More than 250 New Canaan Democrats gathered at the Carriage Barn Arts Center on Sunday for the party’s campaign kickoff event.
Held inside and outside the Waveny outbuilding, the barbecue offered a chance for candidates in contested local races—namely, the Town Council and Board of Education—to address New Canaan supporters, along with Democratic representatives and figures on the state and national levels.
“We have tremendous energy today,” New Canaan DTC Chair Tim Klimpl told NewCanaanite.com in an interview as attendees mingled in the courtyard and inside the Carriage Barn on a clear, sunny early evening. “Our theme throughout the year has been ‘Light the Way Forward,’ and that’s a role we embrace. We have supporters from years past and new supporters, new candidates here, all trying to carry positive energy forward, just as we are in our races. We’ve got a great turnout from our state officials, our federal officials, everyone is here to support good things for our town, and across our state and country.”
This year, the Democrats are seeking to “pick up” a seat on both the Town Council and Board of Education, running four candidates for New Canaan’s 12-person legislative body (where Republicans currently hold an 8-to-4 majority) and three for the nine-member school board (where the GOP holds six seats).
Introduced by Klimpl, the candidates for local office addressed the gathering from the stage inside the Carriage Barn. Here’s some of what they said (note: incumbent Democrat Hilary Ormond, who is seeking re-election to the Town Council, was not on hand for the speeches).
Board of Education
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Kate Brambilla, Democrat running for Board of Education, at the New Canaan Democrats’ “Light the Way Forward” campaign kickoff, Sept. 14, 2025 at the Carriage Barn Arts Center. Credit: Margit Ritz
Kate Brambilla: I work at Staying Put in New Canaan. I am on the PTC at my daughter’s school, East Elementary. I’m on the DTC and I’m a proud member of First Presbyterian [Church]. But before all of that my work was in the art world. I worked at Christie’s for 10 years, but my heart always focused on service. And so I spent a lot of years working as a court-appointed special advocate in the Brooklyn family courts. And what that means is I would be handed cases with youth in foster care who were dealing with barriers to stability. So it was my job to identify those barriers and remove them, working with judges, attorneys, doctors, schools, social workers and families, all keeping the kids’ wellbeing at the center of a conversation. So I really intend to bring that focus to my work on the Board of Education.
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Josh Kaye, Democrat running for Board of Education, at the New Canaan Democrats’ “Light the Way Forward” campaign kickoff, Sept. 14, 2025 at the Carriage Barn Arts Center. Credit: Margit Ritz
Josh Kaye: For everything we’re seeing going wrong in the world, the schools here in New Canaan are great. And that’s something that we as a community should be proud of. But schools like ours don’t just happen. We have the schools we have here because for generations, our community has committed to having excellent public schools. We have had teachers and parents and administrators show up for our schools, and we have had Boards of Education that for generations have prioritized excellence of our schools and wellbeing of our kids over anything else, including external political influence. And that as much as anything else is what this selection for the Board of Ed is about. It is about having more balance on the Board of Education. We need a board of education with nine members who will show up on time, prepared, ready to work for our schools, to develop a budget beyond reproach that funds our schools without any waste. We need a Board that recognizes that our teachers are professionals and gives them the support and resources and encouragement that they need to do their best work for our kids. We need a Board of Education that will stand up for local control of our schools, because the best course for New Canaan schools is charted right here in New Canaan. But that has to include not only standing up to overreach from Hartford, but also standing up to whatever comes our way from Washington.
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Erica Schwedel, Democratic incumbent running for re-election to the Board of Education, at the New Canaan Democrats’ “Light the Way Forward” campaign kickoff, Sept. 14, 2025 at the Carriage Barn Arts Center. Credit: Margit Ritz
Erica Schwedel (incumbent, secretary of Board of Ed): My husband Andrew and I have lived in New Canaan for 15 years, and we have two kids at Saxe Middle School. I’ve been a dedicated community volunteer for many years. I started my service at the Newcomers Club, as I think many of us do, and since then I have been on the boards of the Young Women’s League, the New Canaan CARES, the West School PTC, the New Canaan Squash Club, and I’m currently on the board of the New Canaan Community Foundation. My service on the Board of Education has included serving on three committees: I’m on the executive committee, I’m on the communications committee, and I’m on the facilities committee, and I’m proud to say I have attended 100% of our board meetings all four years, always on time and always prepared. A highlight of my board service has been the initiation of the phone-free schools. This was something that we’ve been looking at for a while and I chair of the communications committee and as a part of that work we started a survey with parents and teachers and students to get feedback. And then we ultimately decided to implement Yonder pouches.
