Opinion

Letter to the Editor

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NewCanaanite.com recently received the following letter. 

Send letters to editor@newcanaanite.com to have them published here. ***

This letter is submitted by me as a citizen of New Canaan and not in my capacity as a member of Town Council; any opinions expressed in it should be construed as coming strictly from me and not from Town Council. Here are some facts:

2,504 New Canaan residents (17% of registered voters) participated in the July 25 referendum vote, which failed to overturn a May 20 ordinance banning summertime use of gas-powered leaf blowers (“GPLBs”). A significant and solid majority, 59%, of those participating in the referendum voting said they wanted the ordinance overturned. The ordinance was approved by an 8-to-4 vote of Town Council, after receiving emails and vocal support for the ban over several months from less than 2% of Town residents.

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Letter to the Editor

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NewCanaanite.com recently received the following letter. 

Send letters to editor@newcanaanite.com to have them published here. ***

Saturday’s referendum made one thing clear: a majority of the residents who turned out voted “no” on the summertime leaf blower ban. Yet, we were told our voices didn’t clear an arbitrary hurdle high enough to overturn the Town Council’s previous action. This ordinance does nothing to foster community harmony. Instead, it pits neighbors against one another, introduces unnecessary costs for homeowners, and ignores the tidal wave of non-emergency police calls it will invite.

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Letters to the Editor

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NewCanaanite.com recently received the following letters. 

Send letters to editor@newcanaanite.com to have them published here. ***

Dear Editor,

Many have stopped me to ask why I voted “no” on the Charter Revision Commission Report, and I would like to explain why. I firmly believe in a government created by the many, not the few. I firmly believe the voters of New Canaan should choose their own government, and that checks and balances, along with accountability to the electorate, are critical. Yet after eight months of discussion and listening, I saw appointed, self-interested officials protect their own positions instead of being accountable to the people they serve.

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Letters to the Editor

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NewCanaanite.com recently received the following letters. Send letters to editor@newcanaante.com to have them published here. (We will publish letters related to the leaf blower ban and referendum through July 22.)

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Proponents of the Gas-powered Leaf Blower Ban distributed a list of rapid-fire “FACTS.” But listing half-truths on a flyer doesn’t make them a sound policy. Here is the full picture before you vote on July 25th:

CLAIM: “Commercial battery tech is ready & profitable.”

Opinion

Letter to the Editor

By |

NewCanaanite.com recently received the following letter. Send letters to editor@newcanaante.com to have them published here. (We will publish letters related to the leaf blower ban and referendum through July 22.)

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While feelings run deep on both sides of the debate about gas powered leaf blowers, one thing that has been encouraging to see is the support that two town bodies, one elected, one appointed, have given to the referendum.  The Conservation Commission, a 5-member appointed body on which I sit, has on 3 occasions over the last 4 years, unanimously endorsed restrictions on gas powered leaf blowers.  Most recently this occurred in March of 2026 and on all three occasions the support has been by unanimous vote of the Commission. This has happened under both Republican and Democratic chairs and with a different mix of members and parties on the commission each time.  How does any commission in New Canaan repeatedly vote unanimously on a topic?  As an engineer and a member of the commission, I can tell you the reasons are simple: because the data is unmistakable.   

Gas powered leaf blowers are, by their very design, extremely loud and polluting machines. The Conservation Commission reviewed myriad well documented studies on the issue.