NewCanaanite.com recently received the following endorsement letter(s). We will publish them through Oct. 26.
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Dear Editor,
At a time when politics too often divides us, we need leaders who know how to bring people together. Joe Kelly is that kind of leader, and I am proud to support him for State Senator in Connecticut’s 36th District.
Joe’s record demonstrates leadership, experience, and a commitment to service. After a successful career in financial services, including serving as CEO of a commodity brokerage firm, Joe chose to return home and give back to the community that shaped him.
Joe understands that effective government isn’t about winning arguments or scoring political points. It’s about listening, finding common ground, making sound decisions, and protecting taxpayers.
He has a proven ability to bring people together—business leaders and working families, educators and taxpayers, longtime residents and the next generation—to focus on shared priorities and practical results.
Joe’s commitment to service extends to his family life. He and his wife, Jill, raised four children and opened their home to three foster children. Their family reflects the values of faith, compassion, and community that have guided Joe throughout his life.
The 36th District deserves a senator who will listen first, work across differences, and focus on results. Joe Kelly brings the experience, judgment, and character to provide that leadership.
At a time when we need less partisan division and more cooperation, Joe Kelly offers a better path: steady leadership, fiscal responsibility, and a genuine commitment to serving our community.
I urge voters in the 36th District to support Joe Kelly for State Senator.
Sincerely,
Dionna Carlson
First Selectman
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To the Editor:
Tom O’Dea has represented the 125th District in Hartford since 2013, after joining the New Canaan Town Council back in 2005. Two decades in local office is a long run, and nobody should begrudge a man who gives that much of his time to the town. But New Canaan has gone through a whole parade of iPhones in the years Tom has held one seat. The town has changed. The fair question is whether its representation has kept up.
Tom coaches youth sports, he shows up, and people like him. But consider the job. Democrats have controlled the state House since the 1980s and now hold 102 of its 151 seats. Tom has spent his entire Hartford career in the minority, which is a fine place to make your case and a difficult place to move it forward. Meredith would be part of the majority caucus, with a seat at the table where legislative priorities are decided. For a town worried about electric bills and taxes, that isn’t really a partisan argument. It’s arithmetic.
Then there is a vote that looks rather different five years later. In 2021, when the legislature voted to end the religious exemption from school vaccine requirements, Tom voted no. On October 5, Gov. Kathy Hochul declared a statewide disaster emergency in New York over an ongoing measles outbreak. Next door in Pennsylvania, more than 1,000 cases have been confirmed this year, with nearly 200 hospitalizations and five deaths. Measles, a disease our grandparents were delighted to see the last of, is back on tour. That vote has not aged well.
Meanwhile, New Canaan has changed more than most of us noticed. Since 2017, the town has lost more than one in five of its registered Republicans, while registered Democrats have grown by a third, and Unaffiliated voters are now the largest bloc in town. In 2024, New Canaan chose Kamala Harris over Donald Trump, 6,014 to 4,600. Whatever you make of those numbers politically, they tell us something fairly simple: this is not the New Canaan of 2005.
Meredith Tobitsch looks much more like the town it has become. She is the sort of neighbor who joins the preschool board and somehow raises $20,000 for a playground before the rest of us have found the sign-up sheet. She then co-chaired the Friends of Waveny Playground and helped raise $900,000 for the all-abilities playground that opened at Waveny this June. In Hartford, she would focus on the things that actually reach our kitchen tables: taxes, electric bills that have climbed past reason, and the storms that keep knocking out our power.
You do not have to be a Democrat to vote for Meredith. You don’t have to dislike Tom O’Dea, either. You only have to believe that after more than a decade, it is fair to let someone new, someone in a position to get more done, take a turn.
If you live in the 125th, vote Meredith Tobitsch on Tuesday, November 3.
Jessica Heckerling
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With respect to the CT House race for #125, we have two candidates, Tom O’Dea and Meredith Tobitsch, who I am sure we can all agree are both good people wanting the best for New Canaan. Both have demonstrated a willingness to volunteer and support the town in numerous ways. We should thank both for stepping up and being willing to serve us in Hartford.
That said, I want to draw some important distinctions. Meredith is a young mom, who selected New Canaan, a town where her husband Mike grew up, since she knew it would be a great place to start and raise a family. She could have picked another town. I have no doubt, she shares our values about keeping our schools the best in the state, supporting policies that lower costs, and continuing to make New Canaan among the most attractive towns for people to move to, and buy real estate. These are not partisan objectives; they are just good for all of us.
