By John H. Palmer

Hi, there. I’m John, and I’d like to introduce myself as the new editor of Westport Journal. 

For some of you, this is hello, and nice to meet you. For many others, it’s more like good to see you again. If you’ve lived in Westport for a while, there’s a good chance we’ve run into each other in the past.

As a young child growing up in Norwalk, I always considered Westport a bit of a second home. As kids, my parents and grandparents took my sister and me to Compo Beach and Sherwood Island to enjoy the seashore. As a teenager, I took my dates to Arnie’s Place, back in the days when arcades were still a thing. In college, I spent way too many nights (and too much money) drinking beers at local haunts like Viva Zapata and The Black Duck. As an adult, I’ve enjoyed paddling my kayak in the nooks and crannies of the Saugatuck River and along the Westport coast, and I’ve watched my share of concerts on a blanket with a picnic at the Levitt Pavilion. 

When I entered the work force after graduating Norwalk High School in 1991, my first real job was at the Westport/Weston YMCA working at the membership service desk, and that led to an aquatics career for almost 20 years. I taught myself to swim at the Y and became a lifeguard, swim instructor, and a pool director at Camp Mahackeno for eight years. In 2001, I began a 10-year stint as an educator, working as a classroom aide at Long Lots Elementary School. I’ve worked as an EMT on the ambulance for Westport EMS, and I taught CPR for the American Red Cross in the old Church Street building.  

I’ve been a writer since high school, and since graduating Southern Connecticut State University in 1996, I’ve dedicated most of my career working as a journalist. I cut my teeth as a reporter in the small town of Ridgefield, covering town meetings and working until the wee hours to file stories about the Board of Education and Planning and Zoning Commission. 

Eventually, I found myself at the Norwalk Hour covering Norwalk and Westport, and then the Stamford Advocate and Connecticut Post as well as several Fairfield County weeklies such as the Darien and New Canaan News. In 2012, I headed to the Boston area, where I led the newsrooms of weekly newspapers in Billerica and Bedford, Mass.

Now I find myself back home leading the news coverage of the Westport Journal, and I couldn’t be prouder and more excited about the opportunity. I’ve been writing for the Journal for a couple months now, covering the RTM and a few other town issues and this is a step up in my career that I’m happy to take on.

Local journalism is more important than ever

Community news around the country has suffered as newspapers have died out over time, either because corporate and political interests have found ways to capitalize on “clickbait journalism” sites that have done away with relevant news or seized the chance to use the news media to spread partisan messages on both sides of the aisle.

I’ve always believed that community journalism serves a larger purpose in small towns, and when their newspapers disappear, the absence creates news deserts and misinformed voters. It is our obligation to provide the most up-to-date, accurate, and multi-partisan information about what your government is doing, whether it’s an expenditure that affects the education of your children or a pothole repair that affects your vehicle’s ability to get you to work.

Perhaps more importantly, it’s our job to bring the community together. We may not all agree on politics or development issues, and we don’t have to. But it’s the job of a community newspaper to make sure all sides — and there’s always more than two — have a voice and a place for friendly debate. As long as it’s relevant, fair, and respectful, you can be sure to have a voice on this news website. 

I feel it’s my responsibility as editor to chronicle as many of the events and issues that affect your life as possible, because they affect mine and my loved ones as well. I often say that Fairfield County in many ways is a place that is always changing yet never changes. 

Traffic and transportation are perennial hassles, for example, and it affects how development decisions are made. Anyone who spent time in gridlock on Route 1 last May when a tanker truck blew up on I-95 and melted a bridge in Norwalk, or has looked for a parking space downtown during the busy holiday season knows that progress comes at a price, and infrastructure must grow to keep up with it. I’ve been waiting 50 years for the new Route 7 to be extended from Norwalk to Danbury to reduce local traffic in our area. I’ll probably wait another 50.

Coming home to cover the issues that affect us all

It’s not lost on me the fear you feel as developers of the Saugatuck “Hamlet” plan to build a large new community in a tiny part of town already too crowded and congested with traffic. But I also believe in sensible progress, and while I think Westport can do without huge neon lights and tall apartment buildings along the river, I’m also excited to see where spirited debate and negotiation can take this project to revive that area as a lively place to live and do business without ruining the town’s spirit.

As an employee of the Y and a director at Mahackeno in the mid-2000s, I was right in the middle of the discussions involved in moving the Y to its current location. As much as many of you dreaded the specter of traffic in that area, the debate balanced with the need to improve and expand upon the wonderful programs that the Y offered Westport. After a long process, the Y finally found its current home in 2014 and was a classic example of how communities are supposed to work. Newspapers are essential in moderating these discussions among its citizens.

I know how important your children’s education and the safety of schools are to you. I was teaching at Long Lots on 9/11, and I remember the fear we felt as we came up with a plan to protect the students from knowing more than they needed to, while grappling with our own fears and continuing the normal instruction day. I remember that awful day in 2012, when Sandy Hook made us reconsider school security, knowing it could have happened in any of our schools. As town officials embark on a project to rebuild Long Lots, these concerns will undoubtedly be part of the discussion.

I remember when the Storm of the Century in 1993 sent the Saugatuck over its banks, flooding Main Street and the downtown area. I was working at the YMCA, helping provide hot showers and food for those affected, and as a young man I’ll never forget the impression I was left with as the people of Westport came together to help each other. 

That’s the Westport I fell in love with, and I’ve already begun writing inspirational stories about some of the great people here, including Michelle Backus, who is running the Boston Marathon on April 21 to help raise $50,000 for child cancer research. Small towns are full of stories such as this one, and I’m looking forward to finding them.

It’s great to see you again, Westport. You’ll hear more from me soon as I plan to make this a regular column, and I’ll look for you around town. I welcome your input and your story ideas. Feel free to email me at jpalmer@westportjournal.com and I’ll be sure to get back to you.