What I've Done

I have worn and still wear many hats when it comes to making Westport one of the best places to live, work and visit. It is this experience and long list of achievements which is the sound basis for future success at the State level.

Chamber of Commerce • Representative Town Meeting • Town & State Committees

Support for Affordable Housing • Open Space Preservation • Historic Preservation

Westport Weston Chamber of Commerce

I have been the Executive Director and President of the Chamber for the past twelve years. I promote our business community, economic development and tourism. We go one step further and embrace a line up of unique events, most that I have created, to bring the community to the businesses while offering fun times and a feeling of inclusion with the town.

Slice of Saugatuck Festival

Westport Dog Festival

Supper & Soul, Dinner & Concert Series

Drive-in Concerts, during COVID

Great Westport Food Contests

Restaurant Week

Halloween Window Painting Contest

Saugatuck Caroling Crawl

Over $100,000 from proceeds from the Chamber's major events have been donated to local not for profits, including: The Gillespie Food Pantry, TAILS, Adopt-a-dog, Team Woofgang among many others.

Representative Town Meeting

I have been a member of the RTM since 2005 and enjoy being a part of all aspects of our town. From support for our students and our A+ schools to aiding our seniors, bolstering our parks and recreation, maintaining our town roads and sewers, promoting sustainability, and public protection, I have been there and have been involved.

I have sat on six committees over the years, 4 currently, previously chaired the RTM Information Technology committee and continue to chair the Planning and Zoning committee.

While voting to support many ordinances over the years, I specifically created two.

- Affordable Housing Fund: I initiated this co-sponsored proposal to create this fund and oversight committee. (See support for Affordable housing below, click here)

- Sunday restaurant and liquor laws on three day weekends: Westport restaurants were losing business to neighboring towns on Sundays of three-day weekends due to Westport-specific rules to constrain hours of operation and liquor sales on Sundays. By allowing Saturday rules to apply when a Monday was a federal holiday, customers returned on Sundays to the benefit of our businesses.

Town & State Commitees

I have been appointed to several town and state committees over the years.

Town:

Downtown 2020 Committee - Shaping a vision for our Downtown

Downtown Plan Implementation Committee – Adopting projects and improvements based on the Downtown Study and Town Plan of Conservation and Development.

Barrons South Senior Housing Committee – Created a plan and worked with developers to establish senior and senior affordable housing integrated with the senior center already on the property.

Saugatuck Transit Oriented Development Committee – Working with a State grant, developed a report and guide to shape the future of the Saugatuck area by the train station.

Cribari Bridge Department of Transportation PAC – Worked with DOT on the future restoration, rehabilitation or replacement of the historic swing bridge over the Saugatuck river.

State:

Commission on Connecticut’s Development and Future: Affordable Housing Subcommittee – Created and published a guide for how municipalities could create affordable housing. One of many focuses was creating an affordable housing fund. More on that below.

Commission on Connecticut’s Development and Future: Form Based Code Subcommittee – Worked on possible templates for towns to adopt a form-based code approach to zoning.

Support for Affordable Housing

I have long been an advocate for affordable housing, while at the same time questioning density requirements and the use of 8-30g from the state. They don’t have to compete as Westport has and will continue to address this need on its own.

I introduced the concept of inclusionary zoning to the Planning and Zoning commission (that any multii-family project must have affordable units). I then pressed for 20% being the percentage of affordable units, which continues to be the highest in the state. Once adopted, I urged for the rounding up of that 20% affordability calculation when proposed projects were shaving the numbers to achieve a lesser number of affordable units. I mediated the Centennial House discussion and acceptance of a Homes with Hope supportive housing project in the Old Saugatuck section of town.

I spearheaded the creation of an Affordable Housing Fund and oversight committee, via an RTM ordinance. This follows through on both my work on the State subcommittee and my work on our Town’s Affordable Housing Plan. The fund now has $1.7 million after two years of existence. This would allow Westport to purchase land for non-profits to create 100% affordable projects, to buy down market rate units, or enable affordable units to be more deeply affordable. The goal is also to create workforce housing for our teachers and first responders, downsizing for seniors and aid those who otherwise would not be able to live in our community.

Open Space Preservation

Grassroots environmental advocacy was my true entre into the Westport political world.

Partrick Wetlands (22 acres) – This sensitive wetland area was slated for development. I organized a neighborhood group, the Partrick Wetlands Preservation Fund, to oppose the development and save the land. It took six years, including one of negotiation. Of the 31 houses proposed, 13 were approved and 22 acres of land was donated to our organization for preservation. We in turn donated the parcel to Earthplace, where I have been on the board of trustees ever since. There are 4 trails to walk through this incredibly bio-diverse landscape. Great for birding.

White Barn Theatre Property (5 acres) – Based on the success on Partrick, I advised the Save Cranbury association and partnered with them on their efforts to save that land. After 5 years, 5 acres of land including the pond were saved as open space and donated to the Norwalk Land Trust.

Norden Open Space (11+ acres) – A large 3 building, 600 unit apartment, project adjacent to Westport with an unfettered road into our town was proposed. I successfully presented at Norwalk Conservation hearings a reason for denial. Negotiations followed that allowed one building of 300 units with no access road to Westport, 4 single family homes allowed to access Westport and 11 acres of conservation eased open space. The single homes on 4 acres were never built and are now part of the open space, thus 11+ acres.

Historic Preservation

Kemper Gunn - Worked with local developer David Waldman to move the 1880s Victorian house from Church Lane to Elm St on town property. It took a unanimous RTM vote to overturn P&Z’s denial to move the house in order to save it. It now stands as a centerpiece of downtown.

Lone Sentinel - Often called the former Dress Barn house, I worked with Urbn, owners of Terrain, to keep the house instead of turning it into parking spaces. It is one of the few single family houses along the Post Road which represents our past.

Geiger Barn (adaptive reuse) - The property was a former farm and the iconic barn still stood. I worked with the developers to partially save and reuse the barn instead of razing it. It now holds a number of retail shops and represents our history in the area. (Photo)