NewCanaanite.com will publish endorsement letters for this local election through Oct. 27. Send letters to editor@newcanaanite.com.
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To the Editor:
In July, New Canaan Republicans gathered for our traditional biannual Caucus, an approach that has guided our nomination process for generations. Caucus voters selected Arvid Bajaj, Scott Gress, Pavla Levin, and Penny Young for Town Council, and Hugo Alves, Phil Hogan, and Julie Toal for the Board of Education. They also endorsed our uncontested candidates, led by First Selectman Dionna Carlson and Selectman Steve Karl.
Ordinarily, this would have united the party behind a strong slate for November’s town elections. Instead, the process has been undermined. After losing in the Caucus, Kim Norton chose to re-enter the race by exploiting a technical loophole to get her name onto the Republican line on the ballot—despite having pledged beforehand to support the Caucus winners.
Since then, her campaign has been marked by attacks and misleading claims. Among them:
- She is “Republican-endorsed” – Kim has not been endorsed by either the local party or through the Caucus;
- The Republican Town Committee (RTC) hid vote counts – in fact, results were released immediately to the entire RTC mailing list and shared with the media;
- The Caucus winners “barely inched out” a win – in truth, the results were decisive enough not to trigger a mandatory recount and Kim’s vote share was flattered by tactical voting by her core supporters; and
- The winners are funded by a “shadowy PAC” – they are supported by “New Canaan GOP 2025”, a transparent multi-candidate committee which is working closely with the RTC to retain our Republican majority.
The Caucus is a deeply democratic process that empowers Republican voters to select our Republican candidates. In July, those Caucus voters sent a clear message—supporting a respected incumbent and three newcomers for Town Council while rejecting Kim’s combative style and negative messages, just as they did in the 2023 First Selectman’s race.
Please join me in voting for our Caucus winners. They have earned our support and have campaigned the right way – uniting, not dividing. They won the Caucus because they are the most qualified candidates. They have ignored the personal attacks and focused on delivering for the voters. Kim’s efforts to undermine the Caucus process and the party by slinging mud at the RTC and her Republican opponents should not be rewarded.
Sincerely,
Chris Wilson
Former RTC Chair and Treasurer of New Canaan GOP 2025
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I write as a longtime neighbor and friend of Hilary Ormond, and as someone who has witnessed first-hand her thoughtful, non-partisan service to New Canaan, in strong support of her re-election to Town Council.
It impresses me that Hilary has chosen to devote her time and considerable skills to local public service. That willingness to serve our community—rather than pursue purely personal or professional gain—speaks volumes about her character and commitment. Over the years, I’ve admired how she listens first, studies the issues carefully, and makes decisions rooted in principle rather than party loyalty. In her recent Q&A she explained clearly that while she is a Democrat, she sees national partisan politics as having very little role in daily decision-making for our town.
During her current term, Hilary has delivered on substantial results. Under her leadership, the town completed a much-needed new police station and inaugurated a world-class library that has become a community hub. She helped guide the allocation of ARPA funds—most notably, spearheading a mental health assessment program in partnership with Silver Hill Hospital that offers psychiatric evaluations to residents of all ages at no cost.
One of the achievements I respect most is her role in creating the Affordable Housing Committee. That initiative is built on thoughtful design: it includes public at-large members and key commission representatives, ensuring that voices familiar with planning, financing, and construction are integral to policy.
Hilary has also championed sensible environmental regulation—initiating a draft ordinance to restrict gas-powered leaf blowers—and she supports a Charter revision process to increase citizen participation in local elections, especially for unaffiliated voters.
If you value a Town Council member who is diligent, balanced, and committed to community over politics, I urge you to re-elect Hilary Ormond. She has earned our trust, and she will continue to serve with integrity.
Sincerely,
Chelsea Taliercio
Chris Wilson’s comments are as sad as the Caucus was a fiasco. Again another RTC insider with tunnel vision and false innuendo. Chris Wilson was instrumental in changing the caucus rules 2 hours before speeches without informing Candidate Norton. Again Kim Norton is a Connecticut Secretary of State validated Republican candidate confirmed by our Town Clerk Claudia Weber. Again it is apparent that the so called PAC slate candidates are afraid of a fair in- biased election in November. It is the slate that is besmirching Kim Norton behind her back. They have the audacity to spread a falsity that Kim has broken the law. What.law? Her constitutional and State supported right to run for office after she was bullied at the Caucus. In fact it is the so called Slate incumbent who has a questionable past and record.
