Government

‘I Don’t Operate That Way’: Abramowitz Resigns as Nowacki Campaign Treasurer

By |

Saying he was uncomfortable with the negativity, outbursts and lawsuit threats from a petitioning candidate for first selectman, the New Canaan resident and CPA who has served as treasurer for the campaign resigned from that role Monday. Roy Abramowitz said that he initially had offered his assistance to petitioning candidate Michael Nowacki “to help the guy out.”

“I’ve done and said things in the past to bring things to light and make the town better, not to sue people,” Abramowitz told NewCanaanite.com. “I don’t operate that way. It’s just not my way of carrying on. I like positive energy.

Government

Saxe Building Proposal: Where Candidates Stand

By |

What follows are candidates’ responses to a public call from dozens of taxpayers to answer this question: Will you support the full project to renovate and expand Saxe Middle School? See PDF at the bottom of this article for details on the proposed $18.6 million building project. We will update this article with new responses as they come in from candidates for the Board of Selectmen, Board of Education and Town Council. Board of Selectmen

Rob Mallozzi, Republican incumbent seeking re-election for first selectman: “It didn’t take an email that I saw [Monday] to get my position out there. I think it’s very important, as a leader of this town, to telegraph my feelings and I appreciate the fact that there is a group that wanted to know people’s positions before the election.

Government

Letter: Taxpayers Seek Candidates’ Stances on Full Saxe Expansion Prior To Election Day

By |

Dear Editor:

As New Canaan taxpayers, we are requesting that the candidates for office make their stance on the Saxe expansion known prior to Election Day. In the absence of a formal debate by the first selectman candidates and because the Board of Finance has delayed the formal vote on the issue until after the election, we believe that the voters have the right to know where each candidate stands on this critical issue prior to Nov. 3. We are requesting a simple yes or no answer to the following question: Will you support the full project* to renovate and expand Saxe Middle School? We are asking that each candidate for First Selectman, Selectman, Town Council and Board of Education make their response known to the New Canaanite by Oct.

Government

UPDATE: League of Women Voters Cancels Candidates Debate

By |

Update 3:40 p.m. Wednesday 

The League of Women Voters of New Canaan on Wednesday afternoon announced that the organization “has decided not to conduct the traditional debates in 2015.” Original Article

Since New Canaan’s incumbent first selectman has decided not to participate in a candidates’ forum scheduled for next month, the nonprofit organization that hosts the event by its own rules will hold no debate for that office, the group’s leaders say. According to a letter dated Sept. 27 from the League of Women Voters of New Canaan, First Selectman Rob Mallozzi has officially confirmed what he had told NewCanaanite.com a few weeks ago—namely, that he will not participate in a forum alongside a petitioning candidate for the town’s highest elected office, for several reasons. According to a letter sent to several people including that candidate, Michael Nowacki, as well as leaders of local party committees, the League of Women Voters “consulted with our moderator and LWV debate expert, and have reached the conclusion that in view of Rob’s decision, there can be no debate for the position of First Selectman.”

“It would be what is called an ‘empty chair’ debate,” the letter said.

Government

Mallozzi on Nowacki’s First Selectman Bid: ‘I Do Not Have An Opponent’

By |

Calling a petitioning candidate’s foray into the municipal election a strategy to expand a platform of disparagement that long has taxed the volunteers and employees who run New Canaan, First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said he considers himself an uncontested incumbent. “I do not have an opponent,” Mallozzi told NewCanaanite.com, though technically Michael Nowacki of Lost District Drive did garner the required signatures to get onto the ballot. “Mr. Nowacki is using the 35 signatures he gained to give him a forum above and beyond the normal targeting he does of Town Hall employees and other interests in town. But he is not a legitimate contender for this office. I don’t view him as such.”

He added: “I don’t think he has the mental or intellectual capacity to handle a job like this.