Letter to the editor submitted by Kimberly Fiorello on Aug 28, 2017:
Yes, indeed, after a thorough application, voter forum, and individual interviews with ALL of the folks seeking to serve on the Board of Estimate and Taxation, the Republican Town Committee (RTC) voted to endorse three incumbents and three new candidates. The long service to Greenwich by the three excellent incumbents who did not receive the RTC’s imprimatur is greatly appreciated, but a democratic body thrives with some turnover.
The RTC’s application asked for each person’s brief biography, history in Greenwich, membership in town organizations, special skills and qualifications for serving on the BET and important questions like: (1) What are the challenges facing the Town and how would you address them?; (2) What is the role of local government?; (3) Have recent mill rate increases been appropriate?; (4) How would you address additional unfunded mandates or cuts in municipal funding from Hartford?; and (5) what are the best and worst BET decisions in recent years?
At the end of this rigorous process, the RTC endorsed three incumbents Bill Drake, Mike Mason, and Nancy Weissler, and three new candidates, Andy Duus, Karen Fassuliotis, and Debra Hess.
As I know Karen well, I would like to share why I believe Karen won RTC votes.
Lawyer and PhD in Toxicology and Pharmacology: Perhaps being a lawyer may not be a virtue to most folks, but in this case, Karen’s unique legal expertise in Superfund remediation makes her invaluable to Greenwich as we start to clean up our toxic sites, which will cost untold millions of dollars. Karen’s knowledge, gained over twenty years of legal work, will help us navigate the federal Environmental Protection Agency and CT’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Principled Fiscal Conservative: Thomas Jefferson said, paraphrasing, “in fashion, go with the flow; in principles, stand like a rock.” Karen stands like a rock, speaking out for a change in the automatic “low but predictable” mill rate increases which have resulted in tax increases of over 50% in the last twelve years and urging against “super-sized” capital projects and spending, in the face of less tax dollars being returned from Hartford and Washington DC and a shrinking Grand List.
Focus on Education, largest part of Town budget: Karen, a graduate of the Greenwich school system, wants to hold the Board of Education accountable for the success and failures of our schools. She also believes that there should be more programs to support alternative education paths other than college.
Three incumbents and three new candidates for the BET is a laudable statement by the RTC. Karen is respected by her Republican peers who also voted for her to serve as Vice Chair currently. I encourage fellow Republicans to get to know Karen. Check out her website at www.greenwichforkarenf.com. Please vote for Karen Fassuliotis at the Republican Primary on Tuesday, Sept 12.
Kimberly Fiorello
Editor’s Note: This election season, Greenwich Free Press announces a change in policy on letters to the editor. Due to the volume of letters received it will not be possible to publish every letter.
The deadline to submit a letter to the editor for the Sept 12 Republican primary is Sept 6, 2017.
The deadline to submit a letter to the editor for the Nov 7, 2017 election is October 30, 2017.