The Westport Journal, to help voters make informed decisions when they cast ballots in the Nov. 7 municipal election, sent questionnaires to candidates running for seats on three major boards and commissions.

The candidates were asked to answer two broad questions:

• Describe your background, including education, professional and involvement in civic affairs, focusing on qualifications particularly relevant to the office you seek.

• Tell voters why you are running for office, and the issues you plan to focus on if elected.

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 7, with balloting from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the town’s nine voting districts. 

For detailed information about election issues, such as sample ballots, voter registration, absentee ballots, the location of polling stations and more, click the “Election Information” page on the town’s website.

Candidates running for Board of Finance seats are: Democrats Jeffrey Hammer, incumbent, and Danielle Dobin, and Republicans Perry Winter, incumbent, and Liz Heyer and Rich Hightower.

The term of office is four years.

___________________________

Following are the questionnaire answers provided by the five candidates running for four seats on the Board of Finance.

DANIELLE DOBIN, Democrat

Biography: Danielle is a multi-decade real estate investor and manager, who chairs Westport’s Planning and Zoning Commission. Her leadership at P&Z sparked a retail renaissance downtown, stewarded the conversion of obsolete office buildings to medical office facilities, diversified Westport’s housing stock, introduced outdoor dining to Westport and saw the Grand List grow to $11.3 billion. 

Danielle helps coach the Staples “We the People” civics team, serves on the executive board of the Staples Parents Music Association and served on the PTA Council managing Art Smart townwide. 

In her roles as a developer, elected official and volunteer, Danielle genuinely seeks to understand the perspectives and concerns of others, and actively encourages diverse viewpoints.

Danielle lives near Longshore with her husband Chris, their two teen boys, and her beloved dog. Danielle has a JD from Georgetown, an MA in RE Finance from NYU, and a BA from GW. 

Why I am running: I am running for the Board of Finance to help Westport make the right financial choices over the next decade.  

The first selectwoman has projected possible capital investment of $470 million over this period. Priorities will have to be set and choices made. Processes will have to be established for capital projects to be completed on time, on budget, and fraud-free. The next decade is a huge opportunity for Westport, but it also carries major risks.

There is no doubt that Westport will be issuing municipal bonds to support its future investments, possibly leading to a tripling of Westport’s outstanding municipal debt.

We must guard against reckless “bonding” as our AAA-rating will be at risk if we are not careful in our choices.  Also, our debt service burden will become increasing significantly. It will be a meaningful line item in the town’s budget for years to come. If we do not exhibit sound financial stewardship, our choices could trigger excessive mill rate increases and deprive town services of necessary funding.   

We must tread carefully into this brave new world. We must develop an actionable framework based upon a broad, townwide discussion of our investment priorities.  

The Westport formula has long been to target investments into the town’s exceptional assets and services while keeping property taxes reasonable. Active Board of Finance oversight of the first selectwoman’s policy recommendations and spending choices will be critical to maintaining the formula for Westport’s exceptionalism. 

The Westport public needs to be part of the process — transparency will create the conditions for success.   

My running mate Jeff Hammer and I are ready for the financial challenges of the next decade. We are committed to being the active, engaged, transparent members of the Board of Finance that Westport needs now more than ever.

PERRY WINTER, Republican

Biography: I am retired now. My career consisted of senior underwriting and management roles with a number of commercial reinsurance and insurance companies.

I was charged to profitably grow portfolios of commercial reinsurance premiums and in doing so my responsibilities involved coordinating the activities of attorneys, actuaries, claims and modeling analysts. 

With that said, I have strong budgeting, planning and analytic skills which strongly complement the responsibilities required to effectively serve on the BoF.

I have a BS from SUNY Albany’s School of Business

Why I am running: I was flattered to be asked to fill a vacancy on the Board of Finance and I am now running as an incumbent.  

Keeping a close eye on the town’s expenditures must be seriously addressed, and that’s especially true this year. The town’s 10-year capital forecast is in excess of 425. Million which includes a $100 million price tag associated with the Long Lots Elementary School project. 

To put this into perspective, in 2033 Westport could be carrying more than $30o million in debt versus our average debt of $100 million. Is this affordable? Can we still maintain our AAA credit rating to keep our cost of debt low and sustain a stable mill rate at the same time? 

My goal is to carefully prioritize the town’s expenses and fulfill Westport’s infrastructure and amenity needs while trying to balance these efforts to maintain a stable mill rate. 

JEFFREY HAMMER, Democrat

Biography: Jeff Hammer is an 18-year Westport resident and a 38-year finance professional with deep experience in all facets of finance.  

Jeff was born and raised in New York City.  He received an A.B. cum laude in politics from Princeton University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.  

He and his wife Heidi have lived in the Greens Farm section of Westport since 2005. Married 28 years, they have two adult children, one high-school junior, a dog, and a cat.  

Jeff is currently the Global Co-Head of Secondaries at Manulife Investment Management.  Jeff previously spent ten years as co-head of Houlihan Lokey’s Illiquid Financial Assets practice. Earlier, Jeff was co-head of Bear Stearns Asset Management’s Private Equity Advisors, a unit he and his partners sold to BSAM in 2004. As a young professional, Jeff held investment banking positions at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.   

