Op-Ed submitted by Ashley Cole, Oct 25, 2017
I am writing to voice my support for Sandy Litvack. I am a registered Republican and former supporter of Peter Tesei. Yet, I believe a fresh voice is needed in Town Hall, someone with vision and experience. That man is Sandy Litvack.
Sandy has extensive leadership experience and knows how to manage large institutions, most recently as the Chief of Corporate Operations at the Walt Disney Company. He is also a Georgetown University trained lawyer, who was appointed under President Jimmy Carter as Assistant Attorney General heading the Antitrust Division at the Department of Justice.
We need someone with Sandy’s expertise as Greenwich heads into uncharted waters in a new millennium.
Greenwich has a shrinking economic base – tax revenues are down. To solve our budget woes Peter Tesei and Republicans wants to reduce Town spending, diminishing our services considerably without regard to the impacts of our quality of life. Do you think this will improve Greenwich property values? I doubt it.
I assure you Sandy is no tax and spend Democrat. Sandy wants to keep our taxes where they are and grow the tax base by attracting new businesses to Greenwich along with new, young homeowners. Slashing services only makes our Town less attractive to people who might move here.
Sandy has the forward-thinking economic plan we need. Isn’t it about time we had an economic development plan?
How about a traffic plan? Traffic is unbearable in Town, and nothing has been done about it. The Parking Services Department is rife with corruption and mismanagement. Peter Tesei has had 10 years to come up with improvements. It’s time for a change.
Let’s imagine you have an asset, let’s say it’s a house. Let’s imagine that you can’t sell it. Do you cut the maintenance on that house? Do you let the paint peel and the landscaping go? The house will look rundown and even have a harder time finding a buyer. It’s more fiscally prudent to maintain and be proactive than to try and save a few dollars. That would be as the old saying goes, “Penny wise, pound foolish.”
Often our Town properties and schools look down at the heels, sometimes derelict. The way our Town has been managed has been to delay maintenance until we have to pay even more to get it up to code. We have seen this at the Hamilton Ave. School, which was ignored and cost us taxpayers millions to renovate.
We in Greenwich need to maintain our Town, our schools and our services – our quality of life. Greenwich is an asset that belongs to all of us. We live in one of the most beautiful and upscale Towns in America. We must protect it. That starts with electing someone who has the experience to attract new residents and new businesses, so that Greenwich can compete and lead Connecticut into a new era.
When a man of Sandy’s stature and experience, which is vast and global, takes it upon himself to offer our Town guidance and leadership, you take it. It would be foolish, indeed, to pass up this kind of talent. We can do better than just “okay.”
Nothing against Peter; he’s been “okay.” I voted for him. I gave him my money. He had 10 years; now we need fresh ideas and new vision.
Let’s go for excellence. Let’s select Sandy Litvack for First Selectman.
Vote for Sandy Litvack on Tuesday, November 7th. Check him out! www.selectsandy2017.com
Ashley Cole
Greenwich Resident
Editor’s note: The deadline to submit letters to the editor to support a candidate in the Nov 7 election is Oct 31