By Thane Grauel

WESTPORT — The Representative Town Meeting has a new member.

Brien Buckman was chosen to fill a vacancy by District 6 members. He was sworn in Tuesday morning at Town Hall.

At 33, Buckman is one of the youngest members of the legislative body. He fills the vacancy left by the passing of Cathy Talmadge, a popular and longtime public servant.

Buckman moved to Westport from Colorado in 2020, just before the pandemic lockdown. He is head of product/new ventures for the Palo Alto Research Center, and works remotely.

“If I can be helpful to my community, this is my way of serving it,” Buckman told the Westport Journal on Tuesday.

“Westport is a beautiful town, a fantastic place to own a business and raise a family to live, to enjoy nature, and entertainment that travels here,” he said. “It takes investment and intentional focus to keep it that way. That’s what I’m hoping to help the organization do.”

Buckman earlier lived in Stamford, and was a member of that city’s legislative body, the Board of Representatives. He served on the education, operations and steering committees, and as chairman of the Economic Development Committee.

Westport RTM member Candace Banks of District 6 led the committee that interviewed several candidates over several hours last week at Town Hall, to fill the seat.

“The applicants who sought to fill the vacancy resulting from the sad loss of our colleague Cathy Talmadge were all extraordinarily accomplished and personable,” she said. “The sitting District 6 representatives thoroughly enjoyed their conversations with each one. We were very fortunate to have such a strong and impressive candidate pool. 

“Brien’s prior experience serving as a representative in Stamford made him stand out, and we are confident that his background will be enable him to contribute immediately to the RTM as we head into budget season,” Banks said.

Buckman was not shy at his first RTM meeting Tuesday night at Town Hall.

He came to the podium and asked, during an agenda item about $1.1 million in funding for pavement at Bedford Middle School and the adjacent Staples High School (which passed, unanimously), whether traffic control costs are usually included in such a bond request.

“The request is really for the total cost of the project and traffic control is part of project so, yes, that is part of the request,” Public Works Director Peter Ratkiewich replied.

Thane Grauel, executive editor, grew up in Westport and has been a journalist in Fairfield County and beyond more than three decades. Reach him at editor@westportjournal.com. Learn more about us here.