Editor’s note: following is an opinion submitted by Westport resident and TEAM member Philip Gallo.
I met Andrea Moore shortly after my husband and I moved to Westport with our two boys, when she asked if I would be willing to join TEAM Westport. Over the course of the last two years, I have come to know Andrea as a woman of principle and integrity, and someone who helped make my family feel incredibly welcome in town.
I have recently spent some time getting to know Don O’Day. Don, a lifelong Democrat, is running as unaffiliated. Although endorsed by the Republican Party/RTC, he isn’t running to showcase his party affiliation, he’s running because he knows the town and how it works, and with Andrea’s experience as 2nd Selectwoman, they’ll make a great team.
Don and Andrea believe that party politics has no place in running a town like Westport: does a Democrat fix the roads or the sewers? Does a Republican put in a new 4-way stop sign or plow the snow? As the new member of TEAM, I have seen how national-level divisions and rancor seep in. We’re at our best when we, as neighbors, work together to solve common problems, and speak openly and engage with one another, in a civil and respectful manner. I find we can probably agree on 80% of things regardless of how we feel about the larger issues of the day.
For more than 20 years Don has worked with all types of people to make Westport better and stronger. He established the bi-partisan model on the Board of Education while Chairman, and the Board of Finance has adopted the same policy. I think this collaborative approach is refreshing. Andrea already has the experience as 2nd Selectwoman, and has substantial background with our schools as a PTA President, and on the Education Committee for the RTM.
Don and Andrea will work together to find the best path forward to run our town, and solve our very local problems. Not as a D and an R but as two highly experienced, highly effective people who love Westport and know how to get things done.
I find all the signs showcasing party affiliation disconcerting in a town such as ours, and likewise the independent candidate, while charismatic, doesn’t have nearly the experience of Don and Andrea. Experience matters. Vote O’Day and Moore this November.
Philip Gallo
Hillspoint Road
Westport
Obviously, Jen Tooker and Andrea Moore were not endorsed by the Republican Party for the 2025 First and Second Selectman campaign—the party chose O’Day and Moore. The Tooker/Moore administration recently presented a $374 million capital expenditure plan with 250 line items. Let’s set aside, for the moment, that the plan lacked clear strategy, categorization, or prioritization. Let’s just look at the economics: if implemented in full, that plan would raise the mill rate by 20%—and that’s just for capital expenditures, not including any operating cost increases.
Now, O’Day has teamed up with Moore? That looks like more of the same. O’Day calls himself a fiscal conservative—but where’s the commitment to a strategic, long-term planning process? He may excel at short-term crisis and project management, but Westport needs proactive leadership, disciplined planning, and true fiscal proficiency—not reactive decision-making and spending without priorities.
Westport must elevate leadership to address increased challenges. O’Day seems a bit too opinionated when we need a collaborator, he seems more like a tax and spend advocate when we need proficiency. Westport is at a real inflection point! Let’s not continue down the rabbit hole with O’Day/Moore.
Party affiliation may not always be front-and-center in a nice affluent town like Westport. There have been elections, and there will be again, when party may not matter so much in our small-time friendly elections.
But this is now. It is the Republican Party that hijacked our sovereign state and belittled our freedoms. Today. In 2025. Not in all my 6+ decades did I ever imagine I would see protest signs to “Stop the Coup.” In The United States of America.
This is now. It may be uncomfortable to be blatantly partisan, but we are being tested today. Is our freedom, our democracy, worth it?
If you can keep it.
I totally agree, Toni. All I want to know is what kind of lifelong democrat, now unaffiliated, would like to be endorsed or associated with the Republican Party?
Spot on Philip. I agree 100% that Don O’Day and Andrea Moore are the right choice to lead our town for the next 4 years.
Both Andrea and Don have a proven track record in working with our various town boards and committees in a non partisan environment to move our town forward. From our schools to new sidewalks, and beyond, we are lucky to have two experienced candidates running to lead our town.
Remember folks, Westport is NOT run by political parties, it’s run by people with one common denominator – The “W” – Westport!
Jimmy Izzo
RTM 3