NewCanaanite.com recently received the following letter(s) of endorsement. We will publish endorsement letters from New Canaan residents through Oct. 24. Please send them to editor@newcanaanite.com.
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I’d like to offer my unequivocal endorsement of Dionna Carlson for New Canaan First Selectman. Many others will correctly cite her qualifications as a financial professional and her many accomplishments in her years of service to the town. I would like to add my impression of Dionna when I met her for the first time as a new, local businessman. My clear recollection is being impressed by her warmth and inclusiveness She welcomed me to the community, and I knew I was in good hands. We need people like Dionna, and we especially need her as First Selectman.
Alberto Gonzalez
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I am writing this letter in support of Lauren Connolly Nussbaum as a candidate for the Board of Education.
My family and I moved from the UK to New Canaan 5 years ago and no doubt in my mind that things have changed for the worse since then. I have become increasingly concerned with the direction our schools are taking since the most recent BOE elections and appointment of what appears to be a partisan board with political agendas based on a platform of mistruths and scare mongering.
So much so that my wife and I made the decision to take our 6th grader out of Saxe and home school her to ensure she has a rounded, inclusive, caring and multicultural education that our local school system seems unable to provide, especially since the removal of DEI objectives (no surprise!). This wasn’t something we took lightly and we spent time discussing with educators at the school but it soon became clear they were unable to cater for the needs of balance and inclusivity due to the unnecessary pressure placed upon them by external forces, including the current BOE.
Since taking her out, (she’s now a 7th grader) things have gone better than we imagined, our daughter is blossoming in ways she simply wasn’t while at NCPS and is developing into a well rounded, caring young woman who makes significant contributions to our local community; all of this in spite of, not because of our school system and I put the deterioration of NCPS squarely at the feet of our newly elected BOE representatives and those whose decision it was to remove DEI objectives. We should hire teachers to teach, not breath down their necks and pretend like we know better.
I have known Lauren since we moved to New Canaan, you won’t find a more caring, hard working, community minded person, and we are lucky to have her running. For those that have chosen to launch a smear campaign against her by spreading yet more lies, they should all be ashamed of themselves.
In conclusion, if you want to see a return to balanced education, to teaching facts not fiction, and an end to inflammatory language and bigotry designed to scare and divide us and our community then I implore you to vote for Lauren Connolly Nussbaum, Brendan Hayes and Josh Kaye.
Here’s to a brighter future!
Elliott Goldenberg
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Dear Editor,
We are writing to express our formal endorsement of Hugo Alves for re-election to the Board of Education. As parents of four children residing in New Canaan for the past 12 years, we have had the privilege of enrolling our children in our esteemed public school system. This community, with its “village” feel, has been an essential part of our lives, fostering deep friendships and enriching experiences.
Hugo Alves has stood out as a person of exceptional sincerity and dedication, always wearing his love for his family and this community proudly. His tireless work ethic and genuine passion for the betterment of our town set him apart. In today’s increasingly divisive world, Hugo’s unwavering commitment to respecting diverse opinions is what our community needs. I firmly believe that he will represent our children diligently, treating their concerns as if they were his own.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Mike and Danielle Sieckhaus
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I am writing to endorse Dionna Carlson for First Selectman.
Dionna’s long record of dedication and exceptional service to our town is well known. She has served on the BOE for eight years, three of them as its chairman. Her strong and thoughtful leadership carried our school district to the top of the leaderboard both in the state and nationally.
On multiple occasions, Dionna had a chance to showcase her superb ability to strike a delicate balance between listening to all the members of the community with fairness and honesty and making tough decisions that serve the overall interests and needs of our town. She showed a strong commitment to fiscal responsibility and placed a premium on maximizing the benefits to our school district while working within the confines of our town’s financial realities. Her strategic thinking and innovative out-of-the-box solutions give me assurance that our tax dollars will be spent with caution and efficiency.
If elected, Dionna has committed to transparency, civility, and teamwork. We are truly fortunate to have a fantastic candidate with a strong record of proven leadership and collaboration like her stepping up to serve our town.
I urge everyone to vote for Dionna Carlson!
Sincerely,
Pavla Levin
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Dear Editor,
We proudly support Dionna Carlson for First Selectman of New Canaan. We have known Dionna for almost 30 years and believe she is uniquely qualified to assume this position due to her resolute work ethic, ability to listen and collaborate, thoughtful advocacy and overriding commitment to the town of New Canaan.
Dionna has selflessly volunteered for a myriad of local organizations. Her community engagement includes her church, Young Women’s League, her children’s schools PTCs and the local DAR chapter. During her eight years on the Board of Education she was instrumental in successfully managing the School budget (over 65% of town expenditures) and negotiating a new contract with the Teachers’ Union. During her tenure on the Board of Ed Dionna was recognized as a leader among her peers, and was elected as chairperson. This bipartisan board waived a term limit by-law and unanimously asked her to serve a third year. Dionna was also instrumental in negotiating the change in NCPS bus times which required listening to many different opinions from concerned parents.
Dionna will be a thoughtful advocate for our town as the State of Connecticut pushes for unfunded mandates, particularly with regards to housing. The issue is nuanced and complex (land availability, zoning, density, environmental impact, infrastructure). One solution does not work for all towns in Connecticut, particularly smaller ones. Dionna will work with other town executives to amplify our voice in Hartford.
