“Voting is as much an emotional act as it is an intellectual one,” former U.S. Treasury Department employee and Fox News contributor Monica Crowley once said ”” and there has been plenty of emotion on display throughout Fairfield County as the Nov. 2 election nears.
High-profile mayoral elections in Stamford, Norwalk and Danbury, as well as competitions to lead over a dozen other municipalities in the county, have been marked by some heated ”” if not overheated ”” rhetoric as towns and cities work to determine what a post-pandemic world looks like.
As has been routinely pointed out, some 27,000 people relocated to Connecticut from New York last year. According to a CBRE analysis of U.S. Postal Service data, eight Fairfield County locations ”” Westport, Stamford, Darien, Fairfield, New Canaan, Ridgefield, Shelton and Trumbull ”” were among the top 10 communities to benefit from the mostly Covid-caused moves.
The impact on the business community is still somewhat unknown; as is the case throughout the country, worker shortages and supply-chain snafus are very much still in effect. Also playing a significant role is the roughly $1.1 billion the state is receiving from the federal American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act, which includes about $240 million in general government grants and another $140 million in Education Cost Sharing payments for local communities.
While Stamford mayoral candidates Caroline Simmons (D) and Bobby Valentine (Unaffiliated) exchanged some pointed remarks during their series of debates, it was Jonathan Riddle, who is seeking to foil Norwalk incumbent Harry Rilling”™s (D) quest for a fifth term, who may have had the election season’s most eyebrow-raising line.
Riddle said at an Oct. 26 virtual debate sponsored by the Greater Norwalk Chamber of Commerce that the city”™s property values have increased tremendously due to the number of “refugees fleeing the Communist state of New York.”
Riddle, who in 2020 lost his bid to unseat six-time incumbent Jim Himes in the race for U.S. House District, 62% to 36%, raised Rilling”™s eyebrows during the virtual debate on Oct. 26 by announcing that children under the age of 12 run “zero” risk of contracting Covid-19. He added that he would suspend Norwalk”™s mask mandate on his first day in office, although he would not prevent those still wishing to wear masks from doing so.
Appearing unruffled by his opponent”™s repeated charges of mismanagement, Rilling declared that the city is “going in the right direction” thanks to its schools, location and general “vibrancy,” and credited ”” without naming them ”” Norwalk”™s Chief of Community and Economic Development Jessica Casey and its Director of Business Development & Tourism Sabrina Church with helping maintain a regular dialog with businesses and residents.
Rilling also touted Norwalk”™s placing 59th in a recent “best 100 places to live in America” survey conducted by Livability.com. Over the past 18 months, he said, Norwalk has welcomed over 400 new businesses and is conducting a citywide traffic study to address the congestion issues that come with development.
Riddle, calling the latter situation “a traffic disaster,” accused the incumbent of recycling the same pro-Norwalk messages that he did four years ago and maintained that the city has actually been losing business, with Diageo”™s 2020 relocation to Stamford and Priceline possibly exiting as well.
Calling the city”™s parking authority “a thorn in every single resident”™s side,” the Republican candidate proposed free parking for every resident with a registered motor vehicle who is current with their property taxes ”” something that Rilling said had been tried before, with the result that people would park in front of businesses “all day,” thus depriving those businesses of additional customers.
Riddle said that a two-hour time limit could be enforced for such residents, which could result in a ticket. “That”™s not free parking, is it?” Rilling asked.
The incumbent also said that the average tax rate in Norwalk has gone down since he took office in 2014; Riddle agreed but said that spending is up, creating a situation where “we need to cut government waste.”
Of the approximately $39 million that Norwalk is receiving under ARP, Rilling said it would be spent over the next few years on “over 150 projects and initiatives,” including an expansion of workforce development and training, early childhood programs, and small business loans and incubator programs, particularly for women- and minority-owned businesses.
Riddle essentially agreed with Rilling, adding that funds should also be allocated to increasing special education efforts, support for businesses still hurting from the pandemic, and fixing Norwalk”™s roads and sidewalks.
As for Covid mitigation, Riddle held that much of the talk today amounts to “fearmongering,” again questioning the need for a mask mandate. “The damage being done by masks is irreparable,” he declared.
“I”™ve been following the science,” Rilling retorted. “We will remove the mandate when we feel it”™s safe to do so. We”™re not out of the woods yet.”
Both candidates agreed that efforts to combine Norwalk”™s Planning and Zoning Commissions were worthwhile, saving businesses and developers time and effort, and that retail marijuana stores could help generate revenue, though only if physically positioned prudently and with strict oversight.
Supervising Stamford
Meanwhile, the Stamford candidates have gone through a number of debates, including a final one at The Waters Edge at Giovanni’s, sponsored by the Stamford Chamber of Commerce in nearby Darien on Oct. 21.
What once seemed a certain victory for Simmons ”” a state senator since 2014 and a Department of Homeland Security member during the Obama administration, who easily defeated two-time incumbent David Martin in the September Democratic primary ”” has in recent weeks grown tighter.
Much of that would seem to come from Valentine”™s hoi polloi demeanor. A native of what is now the state’s second-largest city, the former Major League Baseball player and manager, former Stamford director of public safety and health, and owner of Bobby V”™s Restaurant and Sports Bar in the city has reportedly raised well over $350,000 in campaign contributions. Those contributors include former President George W. Bush and ex-Small Business Administration administrator Linda McMahon, both Republicans.
In mid-October, Simmons reported raising about $480,000 since declaring her candidacy in February.
At the Oct. 21 debate, Valentine said that despite the apparent Republican support, he preferred to build a “wonderful team that is embarking on a campaign that will be historic,” drawing from both parties, independents, and other unaffiliated persons.
