Editor’s note: following is an opinion submitted by Westport resident Ron Corwin. Corwin served on the Planning and Zoning Commission from 2005 to 2012.

I wholeheartedly endorse Michele Paquette for P&Z. Why?

Michele lives her values:

She has an open mind.  She actively pays attention to views on all sides of issues.

She gathers the facts. She looks at the data. She is a listener. She hears points of view on all sides.  And then she thinks and applies guidelines with common sense.

She is courteous. She treats each speaker with civility and respect.  She doesn’t argue; rather, she discusses.

Michelle is collegial.  She’s worked with colleagues on complex projects and knows how to coordinate roles and how to mesh teammates’ varying skills.

She knows Westport.  And she’s lived in other places too, and knows that we can all learn from other experiences. 

She’s not NIMBY; she’s not NIYBY.  Rather, Michelle is LFIO!  Let’s Figure It Out — smartly, judiciously, with an open mind to the range of needs of fellow Westporters. 

In short, Michele Pacquette is the right choice for our P&Z.

I served on the P&Z from 2005 to 2012; Chair from 2006 to 2011.  We approved many changes – added outdoor dining, initiated ball field lights at Staples and Bedford, approved the Y expansion at Mahackeno, allowed more than one home office so two people could work from home; we protected and preserved natural resources, acquired open spaces, and more …. These approvals were all bi-partisan — approved with both Democrat and Republican votes.

That is the spirit we need and Michele is there.

Respectfully,

Ron Corwin
Chairman, The Coalition for Westport