NewCanaanite.com recently received the following letters of endorsement. We will publish endorsement letters through Oct. 21.
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Let’s all re-elect Ryan Fazio to State Senate. Why? For one, we know we can count on Ryan to fight for continued local control of our schools – a jewel of our town. He will also fight to maintain local control of our planning and zoning rules, opposing Hartford’s efforts to impose more control. He works to keep abortion legal, and authored a bi-partisan law expanding women’s birth control access. Ryan is also leading the effort to reduce out-of-control energy costs, and the overall cost of living in Connecticut. In addition, we need his optimism, common sense and recognition that Connecticut’s social and economic underpinnings need independent and creative thinking. When Ryan Fazio makes a commitment, we know he really means it, and will deliver. He’s on our side.
So many approaches Hartford has been taking to the state’s economy and finances have not worked. What will work? Positive, responsible, bipartisan-led change that provides opportunities for all our communities. This is what we will always get from Ryan Fazio. Let’s keep him working with us for a safer, stronger, fairer Connecticut.
John J Kriz
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It is important that we elect Jason Bennett as our State Representative. As a Democrat, Jason will stand up for a woman’s right to choose. As a father of young children, he will help enact safe firearm regulations and will prioritize school safety legislation. As a Chief Technology Officer and a forward thinker, he understands today’s challenges whether it is climate change or rising energy costs. Jason, a former volunteer crisis counselor is well prepared to deal with all these issues and more.
Your Vote is important. Our Democracy is in danger, please Vote for Democrats to Win this Fall.
Ed Vollmer
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To the Editor –
Local control is the cornerstone of American democracy. The power to govern our own communities, to make local decisions that reflect our values and to preserve our preferred way of life, is not just a privilege—it is our fundamental right. Yet, this right is under siege by a state that seeks to impose one-size-fits-all mandates on our towns.
Representative Tom O’Dea understands the stakes. He has been at the forefront of the battle to preserve local control over zoning during his entire 12-year tenure as State Representative for the 125th District. As Deputy Republican Leader last term, Tom led the party’s efforts to push back against the overreach of Connecticut’s affordable housing mandate known as “8-30g”. This law, which allows developers to bypass local zoning regulations in the name of promoting the development affordable housing, threatens to undermine the character of New Canaan, transforming it into something unrecognizable. This is not a vague, undefined threat … we have seen firsthand the blighting effect that potential projects proposed under 8-30g could have on our beautiful town and we should consider ourselves very lucky that none of the 3 applications have progressed. It is not how it usually works and many of our neighboring towns have not been as fortunate.
As a member of the Affordable Housing Committee, I have seen firsthand the strong commitment that New Canaan has made to steadily increasing the number of affordable housing units in our community. We are leading from the front and delivering exceptional quality, permanently affordable housing options for our less fortunate. But I have also seen how the system is stacked against us, both in regard to the fiendishly complicated affordable housing laws on the books and the mercurial implementation of those laws by our state’s Department of Housing (DoH). We need fighters in Hartford willing to put in the work to improve the laws and force the DoH to simplify the related regulations.
Tom’s approach is both principled and pragmatic. He has earned a bipartisan reputation as one of the most effective, dedicated, and principled legislators in the General Assembly. During the 2024 legislative session, Tom managed to attach an amendment to a popular bill supported by Democratic leadership. The amendment, which passed into law, clarified the requirements to meet the 8-30g moratorium thresholds. He also got the Chairman of the Joint Committee on Housing to confirm on the floor of the Assembly that the clarifications were in line with the original legislative intent of the existing 8-30g law. Together, these actions completely undermined the state’s defense in New Canaan’s appeal of the rejection of our 2022 moratorium application and greatly simplified our path to future 8-30g moratoriums.
Tom’s opponent in the race has no public position on 8-30g. There is no record of his views online and it is not one of the 6 “priorities” on his campaign website, pretty extraordinary for someone looking to represent New Canaan. While that certainly matters, even if he was committed to fighting for changes in 8-30g, it would be a quixotic effort if he were elected. The Democratic leadership in Hartford has lots of experience sidelining Fairfield County Dems whose priorities don’t align with theirs. Even worse, he will be gang-pressed into supporting the latest string of ever more onerous housing bills introduced by Democrats each legislative session in Hartford. You simply cannot fight the battle for local control of zoning from inside the Democratic machine.
A vote for Republican Tom O’Dea is a vote for the preservation of our town’s character. It is a vote to give our town government a very capable and proven ally in Hartford. Let’s re-elect Tom and keep New Canaan the community we know and love.
Sincerely,
Chris Wilson
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To the Editor:
I want to share my enthusiasm for our State Senate candidate Ceci Maher. My children and friends ask me why I feel this way. Simply put, Ceci is smart, works hard, and has values that I admire and has demonstrated as much in her first term
I have personally seen her in action helping thousands as the past leader of Person to Person in Darien and witnessed first-hand her ability to motivate and mobilize people in service of creating better lives for neighbors.
Like many of us, I do not stay up on every development in Hartford so it is important to me to know we are represented by someone who is results oriented, compassion ate, practical, and prizes efficiency. These values will help produce a government that gets the outcomes we hope for.
So please send Ceci back to Hartford as part of a government we can be proud of!
Sincerely,
Rodgers Harper