Town Council
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Lina Lee, Democrat running for Town Council, at the New Canaan Democrats’ “Light the Way Forward” campaign kickoff, Sept. 14, 2025 at the Carriage Barn Arts Center. Credit: Margit Ritz
Lina Lee: I am new to New Canaan—but I am not new to the issues that New Canaan is facing today. I’m an attorney. I’m the executive director of the Connecticut Bar Association, and I did start a legal services firm in New York City fighting the same issues that you are talking about here. When I was in New York City and I saw predatory landlords listed as part of the attorney general’s worst landlords in New York City, coming into neighborhoods and families having no recourse, I did not just sit back and talk about it. I took action. I started my own legal services firm with 30 attorneys and fought back against the developers, and I did not just sue the developers. I sued New York City. I sued every city agency that was responsible for not taking action to protect its residents. Not only did I take action for our neighborhoods, I also as the executive director of Connecticut Bar Association and protecting its 150th year legacy… It [the CBA] did not grow to be where it is today by taking no action at all. We are here because we protected the bedrocks of democracy, which is the rule of law, an independent judiciary, and making sure that we are sticking to the Constitution and protecting it against all odds. These are issues that have not come up before in the past, and I want to say that as the executive director, that I am fortunate to have the opportunity to work with leaders in Connecticut that are taking action to protect it [the Constitution]. And I want to just say that New Canaan has been such a special home for me, and I want to make sure that I am part of this community in bringing the solutions and actions needed to protect your voices. I’m here not just to talk about these issues again, but I’m here to make sure that I’m listening to you and that I’m making sure that these words turn into action that is going to protect you and your families.
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Mike Rodgers, Democrat running for Town Council, at the New Canaan Democrats’ “Light the Way Forward” campaign kickoff, Sept. 14, 2025 at the Carriage Barn Arts Center. Credit: Margit Ritz
Mike Rodgers: I’m a 24-year resident of the town, and it’s always been a very special place… My wife’s British. We’ve been married 25 years and 20 years ago, I adopted my son from Guatemala. He went from Rainbow Station to a senior at the local [high] school and then on to UConn, where’s a sophomore. He, being Hispanic, led me to think about some of the challenges of living in a town that’s racially one-dimensional. And I got involved in S.T.A.R.—Stand Together Against Racism—that is a local nonprofit that does education. We give scholarships at the high school… I also got very involved in the church and was recently a deacon, and it [that position] finished in March and at that point I wanted … to live out my faith in a more positive and positive way. And I looked around and I remember a little book I read on tyranny and it talked about how the best way you can fight an autocrat is getting involved in local politics.
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Heather Russell, Democrat running for Town Council, at the New Canaan Democrats’ “Light the Way Forward” campaign kickoff, Sept. 14, 2025 at the Carriage Barn Arts Center. Credit: Margit Ritz
Heather Russell: I’m a working mom of two children who go to public schools here in New Canaan, and I’m running for Town Council because I want continue to make New Canaan a special place that it is, as well as ensure that our children have a future they deserve. As a working mom of two girls, I know what it’s like to juggle family life and also work life. I want to stay involved in our community, from attending the Memorial Day Parade … and volunteering at East School. I know firsthand how special this town is. I’ve also been meeting our neighbors and our community members and listening to their concerns—around affordable housing, school budgets and ensuring that our town is a place where everyone can be heard and supported. But for me, this race is not just political, it’s personal. I want to make sure that New Canaan is a wonderful town for our children, our families and our neighbors.
Selectman Amy Murphy Carroll, who is seeking re-election in an uncontested race, called the Democratic slate “incredibly competent, serious adults” with “incredible backgrounds” who will “govern for everyone.”
“They will work with their fellow members, they will show up and they’ll move this town forward,” Murphy Carroll said.
New Canaan Democrats gathered Sept. 14, 2025 at the Carriage Barn for the party’s “Light the Way Forward” local election campaign kickoff event. Credit: Michael Dinan
Also addressing the crowd were state Rep. Savet Constantine (D-42), state Sen. Ceci Maher (D-26), Connecticut Democratic Party Vice Chair Jimmy Tickey, Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, state Attorney General William Tong, U.S. Rep. Jim Himes (D-4) and U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).
Tong, formerly a state legislator representing New Canaan, said this has been “an awful week.”
“I’m on the front lines every single day fighting this administration, fighting with my fellow attorneys general on the other side of the aisle,” he said. “I use the word ‘fight’ a lot. And yes, we have fights, we have political and policy fights, and disputes and differences. And being a democracy means we can do that. We can do that aggressively. We can fight as hard as we possibly can, but we have to do so without hurting each other and killing each other, and that’s the task ahead of us. The task ahead of us is to fight for our country. Now we’re fighting every single day. I have now filed my 32nd lawsuit against the president of the United States, and we are winning.”
Tong said the presidential administration tried to cut funding for domestic community service programs for service-disabled veterans, and others, and has lost.
“We are now 2-0 against Donald Trump on terrorists,” Tong said, drawing applause from the crowd.
He continued: “I know it’s hard right now. There’s so much going on, particularly this week. It is easy to get disheartened and get discouraged, but you have to find another gear. You have to find hope and strength and energy. And I just want to remind everybody here of who you are and who we are. We [Connecticut] are one of the original 13. We stood up to the first tyrant our country ever faced, and we beat him. And then when our union, the first time it threatened to fall apart, we spent 50,000 soldiers from Connecticut to hold the union together in the Civil War. And then when the whole world hung in the balance because of at least three tyrants, in Europe and in the Pacific, and my parents and grandparents were running for their lives, we sent 300,000 soldiers to hold the world together. We have done this before. We have stood up to tyrants and authoritarianism and we have beaten them, and if Donald Trump thinks he can send American soldiers into Connecticut against American citizens on American soil, he will have to come through me and all of us.”
