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 am writing to voice my support for our friend Lauren Connolly Nussbaum, candidate for the Board of Education.
Lauren is a very active volunteer, coach and board member of many local organizations. She has served on her daughters’ pre-school board, the PTC board, and she co-chaired the “Celebrate Saxe Campaign”. She has coached softball, field hockey, soccer, and basketball in New Canaan. Through her role as the South School PTC liaison to the Board of Education for the past two years, she has attended every BOE meeting, and as a result, she is highly informed of all the important issues.
Lauren is compassionate, kind, and dedicated. She’s a great listener and a hard worker. Her selfless dedication to public service is an inspiration to my wife and me as well as many other parents in New Canaan.
Lauren is not only a role model to her own kids and the kids she coaches, she’s a role model to her kids’ friends and to other parents. Many parents seek her guidance. She’s grounded and has a strong moral compass.
She does not have a partisan agenda. What she does have is an open-minded approach.
It would be nice to return to a time when the BOE was insulated from partisan politics. I don’t recall ever noticing the party affiliation of past BOE members. The BOE seemed apolitical as it should be. We are not on competing teams. We are all parents and neighbors with a shared goal of maintaining excellence in our school system. The majority of our neighbors move to New Canaan because of our exceptional school system. Our teachers rank 31st in the nation out of 11,000 districts! Let’s keep up the great work and move forward, not backward. Lauren Connolly Nussbaum is uniquely qualified to help achieve this goal.
Sincerely,
Doug Stewart
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Dear Editor:
We met Dionna Carlson at New Canaan Newcomers Club in 1997! We were impressed with her then and even more so now decades later.
Our son and daughter matched-up in age with Dionna’s and David’s two children; and we spent many hours together at school functions, watching NC sporting events and talking about the issues of the day. Dionna was always incredibly well-informed because she was plugged into the community from day one – volunteering for school, church and joining multiple community organizations. Her leadership has been on display via too many organizations to enumerate, with an impressive record of open communication, collaboration, hard work, and strategic thinking.
With solid midwestern roots, Dionna has the perfect blend of education (University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, B.S. Finance), community service, and professional experience. Notably, she is a graduate of the Financial Management Program at GE Capital and she served for eight years on the NC Board of Education, three as Chair.
Dionna’s passion for New Canaan is sincere and contagious; and she has a very strong grasp on the challenges our community is currently facing, such as: affordable housing solutions that work for New Canaan, fiscal responsibility, great schools, and public safety. Dionna is more than capable of tackling these complex issues head-on.
Dionna will be a terrific town leader and we are excited to support her for New Canaan First Selectman.
Respectfully,
James and Maureen O’Hora
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I hope you will join me in supporting Amy Murphy Carroll for First Selectman. As a Town Council member, I worked closely with Amy on many important issues and believe she is more than qualified to tackle the often misunderstood and opaque issues facing residents. As a Board of Finance member, Amy has proven she is fiscally prudent, thoughtful, and respectful of the realities of governing a town like New Canaan. These are qualities we are desperately lacking at the federal level, but lucky to have locally. We ask a lot of the many wonderful volunteers, elected officials, and employees of this town and should expect nothing less from our First Selectmen. Amy is that person! In our many discussions where we had disagreements, she was always respectful as we worked to reach common ground. She has a demonstrated track record of working in a bi-partisan manner, with her only objective being what is best for the town. Furthermore, she is committed to opening town government to every citizen willing to help, irrespective of party affiliation.
With a 30-year career in municipal finance, Amy brings exceptional and up to date expertise to the role of First Selectman. Amy’s dedication to the town through her work on the Board of Finance, intimate knowledge of the important departments keeping this town safe and productive, and respect for the tremendous success of our school system, will strengthen New Canaan’s reputation, but in a fiscally prudent manner as her track record has showed. I ask residents of any party affiliation to talk with Amy, as I am confident you will understand why she is the most balanced candidate employees, volunteers, and residents of New Canaan need and deserve.
Mark Grzymski, Town Council Vice Chairman
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I am a 30+ year resident of New Canaan and have been reading with interest the opinion letters supporting Dionna Carlson and Amy Murphy Carroll for First Selectman. Many of these endorsements are extremely well argued highlighting important pillars of each campaign. However, I am always curious as to the civic backgrounds of these letter writers, so I will share with you up front that I am a registered Republican who is fiscally conservative, socially moderate, and have voted locally for candidates from both parties in the past. Therefore, I am very excited this year about our two candidates for first selectmen. Both women are extremely intelligent, possess strong financial backgrounds, have significant local government expertise, and both have been emphasizing (thankfully!) the importance of restoring governmental transparency, reducing political polarization, and promoting bipartisanship. If you read their ads and listen to their speeches, these women also have similar views on many of the important issues facing our town including cell tower service, affordable housing and maintaining our high-quality school system.
So how does one decide which candidate to support?
As a resident in a town which is roughly divided 37% Republican, 35% Unaffiliated and 27% Democrat, I believe building community engagement is crucial. Irrespective of whoever ends up with the highest vote count in November, both candidates along with Steve Karl, will constitute our Board of Selectmen. However, only one will lead the committee and lead our local government. For me, that four letter word, LEAD, is the primary differentiator between Carlson and Carroll and the reason that I will be supporting Dionna Carlson in November. While both Carlson and Carroll have been instrumental members of numerous local committees, Carlson is the only one with proven leadership experience and demonstrated ability to unite team members. She was elected chair of the Board of Education three times with both Republicans and Democrats recognizing her leadership capabilities. She is Senior Deacon in her church, voted in by parishioners representing all aspects of our New Canaan community. Other leadership positions currently held by Carlson include Vice-Chair for the Hannah Benedict Carter Chapter of the DAR and President of Chi Omega House Corporation at Sacred Heart. Dionna Carlson is a strong team builder who is responsive and leads with grace. When you speak to her, Dionna is always mentally present, listening to you, seeking your views and opinions, regardless of your political party affiliation. She comes to meetings ready to listen, eager to explore differing proposals. She truly values input from all New Canaan constituents. If you have not met her already, I urge you to attend one of her Open House Coffees at 112 Main St. on Mondays from 9:30 to 10:30 AM. Dionna has a personality that is positive and embracing, she also has a strong work ethic that values the importance of teamwork, and these qualities, combined with her love of New Canaan, will make her a very effective and respected First Selectman.
Respectfully,
Tracey M. Hamill
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I first met Amy Carroll over the summer and was immediately captivated by her charismatic personality and boundless energy. But as we all know, personality will not suffice to get the job done. Substance is essential and substance is something that Amy truly possesses.
With a BA from Cornell and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Amy is an example of academic excellence. She used her education to propel her into a 30+ career working on Wall Street enabling her to be an expert in municipal finance. Now Amy wants to continue to use that education to benefit all the citizens of New Canaan.
Amy is not new to giving of herself to New Canaan. Even with a demanding executive position, and a mother to four children, Amy finds time to serve New Canaan. She has been a vocal and active member of the Board of Finance for almost 10 years, where she was also a liaison with the Boards of Education, Public Works and Park and Recreation. With all of the projects that she has touched, Amy has looked at each one with an analytical eye and paid close attention to the bottom line. Amy has been a leader in the St. Mark’s White Elephant Tag Sale, and launched Bring Your Own Bag New Canaan to get all of us to do our part in some small way to combat climate change. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
One New Canaan and inclusivity are the hallmarks of Amy’s campaign, and she will carry them forward when she takes the top spot in our city hall. Yes, our next selectman will be a select woman. By voting for Amy Murphy Carroll, you ensure the fact that it is the better of the two women!
Ruth Rothseid