.
Lina would bring the same focus, creativity, and practical energy to the Town Council. She has a genuine desire to serve and is fully invested in contributing to the future of New Canaan. We encourage voters to join us in voting for Lina Lee in this year’s election.
Stephanie and John Auerbach
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Dear Fellow New Canaanites,
They say all politics is local, but these days it’s sometimes hard to see it. Media coverage of national politics seems to consume every aspect of our daily lives. This November, however, when we head to the polls, it is important that we take time to focus on what really matters to us here in New Canaan: protection of local control over zoning, improving infrastructure and emergency services, maintaining educational excellence and safeguarding or treasured parks and wetlands. That is why I write to express my strong support for Pavla Levin’s candidacy for Town Council.
Pavla spent more than 30 years working in the fields of both finance and technology and brings a unique skill set to the Council. With both a master’s degree in computer science and a CFA, she is the candidate most qualified to navigate the fiscal and technological complexities facing New Canaan as we move into a new era. Pavla already serves New Canaan as Secretary of the Utilities Commission. A seat on town council will broaden the scope of the promising work she is doing to advance New Canaan’s infrastructure and emergency services.
Pavla is an active and dedicated member of CT169Strong: a grassroots organization working with citizens and local officials across the state to protect local control of zoning. New Canaan is a gem not by accident. It was created by vision, hard work and intellectual understanding of the needs of our neighborhoods within the State of Connecticut. Pavla’s blend of experience, intellect and care for our community make her the ideal candidate to serve on our Town Council. I urge my fellow residents to join me in supporting Pavla for this important position.
Jill M. Guzzetti
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Let’s drop the myth that local elections are just about potholes and parking permits. They’re about power and who gets to decide what your kids can learn, read, or even think about in school.
In states across the country, there’s been a disturbing surge in efforts to remove or censor classroom books. According to Connecticut Public Radio, in Connecticut alone, the number of book challenges jumped from 29 in 2022 to 117 the next year. That’s not an accident, it’s an agenda. A well-funded, highly coordinated campaign backed by national conservative groups, convinced that banning books will somehow protect children more than, say, regulating firearms. And it’s marching steadily from Congress to Hartford and into our town.
Here’s what should really worry you: the Trump movement just launched a new “patriotic education” coalition stacked with MAGA-aligned groups like Moms for Liberty, Turning Point USA, and America First Legal. It’s not about helping kids understand government — it’s about teaching them to cheer for it blindly. To fund it, the administration is siphoning millions away from public school support programs — including ones that train teachers to serve diverse classrooms — and pouring it into a civics curriculum where slavery is glossed over, Native Americans barely exist, and the biggest takeaway is that George Washington never told a lie.
Now, ask yourself: who’s most likely to bring that curriculum here?
When Republicans win local control, they bring the national playbook with them. Quietly, and quickly. First come “content warnings.” Then come removals. Then come curriculum reviews so whitewashed they make a sheet of paper look radical. This isn’t about choice: parents already have the right to opt their kids out of certain lessons. This is about imposing one worldview on everyone else.
And the mechanism for all of it? Local elections.
Republicans up and down the ballot have made clear: they want to decide which books belong, what’s appropriate to teach, and which perspectives are simply too “offensive” to include. That’s how censorship creeps in, not with a bang, but a slow red pencil.
You can trust the Democratic candidates to defend our curriculum development process that already works.
So if you think your vote doesn’t matter this fall, think again. A municipal election isn’t trivial. It’s where the rubber meets the road. It’s not just potholes and parks, it’s values, power, and who gets to decide what your children are taught and allowed to read.
This election, vote like the books on our kids’ shelves depend on it, because they do.
Vote Row A by Tuesday, November 4th, 2025.
Jess Heckerling
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As neighbors of Kimberly Norton and proud Republicans, we have seen firsthand, her dedication to keeping our community safe, informed, and engaged. We live in town, and after an attempted car burglary on our street in the middle of the night, it was Kim who took the initiative to start a Neighborhood Watch group. She quickly brought neighbors together, organized communication channels, and kept everyone alert and informed. Her proactive leadership made a real difference and showed how deeply she cares about the safety of those around her.
Kim also keeps residents well-versed on important local issues that might otherwise go unnoticed. She was the first to inform our neighborhood about the proposed sale of Aquarion, outlining the potential implications, such as increased water bills and reduced local oversight of our water system, as well as ways to participate in public hearings on the matter. Her ability to translate complex issues into clear, practical information helps neighbors make their voices heard.
Like many of us, we are very concerned that no resident input has been sought on the consultant contract, paid for by our tax dollars, to study three in-town lots — Lumberyard, Locust Avenue, and Richmond Hill – for proposed Affordable Housing in the densest areas of town. Kim helped craft the Affordable Housing Committee ordinance and strongly advocated for five resident members to be included so that community perspectives would be incorporated into housing discussions. Yet, after watching recent meetings, it’s troubling that there appears to be little to no representation from actual in-town residents, especially when town monies are being spent on these consultants who can recommend changes that would affect the density, development, and character of our town.