While Simmons characteristically ticked off bullet points when explaining how she would tackle issues like affordable housing, workforce development and traffic congestion ”” many of which would involve creating committees ”” Valentine took a more informal approach, maintaining that training and retaining a workforce is “paramount.”
He also received a loud ovation during his closing statement, wherein he invoked his grandparents, who “came here 110 years ago,” and declared: “I”™m not going to Hartford from here, and I”™m not going to D.C. from here,” he said. “I”™m staying here until the end.”
That was an apparent swipe at Simmons, who relocated to the city from Greenwich eight years ago.
But it hasn”™t all been smooth sailing for Valentine. A video clip of remarks he made at a Sept. 27 gathering ”” not a fundraiser ”” since uploaded to YouTube, found him saying: “Because if you”™re not owning, you”™re not caring. And I don”™t want, I don”™t mind having people in our city who are just renters, but I know that of those 10,000 new people who came here over the last six years, came to Stamford, and they”™re renting in our community, I know that they”™re not leaving the community better than when they got here.”
At the debate, Valentine dismissed the video as “a 28-second clip that was taken out of context” and that he “loves” the city”™s apartment renters.
Simmons said she found the remarks “extremely offensive” to Stamford”™s renting population, many of whom cannot afford to buy homes.
Also recently coming to light is Valentine”™s tax-related lawsuit against the city. Filed in 2020, the suit challenges Stamford”™s assessment of his Wynnewood Lane home at about $1.04 million, which he said “exceeded the percentage of its true and actual value on the assessment date and the valuation was grossly excessive, disproportionate and unlawful.”
The suit was filed in Superior Court after the Stamford Board of Assessment Appeals rejected his request for a reconsideration.
On Oct. 22, the candidate tweeted: “Like all Stamford homeowners, I have been concerned about rising property taxes, especially when home values were declining. As mayor, I pledge to bring accountability to tax assessments and make it easier for residents who wish to appeal, as I chose to do in 2020.”
Other races
Another hotly contested mayoral race is in Danbury, where City Councilmember at-Large Roberto Alves (D) is running against Dean Esposito (R) after Joe Cavo ”” who took over in December 2020 when 10-time incumbent Mark Boughton (R) became state tax commissioner ”” decided against running. Cavo has endorsed Esposito, who has served as chief of staff under both Cavo and Boughton. Esposito ran unsuccessfully for mayor as a Democrat in 2005, losing to Boughton, 58% to 42%.
That race essentially boils down to purportedly maintaining the status quo under Republican rule, or believing that “It”™s the status quo solutions that cost us in the long run,” as Alves put it in the city”™s only debate, held on Oct. 13.
The question of residency also arose; Esposito owns a home in Brookfield but has said he plans to move to Danbury regardless of the election’s outcome.
Both candidates agreed that the downtown area needs improvements, something that has weighed on residents for years.
Elsewhere in the county:
Shelton: Mark Lauretti (R) is going for his 16th term as mayor; he is opposed by retired police officer David Eldridge (D). The incumbent, touting low taxes and a consistently growing grand list, has caught criticism over his handling of the city”™s schools and, most recently, the performance of the Shelton Student Transportation Service. Eldridge maintains that a fresh face will help rejuvenate Shelton while promising to keep taxes low.
Greenwich: Fred Camillo (R) is seeking a second term as first selectman against Democrat William Kelly. Camillo served in the Connecticut House of Representatives from 2009 to 2019, while Kelly has been a member of the Representative Town Meeting, the Board of Education and the Board of Estimate & Taxation. The challenger has said he will focus on improving the town”™s infrastructure and schools; the incumbent has said his priorities include keeping a close eye on development and keeping taxes low.
Brookfield: First Selectman Steve Dunn (D) is seeking a fourth term against Tara Carr (R) and petitioning candidate Austin Montiero.
Darien: Tara Ochman (D), Monica McNally (R), and petitioning candidate Christian Noe are vying to replace First Selectman Jayme Stevenson (R), who announced in June that she would not seek a sixth term.
Easton: First Selectman David Bindelglass (D) is pursuing a second term; the orthopedic surgeon and chief of orthopedics at Bridgeport Hospital is running against Republican Jeff Parker.
Redding: Julia Pemberton (D) is seeking a fifth term against John Shaban (R).
Stratford: Mayor Laura Hoydick (R) is running for a second term against Immacula Cann (D).
Trumbull: First Selectman Vicki Tesoro (D) is pursuing a third term against Mark Block (R).
Weston: Samantha Nestor (D) and Kirby Brendsel (R) are competing to replace Democrat Chris Spaulding, who is not seeking a third term.
Westport votes for both First Selectman and Selectman on one line. Jim Marpe (R) announced in April that he would not seek a third term, with Selectwoman Jennifer Tooker looking to move up alongside Andrea Moore on the Republican ticket. They are opposed by Jonathan Steinberg/Candice Savin (D) and T.J. Elgin/Louis D”™Onofrio Jr. (Libertarian).
Wilton: With First Selectman Lynne Vanderslice (R) not seeking a third term, Bas Nabulsi (D) is running against Kim Healy (R).
Running unopposed
Bethel: Matt Knickerbocker (D) for a seventh term.
Monroe: Ken Kellogg (R) for a third term.
New Canaan: Kevin Moynihan (R) for a third term.
New Fairfield: Pat Del Monaco (D) for a third term.
Newtown: Dan Rosenthal (Serve America Movement) for a third term.
Sherman: Don Lowe (D) for a third term.