My guess is the biggest financial issue before the new BOE and town relates to the possibility of building a new elementary school. I am surprised that it appears neither slate of candidates is making any / much mention of this in their campaign material. My question is what is the desired public engagement process by the candidates on that decision, their views on the issue (or at a minimum what lens will they evaluate this through), and will this process be tied together with the zoning review of the town that appears to be kicking off in October?
Since this town is all about the school, it’s safe to say that these candidates will not go against the BoE. The cause and effect of this is more taxes to support the increased BoE budget. Additionally, property values will increase, causing the grand list to increase, while reducing the mill rate but increasing the property taxes. These increased property values will make affordable housing further out of reach. So yes, we are in a loop.
Well the facts are undistributable\– there is no shortage of space
I sent to all town officials on 8-03-25 State forms filled out by
school officials called ED050 facilities report it states the number
of permeant classrooms in each school
and if you take the number of classrooms in each school from the last report by the school officials. There are over 25 empty classrooms in k-4
seems whoever in the school administration who gave the would be
new school builders the wrong information — How could that happen ?
on a 300 million project
there are 2 FOI request that have not been answered for over 7 weeks on this subject
Richard, two FOI requests that have remained unfulfilled for seven weeks is completely unacceptable. After we learned that a new school was being proposed down the street, we submitted an FOI request for the presentation and had to wait three weeks for a single document. Being well-versed in FOI procedures, I can tell you that seven weeks—or even three weeks—is far too long for documents to be fulfilled. This is certainly outside standard practice. I strongly suggest you file a complaint with the FOI Commission and initiate the process for a hearing.
For your awareness, the property in question for the proposed school lies within Federal wetlands and would require the Army Corps of Engineers to review and approve the building site for any proposed structure. That entire corridor feeds the Five Mile River, which is a federally regulated waterway requiring review and approval by the Army Corps. The presentation we requested—which took three weeks to obtain—showed no indication that this critical issue was even considered. These fundamental environmental concerns were completely overlooked in the document.
Additionally, this property, the Clark estate, was embroiled in litigation after the town attempted to sell it to pay for Irwin Park. Attorney General Blumenthal reviewed the Clark deed, and in 2005, the Town presented evidence to the Connecticut Court stating that the Town “…despite many proposed uses has been unable to find a public use for the property for almost 50 years. There are multiple reasons why the property is unsuitable for public purposes, the principal ones being its location, its distance from public water and sewer, its topography, its lack of proper access for public use, and especially its plethora of water courses and wetlands.” None of the documents I have reviewed even address the impacts to wetlands—which are extensive—nor the sewer and infrastructure challenges. If you need assistance with FOI procedures, please let me know.
Don’t let the truth get in your way when you want something !
This is the Motto of the top school officials — been here 38 yrs
I know them well — I’m not asking for anything that I don’t already have
it’s just their conformation of the data — they will stall as long as possible
Thank Jennifer
Jennifer,
The significant and well-founded concerns you have raised are further underscored by the fact that major telecommunications companies, such as Verizon, declined to pursue construction of a cell phone tower on the Clark Property due to the presence of sensitive wetlands, vernal pools, wildlife, and forests. It is important to note that the footprint of a cell phone tower and a single-lane access road is minimal in comparison to the proposed 80,000 square foot building, two multi-lane roads, sports fields, parking lots, wells, substantial underground fire suppression tanks, fuel tanks, and septic systems designed to accommodate up to 500 people per day. Once wetlands, vernal pools and other environmental issues are considered, the property is simply too small and fragile. This proposal’s unrealistic scale raises overwhelming doubts about its feasibility above and below ground.
Additionally, it is likely that credit rating agencies would not approve an additional $300 million in debt without at least a ratings downgrade. This proposal would increase New Canaan’s total outstanding debt to $455 million and lead to higher borrowing costs, along with increases in real estate taxes to service principal and interest. The anticipated traffic associated with this massive project from numerous school buses, staff, fuel deliveries, parents, and vendors making turns onto a State Road without a traffic signal is an OSTA safety issue, and the proposed exit on Michigan Road presents completely unrealistic navigational challenges. Major changes would be required for State Road 123, North Wilton Road and Michigan Road.
Future operational expenses must also be considered, including the need for additional administration, teaching staff, support personnel, police security, and maintenance. Transparency regarding all data, assumptions, and any consultant fees is essential; notably, related consultant expenditures were not identified in the Board of Education budget. Those seeking public office should clearly articulate their positions on these matters. As someone told me, “this project is like trying to stuff 50 pounds of nails into a container designed for five pounds.” Most with a practical financial background would say, it is time to look at existing resources and not waste time and money on improbable projects.
Lastly, the Superintendent and his assistant are allegedly in charge of promptly responding to BOE FOIA requests. Connecticut State Law governs FOIA requests and “prompt” replies. Most taxpayers cannot imagine paid employees and BOE members want to break State Law or take a ride to Hartford only to be told to deliver what was simply requested in July.