My fellow New Canaanites are getting tired of the slate and their fellow insiders besmirching and bullying Kim.
New Canaanites are smarter than the False Slate/PAC rhetoric and Nov 4th will show what we in New Canaan stand for: Truth, honesty, fairness and respect for all.
Hay Chris
I hear you are one of the architect of this
Slate of 4 –
So why wouldn’t you be so passionate about promoting it
You can’t fool us — nice try
This is completely untrue. I was not involved in putting the slate together and only got involved with the slate committee when Kim re-entered the race.
But thank you to Richard and Roy for illustrating the point of my LTE.
Chris
Whatever our politics, Kim Norton has helped a lot of people in this community.
Loyalty tests don’t build trust—listening and working together do. Let’s focus on character, work ethic, and solutions that serve everyone.
Chris Wilson’s letter rightly emphasizes the importance of the caucus but overlooks how the Republican Town Committee itself undermined that very process.
The caucus is designed to empower Republican voters to choose candidates based on merit, not machinery. Yet this July, the RTC pre-selected and promoted a slate of candidates before a single vote was cast. That endorsement widely circulated and coordinated signaled to voters that the outcome was already decided. It discouraged independent voices and reduced the caucus to a formality. Why even hold a caucus?
Worse, it was an insult to the intelligence of Republican voters. Telling them how to vote before the caucus not only disrespects their judgment it betrays the very grassroots principles the caucus is meant to uphold.
And it raises a serious question: what makes three “newcomers” more qualified than a sitting Republican Town Council member with a proven track record?
If we truly value the caucus, we must protect its integrity. That means rejecting insider endorsements before the vote and welcoming all Republicans who want to serve whether they win the caucus or choose another lawful path to the ballot.
This has happened for the last three election cycles. And each of them comes with a required loyalty pledge to support the winners if you lose or be cast out.
However such “loyalty pledge” is invalid when the caucus is biased, pre- determined by misleading statements at the caucus and last minute rule changes . 9 votes in my statistical analysis under such scenario is a statistical tie. Again why are these Slate candidates afraid of a un biased fair overall election on Nov 4. Let all New Canaan electors voice their vote and properly select the members of our Legislative branch.
Chris Wilson’s letter smearing Kim Norton is full of biased inaccuracies and untruths. Kim Norton is endorsed by the Republican Party and to say otherwise is simply false. By law, a candidate is endorsed by the party when she collects sufficient signatures to be on the Republican line in November which Kim did despite efforts by Chris and others to stop her.
Kim’s presence on the ballot does not undermine Republican’s chance of winning in November. Everyone is allowed up to 6 votes, so she is not taking away any votes from the other 4 Republicans running for Town Council.
Chris says that Kim was wrong to say that the votes from the caucus were hidden, but there was no place that voters could find the actual vote tallies from the July caucus unless they were already on the Republican Town Council (“RTC”) mailing list.
Chris also claims that Kim is incorrect in saying that the other candidates “barely inched out” a victory, but Kim only fell short by 9 votes. If a single-digit loss is not close, what is?
It’s also worth noting that unlike other local elections in recent years, the RTC is not providing the main source of funding for the Republican candidates running in competitive races. That is because former RTC chairmen Chris Wilson and Jon Cheng resigned from their leadership positions leaving the RTC with almost no money in the bank. Instead, they formed their own PAC, the New Canaan GOP 2025 PAC, to raise and spend money outside of the control of the RTC for their preferred candidates.
Kim is an indispensable member of Town Council who will speak her mind and stand up for what she believes in. I hope you can join me in voting for Kim this November.
Chris Wilson inadvertently underscores the exact traits that characterize an effective Town Council member. Kim Norton is tenacious, understands the law, reads the fine print and asks the tough questions in order to advocate for New Canaan tax payers. She is passionate about keeping New Canaan one of the best places in the country to live, work, raise a family, attend public schools, and age in place. Please join me in re-electing Kim Norton to Town Council.
You seem very proud of your wife, Mr. Butler. Thank you for commenting. This thread is closed.