Dionna’s experience and her engagement in our town demonstrates her commitment to lead New Canaan forward. We believe she is the best candidate for First Selectman and our entire family is voting for her November 7th.
Stephen & Maryalice Gelhaus
Thank you, Eliot, for your candid and honest articulation of the very real fear many parents here have about the direction in which our schools are and potentially could be heading–where critical thinking and analysis are subjugated to so-called “comfort” and facts are irrelevant. We have phenomenal teachers, administrators and students–let them do their best work! Vote for Brendan, Lauren & Josh for BOE.
“very real fear many parents here have about the direction in which our schools are heading” Fear of what being the #1 ranked school in the State? Those poor fearful souls…
https://patch.com/connecticut/newcanaan/new-canaan-high-school-among-top-25-ct-new-ranking-says
For the record our BOE has never been in its history under Democrat control. Not once. Virtually everyone who moves to NC says the public schools are one of the top reasons they came.
Continued Republican majorities on the Board of Ed is the only way to sustain continued excellence in our public school, as we’ve been doing for decades.
The current Republicans on the BOE basically had a coup within their own party precisely because they wanted to change the course of our schools. Thankfully they haven’t done too much damage in 2 years (we will see how having Columbus Day off impacts AP students, among other things — what a thing to spend three whole meetings debating) but yes theres a real fear that the new radical R candidates will do serious damage.
It’s never been about party before. Now it is, with the current Rs putting party above all else. And that’s unfortunate.
This coming from someone who declared themselves an *activist* during a Town Council meeting. Of course that activism has centered on political issues, so how much does party politics mean to you as an *activist* and passionate advocate for liberal policies?
In each of their podcasts the Republican candidates have advanced the idea of keeping politics out of the classroom and focusing on reading, writing, and arithmetic. How is that putting party above all else? It’s the exact opposite. If anyone naively thinks NCPS immune to politics entering the classroom Matt Campbell gave some examples in his NCite podcast that have impacted his daughter’s experience at NCPS.
Okayyyyyyyyyy this thread is closed.
Perhaps your fears are misplaced or exaggerated versus reality. Others will understandably have concerns that we have a generation of many kids (and adults) who think their racial, ethnic, and other forms of identity have greater significance than individual merit. Or concern that a focus in education on the fundamentals of reading, writing, and arithmetic is seen as a byproduct of politics rather than generations of lived experience. Or concern that many kids think their feelings are more important than actions, and that is being increasingly reinforced in schools.
Mr Goldenberg’s comments regarding “ to teaching facts not fiction, and an end to inflammatory language and bigotry designed to scare and divide us and our community” are so farcical and the definition of gaslighting.
Last election multiple candidates openly endorsed critical race theory and DEI initiatives, advocating for race based quotas and teaching our children such erroneous concepts like systemic racism and the 1619 project. All of those concepts are not only retrograde but divisive and their negative impact at schools and upon children has been conclusively show. Furthermore, those concepts are all fiction, not fact based in any instance.
Indees, one current candidate for Row A signed a petition to incorporate such divisive and mal-educational concepts to our children just 2 years ago.
I’m shocked at the audacity to make such comments when the exact opposite is what actually occurred
Look no further than Thomas Jefferson High School in VA to see the deleterious impact of such concepts. Wolf in sheep’s clothing indeed.
The “removal of DEI objectives” as stated by Mr. Goldenberg is misleading. The current goal, passed unanimously across party lines by the current BOE, reads: “Continuously strengthen all schools and classroom communities to ensure every student feels a sense of belonging, safety, connection, and engagement in inclusive, respectful, equitable and supportive learning environments.” For someone to suggest this is a product of extremism begs the question of who really is the extremist here. I would also encourage everyone to watch the July 18, 2022 BOE meeting where DEI goals were first discussed. It was the epitome of bipartisan discussion, extremely collegial and thoughtful and highlighted what is possible before the involvement of various political action groups in town. At that meeting, DEMOCRAT Erica Schwedel stated, “I do think the words really matter here and as we talk about this and as we re-craft the language that we want to use, I think we as a Board need to get away from using the term ‘DEI’ for that reason and decide what we call this objective. Is it valuing differences? Is it inclusiveness? But make sure the words that we use, not just in this document, but then externally also reflect the work we actually want to do.” Mrs. Schwedel ultimately amended her position a few months later to say she would favor DEI using her own specific definitions. Is Mrs. Schwedel peddling, to paraphrase Mr. Goldenberg, “mistruths and scare mongering” based on her first comment? Absolutely not. BOE Secretary Mrs. Schwedel, again a Democrat, and Republican Vice Chairman Phil Hogan have formed an incredible, sensible leadership core for what is a fantastic BOE.
Our board is tasked with helping the administration to clearly identify issues and find effective, thoughtful solutions and they have done just that. I too have a child in 7th grade at Saxe and I have been extremely happy with his teachers and administration. They, with help from our amazing BOE, have navigated real educational issues, such as hiring 44 new educators and making up for COVID learning loss, while returning NCHS to the #1 ranked high school in Connecticut last month (congratulations all). If a parent wants to pull their child out of school 12 months after new BOE members are seated because they voted unanimously across party lines for a curriculum goal that reads “inclusive, respectful, equitable” instead of “diversity, equity and inclusion” that is their choice. However, to say this is a “platform of mistruths and scare mongering” is abjectly false, and relies on the reader to not have done any of their own homework. When it comes to our schools, let’s stick to the facts.