Submitted by John Lucarelli, Greenwich
To Whom It May Concern,
In some crises it’s leadership at the front that’s most important. In other cases, it’s the pre-planning and execution which makes the difference. When COVID hit and disrupted our election system, our Registrar of Voters Fred DeCaro was way ahead of the game because of all the work previously done on bringing his department online.
Fred and his department had a Zoom account for more than a year before COVID hit. They moved to work from home immediately, and Fred’s “25 Things You Can Do Online From the Registrars of Voters Webpage” was presented as a model for other departments.
As soon as allowed, Fred began criss-crossing CT picking up and stockpiling sanitizer, gloves and different styles of masks to ensure poll worker safety.
He negotiated better, wider, and less expensive plexiglass shields. And it shows, because in a survey of those who voted in person in August, 95% of survey respondents said they felt “very safe” or “extremely safe – as safe as possible”.
Thank you to Fred DeCaro III our Registrar of Voters since 2009. You and your staff continue to bring improvements to the voting process, and you have my vote once again.