A year ago, against all odds, the Democrats swept all contested elections in New Canaan. Meredith engineering this historic outcome, as campaign manager for each of these candidates. This takes political savvy and skill, and I believe she will use those skills to our benefit in Hartford regardless of party. Whether a Republican or Democrat, don’t we want to hire the very best operator, with the energy and smarts to deliver for New Canaan?
While Tom has no doubt more experience, I just wonder how effective he can be. When voting on bills that go down party lines, he has voted with the GOP over 90%. Is that the independent advocacy we need?
Finally, I found on his website a campaign plank saying, “Support parental involvement in education and health care”. Without inferring what is meant by this, I can say with confidence, knowing Meredith, that she shares our values in terms of the keeping our kids (and grandkids) safe, healthy, and benefitting from the best education in America! With her energy and political savvy, she will protect what we hold dear in New Canaan.
For all these reasons, I ask you to join me in voting for Meredith on November 3. I encourage you to learn more about Meredith by going to her website https://www.meredithtobitschfor125th.com/
Alan Badanes
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To the Editor:
State Senate candidate Jill Oberlander understands the importance of railroad improvements to Connecticut’s economy.
Transportation has been a central focus of her political career.
Jill spent years working as an attorney for the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) and has been a commuter herself. She supports lowering the overall cost of public transit and reducing highway congestion by promoting pre-tax transit subsidies for commuters and improving Metro-North service.
Jill understands that improving infrastructure will have a multiplier effect on the state’s economy. She fully supports “Time for CT,” Governor Lamont’s comprehensive, multi-year plan to rebuild, improve, and expand the Connecticut rail network.
Modern transportation is part of the state’s competitive package, along with schools, workforce and quality of life. Transportation is not simply how people get from one place to another. It is part of Connecticut’s economic infrastructure—the system that connects workers with jobs, businesses with customers and products with markets. Travel-time savings can ripple through the economy
For Greenwich, Stamford and New Canaan, the economic case is particularly strong. Faster New Haven Line and New Canaan Branch service, more reliable I-95 and Merritt Parkway travel, and safer local connections will help Stamford, Greenwich and New Canaan employers recruit workers, connect residents with New York employment, support local merchants and make the entire district more attractive for business investment.
Please join me in supporting Jill Oberlander for State Senate. Jill understands the complex role that rail and road improvements play in the economies of Greenwich, Stamford, and New Canaan. She will fight for better transportation and a better Connecticut.
Peter Berg, Greenwich
Residents have heard that Democrats have a “seat at the table” argument for years. How has that worked out for New Canaan? Democratic State Rep Lucy Dathan and Democratic State Senator voted with their party in favor of 8002, which will now lead to fair shares of deeply affordable housing being mandated and allocated to New Canaan by the state. Democrat Savet Constantibe voted in favor in her finance committee on 3 new controversial tax bills that would put a new local property tax on homes over $3 million, a cap gains tax, and higher state income tax. Those Democratic Party line votes all matter for our residents and our local interests. It’s time to really pay attention and not be gaslit. We cannot afford to not have Tom O’Dea the Deputy Minority Leader back in Hartford. You think his opponent will get the tone of day as a newbie Dem from New Canaan? Guess again.
New Canaan has been working on increasing affordable housing in town to get to 10% that is likely out of reach but now that fair share mandates in 8002 could be as high a percentage as 20%! Did Our Dems seat at the table help with this policy passed behind closed doors with top majority party leaders and Lamont in a that 48-hour emergency session he called in November? No it did not. More than likely, neither Lucy nor Ceci even had a chance to read the 100+ page omnibus bill that even has new concepts which never had a hearing before they voted yes on it. The fact is this closed door policy making by the leadership is precisely why we should all be voting row B for Deputy House Minority Leader Tom O’Dea and for Joe Kelly for State Senate 36th district and Alma Sarelli for State Senate 26th district to bring checks and balances back to a highly progressive legislature where the best a Democrat can do is go along to get along and has to get permission to vote no against their party’s ideological agenda. In fact, we also need Ryan Fazio for Governor, had Lamont not called the false “emergency” session in November we would not be facing possible 20% fair share mandates, as of right conversions on commercial to residential and ludicrous new parking mandates like what happened on parade hill where a developer can just buy a half-baked parking study and completely underpark any new multifamily developments. The reasoning on the “study” was “because that is how many spaces the developer said are needed.” Utterly illogical, not based on historical or scientific methodology. That is CT’s legislature under one party supermajority Democcatic rule in Hartford. They pass controversial and unworkable one size fits all policies out of committee on party line vote, many Republican proposals don’t get a hearing because Dems control committee leadership too, new controversial language in bills are called on the floor for a final vote without having had a prior hearing, in fake emergency sessions, and with legislators not even having 24-hours to know what’s in the bills – and their party membership is expected to pass it without reading it. That is not representation. Or strong leadership – that is totalitarianism.
