By Gretchen Webster

WESTPORT — Velma Heller and her family have service to the town of Westport in their blood. 

She is retiring this month after serving on the RTM for 20 years, four of those years as moderator. Her late husband, Garson, was an RTM member for 14 years, and for many years, also the chairman of the Board of Assessment Appeals. And their son, Grant, served two terms on the RTM.

Both her husband and son were members of the local legislature before she was, Heller said. “When my son left the RTM, he said, ‘Mom, it’s your turn.’ ”

Non-partisan appeal of RTM

Velma Heller’s “turn” on the RTM lasted two decades partly because she was drawn to the idea that the body is non-partisan body. Unlike the town councils and local legislative bodies in other Connecticut communities, candidates for the Westport RTM do not run on political tickets. 

“They run as individuals,” Heller said. “That was most appealing to me.” She made no effort to check an RTM member’s political affiliation — if any — she added, taking into account only the town’s needs and not the politics involving certain issues during her long tenure.

Heller’s ‘unique,’ ‘trail-blazing’ leadership lauded

“Velma is a unique individual. She has retired from at least two previous high-powered careers and has been a gentle, yet uncompromising force on the RTM for nearly two decades,” commented Jeffrey Weiser, the RTM’s deputy moderator. “Her leadership over the past four and a half years has created an active, collaborative legislative body that has been responsive to the needs of all Westporters. We will greatly miss her calm demeanor and responsible guidance.”

Heller first served as deputy moderator after Eileen Lavigne Flug, then the RTM’s newly elected moderator, recommended that she consider the post. Heller held that position for four years until she was elected moderator herself, a position she has held until her imminent retirement. 

The week’s RTM session on Tuesday, Nov. 9, will be the last that Heller attends as a member and moderator. She did not seek re-election from District 9 in last week’s municipal election.

“I think the whole town should be grateful for all the service that Velma and her husband Garson have given to the town,” said Lavigne Flug, now the assistant town attorney. “When I was the moderator, I asked her to be the deputy moderator, and I am grateful that she said yes. She was terrific at the job and has been a tremendous moderator. 

“She’s smart and hardworking and the town is fortunate to have her on the RTM for so long,” Lavigne Flug added.

Heller’s civic record also has earned accolades from current First Selectman Jim Marpe and Jennifer Tooker, who takes over as first selectwoman next week.

To Marpe, Heller “is the embodiment of community commitment and dedication … she has consistently demonstrated leadership, expertise, compassion and sacrifice.”

She “accomplished her duties with a positive attitude, grace and composure. It has been a pleasure and an honor to have served with her as a town leader. Her insights and perspective have helped make my decisions and actions more impactful and reflective of Westport’s unique culture,” Marpe said.

Tooker, who has served on the Board of Selectmen for the last four years, found that Heller “is the definition of a dedicated, smart, thoughtful and balanced local elected official. I am personally so grateful to her for her years of service to Westport, and equally important, her advice, mentorship, steady-hand and common sense.

 “She was and is a true trail-blazer,” Tooker added.     

Highlights from RTM tenure

Heller, looking back on her record, is proudest of several initiatives undertaken by the RTM during her tenure. These highlights, in particular, include projects involving safety, the environment and town facilities, she said.

She counted the addition of sidewalks to improve pedestrian safety in various Westport neighborhoods among the most important accomplishments of the RTM during her tenure. There were no sidewalks in many places, she said, leaving pedestrians, bicyclists and school children unsafe while using the town’s street. “I felt very good about it,” when the RTM proposed and approved sidewalks to be installed in many parts of town, she said.

She also cited the retail plastic bag ordinance banning most plastic shopping bags from Westport stores, and the single-use plastic ordinance prohibiting food-service businesses from using single-use food service containers, among the environmental initiatives the RTM took on when she served as moderator. 

Other major initiatives she cited include the blight ordinance and “the crumb rubber ordinance” that replaced artificial turf on local playing fields, which had been linked to dangerous gas emissions, with material considered safer.

In addition, the RTM’s support for the town’s schools, “making them world-class schools,” and RTM oversight of town buildings and facilities were also important achievements that won legislative backing during her tenure, she added.

An early career in education

Heller’s service to the town didn’t start with the RTM, however.

She first served as principal of Greens Farms Elementary School, vice principal of Bedford Middle School, the principal of continuing education, and special education coordinator, among other school district positions. She retired from the educational field in 2001, and began a second career in public service when she won election to the RTM as a write-in candidate.

“I have strong feelings for the RTM, and for being involved,” she said. “This is really the kind of community you can get involved in — and we did.”

Westport: ’I feel so lucky to be here’

The Heller family, then with two young sons, moved from Scarsdale, N.Y. (which she called “too established”) to Westport in 1969.

“It was a place that was just beginning to emerge … a place you could certainly get involved,” she said. “This was not just any old bedroom community.” 

Later a daughter was born, and the family really put down roots in Westport, adding civic engagement to their daily routine.

Heller earlier this year decided to retire when the current RTM term ends. At the time, her husband was ill, and she wanted to devote more time to her family. Garson Heller died Sept. 23. 

Heller’s regrets that more Westporters don’t participate in civic affairs. “I wish more people would get involved and more people would run [for the RTM],” she said.

Although she is stepping down from the RTM, Velma Heller will undoubtedly continue to serve Westport in other ways in the future. She has no plans to go anywhere else

“I love being here,” she said of Westport. “I feel so lucky to be here.”