Lifelong Republican Backs Steinberg

To The Editor:

The Republican candidate for Westport’s First Selectman Jen Tooker stated on a local radio station earlier this month that she would be transparent and trustworthy but the record shows otherwise:

Tooker refuses to have her party (Republican) identified on her campaign signs scattered around town. She said she was trying to change the national party from within (though never disavowing its practices) but didn’t say how.

As a member of the Board of Selectmen, Tooker sold out the Hiawatha neighborhood by acceding to the developer’s plans, thereby losing one of our Town’s current affordable housing communities. How can any neighborhood trust her?

While touting in her mailing the million-dollar new Compo bathrooms as handicap accessible, she refuses to acknowledge those facilities don’t have automatic door openers.

The popular Compo bathhouses (which tend to serve young mothers and seniors) have been left in disrepair and were taken off the town’s five-year capital forecast without any public input.

In her mailings, Tooker takes credit for most of Westport’s best attributes but fails to say our steady mill rate was established by the Democratic-controlled Board of Finance.

Asked if she ever differed with the current First Selectman, she stated she has never disagreed with him. Never? Should Tooker get elected, I fear she would be lost without someone else making all the decisions.

As a lifelong Republican, I say it’s time for a change. Vote for Jonathan Steinberg. Vote for someone who is transparent, trustworthy, and not afraid to lead.

Carla Rea

Steinberg/Savin Commended for Courage

Dear Editor,

We are writing in support of the Steinberg/Savin ticket for First and Second Selectmen and we urge Westporters to vote on Nov. 2.

Jonathan Steinberg has represented Westport since 2011 as our State Representative for the 136th CT House District. 10,446 Westport votersre-elected Steinberg in 2020 showing strong support for his track record. He has consistently applied his business experience to his policy work and has proven himself as a public official focused on values, being courageous and driving to results. That has not always made him popular. He has been criticized for being a fiscally-conservative, pro-social justice and pro-Westport democrat.

Candace Savin has also been elected by our town in 2017 with 4,758 votes for the Board of Education. Appointed to chair the BOE in 2019, Savin has demonstrated leadership and courage in leading the search for a new Superintendent of Schools, navigating the reopening of CMS and leading our schools through the pandemic. She has sought solutions and made difficult decisions to keep us moving forward during challenging times. 

Voting on Nov. 2 matters. We strongly believe that we need two vibrant political parties. We respect the dedication to public service of all local candidates. But it takes more to win our votes. There are candidates of both parties with the courage to stand up to acts against our democracy and against social injustice. We deeply admire those candidates. Steinberg and Savin have established their qualifications. They have also demonstrated more courage in clearly stating what they stand for and against, so that we can decide which team is best for Westport. 

A vote on Nov. 2 for Steinberg/Savin is not only a vote for Selectmen, it is a vote for what Westport publicly stands for and against. 

Ted and Joan Gillman

Steinberg & Savin Praised for Experience

To The Editor:

Westport is extremely fortunate to have outstanding candidates in Jonathan Steinberg and Candice Savin for Selectmen.  Each of them has a truly impressive, highly successful track record in their current public service position.  Now they want to bring their abilities to the job of improving Westport.  Please join me in signing them for the job!

Jonathan’s roots in Westport are deep and wide and with over 18 years of hard work and experience as our State Representative, he thoroughly knows the needs of the Westport community.  He has been repeatedly re-elected to that office because he shows up, builds consensus and gets things done. He works hard for ALL of our people, and for our future generations in doing right for our environment, infrastructure and public health.  He does the right thing rather than the easy thing, such as introducing a ban on plastic shopping bags and vaccination legislation that keeps our children safe.  Now he is ready to roll up his sleeves and proactively take on his hometown’s problems, like the curse of Westport’s traffic problem and the flooding of our downtown businesses.

Candice, as Chair of the Board of Education, likewise, has demonstrated her ability to lead through crises and challenges, including those of historic proportion in the countless decisions and complex problem-solving challenges of the pandemic. Her leadership style is efficient and agile, and her razor-sharp, sophisticated thinking is exactly what we want focused on solving our town’s issues. Like Jonathan, Candice is forthright about what she believes in and will speak up for values our town can get behind. 

Individually, they each have the experience, character, intellect and dedication that we want in our heads of government.   Together, they offer a powerhouse of leadership that we can count on to not only keep Westport steady but take it forward. 

Danielle Teplica

Tooker & Moore Noted for Leadership

To The Editor:

I have been a Westport resident for over 8 years and have had the privilege to personally know Jen Tooker and Andrea Moore since my family’s arrival.  I met Jen and Andrea separately, through volunteering in our kids’ schools, and I was drawn to each of them for their community awareness, intelligence, humor and most of all, kindness.  As I got to know each of them better over the next several years, I have greatly appreciated their deep dedication to Westport through volunteering, sitting on local non-profit boards and serving in locally elected offices. Jen and Andrea are great listeners and our concerns are theirs. 

While the state has taken away funding from Westport and dis-incentivized business here, Jen and Andrea have fought for our town all while keeping taxes flat.  They have proven their ability to be fiscally responsible while still keeping the best interests of families, students, teachers, seniors, business owners and taxpayers in mind.  Jen and Andrea have been working for Westport for YEARS and it is a great place to live in no small part because of what they’ve already accomplished.