Jeff is a member of the Council of Foreign Relations, a board member of the off-Broadway theater company 59E59, a member of the Alumni Council of Collegiate School, and the sole independent trustee of the Westport Town Pension Investment Committee.  

Jeff is a sports enthusiast and enjoys running, cycling, and yoga. He has completed eight marathons.

Why I am running: I am running for the Board of Finance to help Westport make the right financial choices over the next decade.  

The first selectwoman has projected possible capital investment of $470 million over this period. Priorities will have to be set and choices made. Processes will have to be established for capital projects to be completed on time, on budget, and fraud-free. The next decade is a huge opportunity for Westport, but it also carries major risks.

There is no doubt that Westport will be issuing municipal bonds to support its future investments, possibly leading to a tripling of Westport’s outstanding municipal debt.   We must guard against reckless “bonding” as our AAA-rating will be at risk if we are not careful in our choices. Also, our debt service burden will become increasing significantly. It will be a meaningful line item in the town’s budget for years to come. If we do not exhibit sound financial stewardship, our choices could trigger excessive mill rate increases and deprive town services of necessary funding.   

We must tread carefully into this brave new world. We must develop an actionable framework based upon a broad, townwide discussion of our investment priorities. The Westport formula has long been to target investments into the town’s exceptional assets and services while keeping property taxes reasonable. Active Board of Finance oversight of the first selectwoman’s policy recommendations and spending choices will be critical to maintaining the formula for Westport’s exceptionalism. The Westport public needs to be part of the process — transparency will create the conditions for success.   

Running mate Danielle Dobin and I are ready for the financial challenges of the next decade. We are committed to being the active, engaged, transparent members of the Board of Finance that Westport needs now more than ever.

LIZ HEYER, Republican

Biography: I was raised in Westport, and graduated from Staples, before heading to the University of Pennsylvania. Following college, I worked in public relations before attending Columbia Business School for my MBA. I was recruited to work at American Express in Global Corporate Services, where I spent 10 years managing new product developments to help corporate customers optimize business costs.

In 2014, my family was ready to move from New York, and we knew Westport was the best place to live. I quickly engaged in serving the community and have leadership roles in various town and school programs. 

I have been a member of the PAL Basketball board for four years and I joined the Board of Education (BoE) in 2020, currently serving as the vice chair. I am also chair of the Finance and Facilities Committee on the BoE, a role that uniquely prepares me to serve on the Board of Finance. 

I leverage business experience to work collaboratively across all town parties and governing bodies to ensure critical progress is made on key initiatives. 

Why I am running: Growing up in Westport, raising a family in town, and having a parent in the community, provides me with an understanding of the needs of all residents. I am also aware of how Westport has developed over the years. These perspectives are valuable when planning for Westport’s future.

I am proud of the projects the BoE has accomplished while I have served, particularly those related to our budget and facilities. We refocused the budget process around educational themes such as technology and teaching and learning, to underscore the importance of funding these critical areas. 

This led to unanimous approval of the education budget by our funding bodies two years in a row, with elected officials praising the effective process. We started to explore opportunities to optimize areas of the school budget to yield measurable savings such as healthcare and transportation. We have also developed a long-term capital investment plan, enabling the district to finally address much-needed facilities improvements in our schools.

My experience with the town capital forecasting process, involvement in labor contract negotiations, knowledge of the education budget, the largest component of the town’s budget, and a proven ability to work with a network of town officials, will be assets on the Board of Finance. 

I look forward to providing strong financial leadership that will ensure Westport is prepared for the future by:

• Developing a framework for building a prioritized, strategically financed capital investment plan supported by the community.

• Maintaining our current infrastructure of programs and services as our town grows.

• Sustaining a reasonable mill rate that ensures the cost of living is attractive to all residents now and for the years ahead.

• Appropriately funding our excellent schools to serve existing and new families.

• Focusing on financial policies that continue to attract and retain businesses.

RICH HIGHTOWER, Republican

Biography: I have nearly two decades of Wall Street experience across equity research, investment banking, and investment management.   

Over my career, I have been heavily involved in the complex financial modeling and valuation of companies and securities, and I have a deep understanding of financial markets, corporate strategy, and other business and industry dynamics.  

Prior to the start of my career, I earned an undergraduate degree in economics from Middlebury College.

My family and I have been extraordinarily blessed to live in Westport since 2015, and since that time I have served our community in several ways, including as a coach for numerous teams in our youth baseball and basketball programs, and also as a board member (and treasurer) for our local church here in Westport.

Why I am running: As successful as our town has been in navigating choppy financial waters in the past, we are nevertheless faced with a very complex financial and budget landscape ahead of us.  

In addition to Westport’s capital plan forecast, which is expected to add hundreds of millions of dollars of additional expenditures (cumulatively) over the next decade, we are confronted with the multiple headwinds of elevated inflation and interest rates. It is clear, then, that we need finance leaders who are comfortable with complexity, who understand risk, and who are capable of asking tough, insightful questions in order to achieve the best “bang for the buck” for Westport’s residents and taxpayers.

I have the skills, the spirit of community service, and — given that my wife and I have three young children, all of whom attend our public schools — true long-term “skin in the game” related to financial decisions whose impacts will be felt for decades. 

I am running because I want our town to thrive today, tomorrow, and for years to come.