Equally concerning are private meetings between town executives and the Connecticut Municipal Redevelopment Authority, who reportedly require zoning concessions in exchange for funding. Similarly, the possible sale of a state-owned parking lot at the train station, in exchange for New Canaan building Affordable Housing on that site, is alarming. We do not need that level of congestion added to the downtown area. Residents have not been adequately informed about these discussions. Kim has been one of the few voices calling for more civic engagement from the Planning & Zoning Commission during the Plan of Conservation and Development review meetings with the Town Council. When she introduced a measure to increase public participation in zoning matters, the vote was tied. The First Selectman broke the tie, voting against more public engagement, which should be unacceptable to everyone. The residents, homeowners and taxpayers in New Canaan should absolutely be more fully engaged in the decision-making process regarding P&Z plans and regulation changes!
Kimberly Norton is exactly the kind of leader we need right now. She is informed, courageous, and committed to transparency, which we should all demand from our public officials. We need adequate checks and balances in our government, so that any kind of development only occurs with the consent and buy-in of residents, rather than informing us after the fact. Kimberly believes that decisions about our town should include ample input from the people who live here. Her record shows that she listens, acts, and stands up for residents.
For all these reasons, we are proud to support incumbent Kimberly Norton for re-election to the New Canaan Town Council. She’s the voice for residents who want a safer, more engaged, and well-informed New Canaan.
Sincerely,
Barbara and Nick Newman
Mr. and Mrs. Newman: Thank you for your comments! The Affordable Housing Committee holds public meetings once a month, including tonight (please come!). We welcome all to join us, including of course Ms. Norton. Videos of past meetings — including subcommittee meetings — are also available on YouTube. You will see the thought and deliberations that have gone into selecting those three sites for consideration. The Town is under a fairly tight timeline and pretty strict restraints for complying with CGS 8-30(g), including land costs, access to water and sewer, and ease of getting into town (among many other things). And while drafting and finalizing the ordinance creating the committee was a big undertaking (the number of seats was considered by all and not a huge bone of contention), the hard work was done by those drafting it (Tom Butterworth and I) and is being done currently by those of us who serve on the Committee. We are a bipartisan group including members of relevant elected and appointed boards as well as community members, who are working hard to represent New Canaan well and move the ball forward on complying with state law.
Drafting ordinances and other governing documents is hard work, and it is important that among other things, one doesn’t create unintended consequences. Ms. Norton’s suggestion that public input be taken before any P&Z decisions is not only wholly duplicative of the fact that all P&Z meetings are open to the public and recorded, but also would presumably require some sort of survey or referendum for all P&Z decisions. Imagine the inefficiency and cost of that if for example you or your neighbor wanted to install a pool 2″ outside of required setbacks or something equally rather pedestrian. Perhaps an extreme example, but the law of unintended consequences should always be considered.
More generally on transparency, when asked directly whether she supported the Town Council making very last minute, unannounced reductions to budget requests, she said yes. That is the opposite of transparency.
Finally, when Ms. Norton was given an opportunity to draft further steps on gas-powered leaf blowers–an issue she appeared to care deeply about in late spring/early summer–she declined. That said, once I took the initiatuve to draft a potential ordinance, Ms. Norton certainly had alot of demands on what she wanted included.
TL; DR– Elect doers, not talkers. Ms. Norton is a talker.
Hillary: A doer? You are partisan, lack transparency and too opinionated. You reject the most qualified candidates for committees based on your personal opinion of them, not their qualifications. You lack transparency. Your husband is the Treasurer and a Board member of the New Canaan Libary. Yet you vote on the library budget and grants. Even tough State and Town municipal rules and ethics require you to recuse yourself. You attacked publically those who questioned having pornographic books in our schools and the children’s section of the NC library. So you support children reading pornography?
Why you are singling out Kim Norton with unsubstantiated false rhetoric is troubling. I find Kim fair, non-biased and low key unlike you who votes on personal opinion and has had multiple outbursts at Town Council meetings.
False innuendo spoken and lack of transparency and disclosure by someone who wants to represent New Canaanites on our Town Council is troubling to me
Roy:
When very recently a husband and wife served concurrently on TC and BOE, no one raised any conflict concerns. And I think, if you do a little bit of work, you’ll see that my support for the New Canaan Library long predates my husband’s tenure on the board.
As for the rest of your allegations, I won’t dignify them with a response. They are absurd on their face.
I wish you well, Roy,
Hillary,
It would help to know where you stand on electing Planning and Zoning?
Hi Sarah:
I am not inclined to support electing P&Z, but would of course consider it if the charter revision commission presented it as an option. Though I don’t agree with all of their decisions, I generally think they do a very good job. If P&Z needs more oversight, perhaps a good compromise would be having TC vote on prospective members like it does for Audit & Ethics Committees and the Board of Finance. And if nothing else, I would hope we could evolve past considering certain seats “Republican” or “Other Party” seats and appoint people based on qualification alone.
Thanks for the question. Hope that helps clarify my position. We can also chat further about this offline if you would like.
Thanks everyone, this thread is closed.