Election season comes early in New Canaan. The party with the largest number of registered voters in town, the Republicans, holds the majority on Town boards, council and commissions. They will hold their caucus on July 18 to endorse candidates to represent the party on the ballot for the municipal election in November, and all registered Republicans are urged to attend.
This pre-caucus season there are more candidates vying for the Republican Party’s endorsement than there are endorsements to be gained, and with those contests comes good old-fashioned, grassroots campaigning. The Advertiser continues its long tradition of helping the community get to know the candidates of any election by asking questions, collecting responses and publishing the information in print, on NCAdvertiser.com and via social media.
This installment of election coverage is provided five days before the Republicans in the contested races — First Selectman, Selectman and Town Council — will face off in a debate to be held next Tuesday, June 27, at 7 p.m. in Town Hall. The public is urged to attend or watch via NCTV-79.
New Canaan Democrats will hold their caucus on July 18 as well. As of June 21 there are no known contests for endorsements.
The Advertiser welcomes input from readers to advise the editors about what are the most important issues facing the community today. Please send emails to: GReilly@NCAdvertiser.com with the subject line: Election Issue.
New Canaan’s Town Hall
What is your view of the role of selectman on the three-person Board of Selectmen? Then tell us why you are the better of the two candidates that Republicans will choose from.
Christa Kenin
Christa Kenin
Biography
- Current Town Council Member
- Co-Chair of the Town Council’s Education Subcommittee which partners with the Board of Education
- Member of the Town Council’s By-Laws and Ordinance Subcommittee
- Member of the Town Council’s Land Use and Recreation Subcommittee
- Member of the Selectmen-appointed Waveny House Committee
- Member of the Selectmen-appointed Building Use Committee
- NY Attorney
- Runner
- Wife and mother of two in our public school system
- New Canaan resident for six years
- Previously an Account Management Director at a major advertising agency
- Previously the President of the Newcomers Club, a West School PTC member and a New Canaan Library volunteer
Response
Article III of our Town Charter lays out the technical functions of the Board of Selectmen — the power to make appointments, its duties as a purchasing agent on behalf of the Town and BOE and its power over land relating to public highways and drainage.
As we’ve seen, the implementation of the Charter is open to interpretation.
As a “Leader Who Listens,” I am accessible both literally and figuratively.
My office is New Canaan. Everyday you see me in Town — running errands, attending schools events, enjoying our parks with my family. This gives me an enormous opportunity to interact with our citizens on a daily basis. I’m constantly learning what matters most to them. No one has a better ability to gauge the pulse of our community than I do.
Concerning the BOS duties, the appointment process is something near and dear to me. While it is true that by Charter the BOS makes the final board/commission appointments, there is currently a lack of transparency within that process. How are candidates identified? Vetted? What’s the rationale for choosing one candidate over another?
During the Town’s Charter Review last spring, I advocated for a more formalized appointment procedure. I proposed a detailed structure that included a formal timeline, a clear and accessible application system, a well known and pre-established criteria for board/commission positions, a more open selection process and a more rigorous public vetting assessment.
Our citizens are smart and have a strong “appetite for information.” Currently, that appetite is not being satisfied. Our board/commission positions should be 100% accessible to every citizen in this Town who wishes to serve.
At its best, government should be a reflection of all of its people, their needs and desires.
As a Selectman, I will welcome our citizens into the fold.
Nick Williams
Nick Williams, incumbent
Biography
Volunteer Commitment to New Canaan
- Selectman, 2011-present
- Chairman, Board of Education, 2009-2011
- Vice Chairman, Board of Education, 2008-2009
- General Counsel, New Canaan High School Scholarship Foundation, 2016-present
- Board of Trustees, Congregational Church of New Canaan, 2005-2007
- General Counsel, Congregational Church of New Canaan, 2009-2016
- Founding Member, New Canaan Fields Committee, 2010
- Coach, New Canaan Soccer Association, 2001-2014
- Coach, New Canaan Flag Football League, 2006-2013
Work
- Senior Partner, Clifford Chance US LLP
Education
- Columbia Law School, J.D., 1988, Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar
- Brown University, A.B., 1984, Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude
Response
I want to continue to serve our town as your selectman, and as a long-time resident who married a New Canaan girl, Whitney, and raised our three children, Tori, Chase and Kent, in our outstanding public school system, I realize that experience truly does matter.
I’m a former chairman of our Board of Education who championed excellence and transparency during my tenure, a three-term selectman, a volunteer in numerous town activities, and the only commuter running for office. Through this experience I have come to understand the ways in which our government touches all of our citizens, from the working mom, to the local shop owner, to the retired couple who love New Canaan and simply want to stay put.
Because our executive branch consists of three individuals, it is imperative that they work together effectively, efficiently and cooperatively in order for things to get done. We are New Canaan after all, not Washington. I believe our team has achieved this in exemplary fashion.
In 2011 I ran for selectman because I wanted to be your selectman, not because I wanted to use the position as a stepping stone to higher office, and I think this has been helpful in building a consensus on our current board.
And the results of that consensus? A renovated Town Hall that combines the best of old and new. Strong financial support for our top-ranked schools, including a $18 million addition to Saxe. A sparkling new post office. A fully-funded pension fund for Town employees. New sidewalks. An enviable AAA credit rating. Support for old and new public-private initiatives like the Land Trust, the New Canaan Athletic Foundation and the Waveny Park Conservancy.
And we have more to do.
The post July Caucus: Q&A with the Candidates: Selectman appeared first on New Canaan Advertiser.