Each of these women separately make fantastic candidates but together they create perfect synergy to lead Westport into the future.  It’s time that we take a non-partisan look at the facts and their collective histories, and elect Jen and Andrea to take their leadership to the next level, to the benefit of all of Westport.  

Karen Speller

Parks & Rec Commissioner for Tooker

Letter to the Editor:

Fiorello La Guardia once said, “There is no Democratic or Republican way of cleaning the streets”.

I encourage my friends and neighbors to consider Jen Tooker’s role over the last decade in maintaining Westport as one of the best towns in the country to raise our children and enjoy our lives. 

Organizing Westport’s 350 employees takes actual managerial experience and leadership skills — not stump speeches.

Let’s turn out and re-elect Jen to the Board of Selectmen!

Sincerely,

Ed Iannone

State Sen. Haskell Hails Steinberg for Dedication

To The Editor:

A few years ago, I found myself at an event with Jonathan Steinberg where the majority of the audience members disagreed with us. We were participants on a panel, and most of us jumped up to leave when the program ended. I can’t speak for the others, but I was tired, hungry, and thought I had said all that I could say to convince those who disagreed with me. But as I headed for the door, I noticed Jonathan hadn’t budged. One-by-one, he was listening to the skeptics in the crowd. When they finished speaking, he was handing out business cards and collecting reading material. He was working overtime, trying to find some common ground with a group that hurled insults his way.

Having worked alongside Jonathan in Hartford, I can tell you that there are plenty of reasons I look up to him. He digs into the details of public policy, never kowtows to party politics and works constantly on building a clearer, healthier, and more prosperous community. He’s been a mentor to me since I decided to run for office, and he’s been my closest friend in the legislature.

But what I admire most is Jonathan’s determination to find common ground. We need that now more than ever. That event where he took the time to meet with the folks who had heckled us? It was a discussion about the safety and efficacy of vaccines.

We need local leaders with Jonathan’s honesty, compassion and work-ethic. We need politicians who walk toward a challenge, not away from it. Although I’ll miss him up at the Capitol, I’ll be voting for Jonathan Steinberg as our next First Selectman on November 2nd. I hope you’ll join me.

Will Haskell / State Sen. (D-26)

Tooker & Moore “Right Candidates”

Hello, 

Tooker and Moore are the right candidates for Westport. Jen and Andrea are the only candidates with an actual record of improving the quality of life in Westport. Tooker, the current second selectwoman, has served in Westport on the Board of Eduction and Board of Finance. Her work on Westport Means Business has revitalized our downtown area. Moore, a Westport native, has served the Town on the Board of Finance and on the RTM.  These combined accomplishments are significant as compared to their opponent, who after ten years of state leadership has seen the state increase income taxes on Westporters by 100 million dollars and has failed to provide support that would improve traffic congestion on our State roads. Let’s stop electing people that talk, and start supporting people who get things done, who work hard for our Town day in and day out. Vote Tooker and Moore: two women who have a fair and unwavering demeanor, are overwhelming qualified for the position, dedicated to collaboration, focused on local issues instead of national partisan causes, and have a genuine love for Westport. 

Patrizia Zucaro

Tooker & Moore Praised for Experience

Please join me in supporting Jen Tooker and her running mate Andrea Moore for Westport Board of Selectmen.  Jen’s management experience in both local government as well as the private sector make her qualified as the only candidate hailing this critical experience. She has the unique training and ability to provide sustained and meaningful leadership for Westport. 

Jen’s tireless involvement in our community include her current role as Second Selectwoman, serving on Westport’s Board of Finance, Board of Education and Conservation Commission and 10 years of leadership positions in local non-profit organizations. Andrea too has deep ties to the community as current Vice-Chair of Westport’s Board of Finance along with other local board positions and years of substantial volunteer service.  

As an empty nester who has lived in Westport for 25 years, I want to ensure our town’s viability for future generations.  Jen Tooker has a proven track record in contributing to the excellence of our schools, maintaining our property values and securing public safety.  I know Jen and Andrea will continue to serve Westport as Selectwomen with the same passion they exhibit in all of their endeavors.  

Liz Kaner

RTM Member Endorses Tooker-Moore

To The Editor:

As Chair of RTM Public Protection Committee, I have had the privilege of working with Jen Tooker and Andrea Moore over the last 8 years in helping to keep our community safe. Jen and Andrea have always consulted, seeked advice, and have collaborated with our town department heads which includes our Police and Fire Chiefs.

They have both exemplified what WEstport leadership is all about. There is always an emphasis on “WE” when it comes to leading this amazing community.

Jen’s opponent, 10-year Representative Jonathan Steinberg claims to be a candidate of “getting things done” and having the “contacts” in Hartford to get “things done.” I would have to disagree with Mr. Steinberg, as we have seen little of these contacts get “anything done” to modify 8-30g. We have 300-plus new approved apartments coming thanks to flaws in 8-30g that lets developers continue to manipulate the law, and hold our town hostage with no help from the state.

On important votes like Police Accountability and Recreational Marijuana, Mr. Steinberg passed on consulting with our Police Chief and other Westport leaders. Party First — Westport Second on both votes. “Drugged Driving” is now in play with little or no playbook for law enforcement in Westport. While one candidate has spent 10 years “managing votes” to please his party, Jen and Andrea have been working for a better WEstport for all.

Please join me in voting for Jen Tooker and Andrea Moore for Board of Selectman on November 2nd. 

Jimmy Izzo

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