Amy Murphy Carroll

Election 2023: Democrats Put Up Three for BOE; Murphy Carroll Accepts First Selectman Nomination

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A Democrat seeking election to the Board of Education on Tuesday night described New Canaan as “a large community with a ton of tiny communities within it.”

For Lauren Connollly Nussbaum and her husband Matt, town residents for 10 years whose three daughters—ages 8, 10 and 13—attend South and Saxe Middle Schools, those communities include one in special education that they’ve found “remarkable and humbling,” she said during the Democratic Caucus, held at Town Hall. 

Other communities “may be in the sports world, in a house of worship, that may be in the Beautification League,” Connolly Nussbaum told 75-plus Democrats in attendance . 

She continued: “Wherever people in New Canaan are, we are building communities. And that is what I want to do on the Board of Education. Continue to build community and include everyone.”

Connolly Nussbaum added, “I feel ready. I feel nervous. I feel excited.

Government

Election 2023: Matthew Campbell Announces Candidacy for Board of Education [Q&A]

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New Canaan resident Matthew Campbell has announced that he will seek a seat on the Board of Education. The Republican will seek party backing at the GOP Caucus on July 25. We put some questions to Campbell ahead of the Caucus, which is open to all registered New Canaan Republicans. 

Here’s our exchange. ***

New Canaanite: What is your background professionally and in terms of living and volunteering here in New Canaan? 

Matthew Campbell: I’m a credit investment professional with over 17 years of experience at premier financial institutions on Wall Street. I have extensive experience investing in primary and secondary credit markets mostly involving distressed debt in emerging markets.

Opinion

Election 2023: Republican Tia Whinery Announces Candidacy for Board of Education [Q&A]

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New Canaan resident Tia Whinery has announced that she will seek a seat on the Board of Education. The Republican will seek party backing at the GOP Caucus on July 25. We put some questions to Whinery ahead of the Caucus, which is open to all registered New Canaan Republicans. 

Here’s our exchange. 

***

New Canaanite: What is your background professionally and in terms of living and volunteering here in New Canaan? Tia Whinery: After graduating from Boston College, I went through the merchandise training program at Abercrombie & Fitch. After a year working for the main brand I, along with 2 other merchants were tapped to launch a new brand concept that would become Hollister Co.

Board of Education

Board of Ed Divided on Filling Vacant Seat [UPDATED]

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Republicans on the Board of Education said last week that they won’t fill a vacancy on the elected body because it could interfere with the party’s upcoming Caucus. Former Chair Dan Bennett resigned April 26. Under Section 7-4 of the Town Charter, the Board of Ed can fill a vacancy prior to the next municipal election, where a successor is elected to fill the balance of the term (Bennett’s four-year term expires in 2025). “If the Board of Education fails to fill any vacancy which occurs on the Board within 90 days after the vacancy occurs, the Board of Selectmen may fill such vacancy until the next biennial municipal election,” according to the Charter. During a special meeting held July 5, Board of Ed Chair Katrina Parkhill said, “Of note and interest to this Board, the Charter language suggests that it would like the Board to act, but also acknowledges that there could be circumstances under which the Board cannot or chooses not to act.”

“Since May, our Board has undergone a process to evaluate candidates who wanted to be considered for the vacancy,” Parkhill continued at the meeting, held in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School and via videoconference.

News

Board of Ed Unanimously Elects Katrina Parkhill as Chair, Phil Hogan as Vice Chair

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The Board of Education on Monday night elected Katrina Parkhill as chair. A Republican member of the Board since 2017 who served as chair through the COVID-19 pandemic—from late-2019 through last November—Parkhill was unanimously elected during a brief organizational meeting at the start of the BOE’s regular meeting. In nominating Parkhill, Board member Hugo Alves said, “I’d like to nominate Katrina to be chair of the board if she’d do it again.”

“Obviously it’s been an interesting time and an unfortunate one considering the circumstances, but Katrina has at least proven to me and the rest of us in town that she not only cares about the town, cares about the school system, she’s got the experience to lead and I think that whatever transition we experience over the course of the rest of the year, it would be helpful and important to have some continuity and that level of experience,” Alves said at the meeting, held in the Wagner Room at New Canaan High School. Board members Bob Naughton, Brendan Hayes, Parkhill, Erica Schwedel, Alves, Phil Hogan and Penny Rashin voted 7-0 in favor of Parkhill. Board member Julie Toal was absent.