Bottom line- those of us following zoning issues and legislative sessions in Hartford for years clearly see the highly progressive and controversial policies coming out of Hartford. We don’t need anymore Democrats to “have a seat at the table.” We need checks and balances. Vote Row B for sound, responsible and trusted leadership that represents our local interests not a progressive party ideology. Vote for someone with real experience who know New Canaan because they have lived her for decades, not some that just moved to town 2 years ago. New Canaan deserves better than this.
Though I find Representative Tom O’Dea to be a principled voice in Hartford, I’d question most of Maria Weingarten’s brand of far right extremist propaganda claiming that the GOP has no influence in Hartford. Most all of the Democratic Party officials have offered common sense relatively mainstream proposals and laws to counteract the extremism of the plutocratic elite. On the federal level we have off the charts criminality and dictatorial power and control which make many of the local and state political concerns appear a lot less important in comparison. Anyone with an “R” next to their name should be embarrassed. A large percentage of voters in the state are “independents” (43%), disgusted with what they’ve seen from the political parties. Few of the local or state Republicans have spoken out with the level of opposition commensurate with the criminality.
What are you smoking? Did not your D party open the borders without vetting to assure power in perpetuity? Did not Barry O give Iran $30,000,000,000 on the tarmac to appease them. Corruption u say. Nancy Pelosi making $500,000,000 on insider trades. Hillary Clinton the only person making profits in a commodity fund while all other investors had losses. Oh and the constant illegal D ballot stuffing found in CT. Let’s not forget MN Walsh’s Somalian govt ripoff and theft of phony daycare payments in conjunction with anti semite , anti American Ilhan Omar.
Tom your constant nonsense with un researched unsupported rhetoric is laughable.
Dems in CT passing damaging legislation in the middle of the night behind close doors.
Again what are you smoking? Perhaps tds meds would help.
Okie doke
This thread is closed
Agreed. The Dem seat at the table has turned CT, especially Fairfield County, into a socialistic “ I will take what you have” agenda. It must stop !!!
Despite the Lamont team’s mis-information Ct is ranked the 49th worst state in the nation to do business and businesses are relocating out of CT rapidly.
The Dems seat at the table is turning rural beautiful New England towns like ours into urban conjested centers.
Even your Uber rides, haircuts, groceries are taxed.
Their goal as a sanctuary state is to insure their destructive one party rule in perpetuity by giving undocumented residents taxpayer funded housing , the right to vote and turn Fairfield County into a Urban conjested nightmare.
No American Dream just tax the hard working to death and redistribute what they have built.
I also have known Tom O’Dea for 30 years. Tom is a honest, stand up person who cares only about his constituents.
We must stop the Democrat one party rule . Look at the civic mess they have created – unfairly and secretly ramming hurtful legislation down our throats in the middle of the night.
Vote for Tom O’Dea, Joe Kelly, Ryan Fazio and Alma Serelli for the sake of your children and grandchildren. Otherwise we will all be driven from our beloved towns and state.
There is an important distinction between endorsing a candidate as a private citizen and using an official government position to lend credibility to a political endorsement.
Dionna Carlson signing an op-ed politcal endorsement with her official government title improperly implies official town support for the candidate. I’m not sure the exact legality of what she just did above, but I encourage someone to look into it. You cannot use official, government, taxpayer-funded positions to promote partisan political agendas. At the federal level, that’s why we have the Hatch Act, although it’s been absolutely shredded by our current government.
I don’t see a problem with this. She is the first selectman. It would be different if she signed the endorsement letter “chair, Board of Selectman“ as though she was speaking for other people on the Board, or — as locals may recall — if she’d sent out a mailer using Town of New Canaan stationery.
Maria thank you for your assessment of where New Canaan is today and how we got here. We need Tom ODea for State Rep and Joe Kelly in the Senate for checks and balances in Hartford to represent us. Not another Dem who just moved to town and is going to vote her party line to go along to get along. Her campaign rhetoric proves I’m right. She’s already towing the party line along with Lucy Dathan and Ceci Maher who have voted for every progressive policy coming out of Hartford to show her the ropes.
Do I really need to explain how being the 102nd Democrat in a 150 seat chamber does not actually give you any leverage to influence policy?